Windmill Reusable Bubble Bar

As a regular Lush consumer, I often find that I become desensitised to just how different the company's products can be from the items you'd expect to see in any other shop. While I'm not saying that I don't appreciate the cosmetics any less than I would if I only bought them on occasion, I have come to realise that I always expect the 'weird and wacky' from Lush. For this reason, when they do bring out their strange concoctions, I often don't bat an eyelid or appreciate just how unusual they may be. 

When I first browsed the bubble bar section in the Oxford Street flagship store, it took me a while to process just how innovative and interesting the new designs were. Who knew that you could take some bicarbonate of soda, throw in  a little perfume and blend it altogether with some oils to create what is effectively a windmill for your bath tub. 

Windmill Reusable Bubble Bar is perhaps Lush's most creative product to date - a beautiful forest-green bubble bar that looks more like a toy than a bathing companion. Presented on a thick piece of plywood, this windmill actually spins like you would expect it to and is supposed to mimic this action under the pressure of running water.

Including ginger and lime oil, this product smells exactly as you'd imagine it to - a sweet and almost fizzy citrus aroma with a strong thread of ginger alongside this. While I'm unsure whether or not it's supposed to mimic the Ginger scent family, I found the smell of this bar to be a lot more pleasing on the senses. 

Out of the packet, this bubble bar has an aroma that reminds me of homemade ginger beer - a light, sparkling summer drink with a slice of fresh lime to add some much needed zest. In the bath, the fragrance intensifies somewhat but doesn't become too heavy - making it the perfect companion for when you want a lighter, more uplifting experience in the warmer months. 

Unfortunately, despite Lush's good intentions, this bubble bar doesn't work as well as to be expected. After holding it precariously under the running water, I found that Windmill was very stubborn and refused to turn - even when I altered positions to see if it would work in other ways. 

Furthermore, much like Flamingo Reusable Bubble Bar, this one has a hollow middle, which means it acts more like a bath bomb when in contact with water. Within seconds of holding it under the tap, the middle began to fizz and bleed out into the bath - which weakened the whole bar and caused it to snap in half. It was then a case of me having to grapple for the broken pieces and crumbling it under the tap as I would a normal bubble bar. 

In its favour, Windmill did produce an array of fluffy bubbles and turned the bath into a gorgeous haven of green water to bathe in. However, despite the inclusion of both cocoa butter and shea butter, this bubble bar didn't make the water as silky-soft as I would expect from most of my bars. While my skin did feel really clean and smooth after I had exited the bath, it wasn't as well-nourished and moisturised as I was expecting it to be and I had to use a body lotion to rectify this afterwards. 

While I enjoyed my experience and appreciated the crisp, refreshing fragrance that this bubble bar had to offer, it's not one that I would rush out again to purchase. Normally I consider most bubble bars to be great value for money as they offer multiple uses and often work out cheaper than the bath bombs and melts. However, this £5.95 reusable bar will only see you through two bathing experiences - making this more expensive then something like The Comforter, which offers 4-5 baths. Although some may argue that the novelty is enough to make the expense worth it, my response is that this would only be a valid argument if the product had actually worked effectively as its name suggests. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Cream Of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Glycerine, Citric Acid, Lauryl Betaine, Cypress Oil, Lime Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Ginger Oil, PEG-6 Caprylic / Capric Glycerides & PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Perfume, Macadamia Nut Oil, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Citral, Eugenol, Limonene, Apple Green and Soft Green Glimmer Lustre (Cornstarch, Maltodextrin, Mica, Colour 19140, Colour 42090), Colour 47005, Colour 45350, Colour 61570.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.