One of the themes for 2015 is 'the Bazaar' - a concept that I was rather excited about exploring as this sounded like the perfect opportunity to produce weird, wonderful and highly flamboyant looking products. Within this concept, Lush have brought about Magic Of Christmas FUN - a brand new, limited edition bar that is supposed to help you 'release your inner illusionist' - whatever that means!
Sharing its scent with last year's Wizard Bubble Bar and the very popular Jingle Spells Ballistic, this seasonal release has a lot to live up to. With there being such a cult-following behind this fragrance, there would be some very unhappy Lush fans if this didn't replicate the aroma of the aforementioned bath bomb perfectly. Luckily, the expectation is met.
Made from a combination of ylang ylang, fennel, tangerine and juniperberry oil, this FUN bar is the perfect Christmas companion - probably more seasonal than any of the other shower products that Lush are currently offering. While this does do the scent family justice, I was surprised to find that I preferred the smell of this product than either of the other two - perhaps because I found the smell of this to be much more exquisite and multi-layered.
The tangerine and juniperberry oils sit at the forefront - giving off a gentle, warming orangey scent, while the fennel sits behind this and offers a subtle but prominent liquorice smell. The ylang ylang ties the fragrance together, and alongside the delicate herbal element that comes through in the bath, gives the bubble bar a gentle feminine aroma.
In both the packet and under the running water, Magic Of Christmas smells like a combination of mixed spice and fruit peel - a sweet, sultry and slightly herby shower companion that reminds me of my mum's fresh Christmas cake batter. Imagine filling a bowl with dried fruit, nutmeg and cinnamon, sugar and a splash of sherry, and you might begin to envisage how this FUN bar smells in person.
The great thing about all of Lush's FUN bars is that they are really versatile - doubling up as a shampoo, bubble bar and shower gel, and working exceptionally well as all three. It's basically like play dough when you first touch it so you should make sure you wrap it back up after each and every use. I found that mine started 'melting' a couple of day's after opening it and found it more practical to cut a small piece off and keep the rest somewhere cool to maintain it's shape. Either that or pop the whole bar into an empty Lush pot to stop the FUN from 'decorating' every surface with it's 'goo'.
As with all of the FUN bars, I like to use mine as a replacement for more expensive bath ballistics, when I'm after a short bath as opposed to a longer soak. So I pulled off a generous sized chunk and crumbled it under the running tap. Immediately my bath tub began to fill with fluffy, fruity and very fragrant bubbles and the water merged into a lovely shade of purple. Unfortunately, both the colour of the water and the overall scent was lost quite a bit once my bath had been run, and I found that I could barely detect much of the fragrance at all within a matter of minutes.
Next I tried using Magic Of Christmas as a replacement for shower gel, and discovered that it's really easy to lather up and produces a thick, creamy and very fragrant lather. Although things can get a little messy as your skin will be painted with streaks of blue and red for the most part, the product does not stain the skin and leaves your body feeling really soft and smelling lovely. As this FUN bar is so generous, I'd say that you'd only need a grape-sized piece to wash your entire body with - making it great value for money and one I will definitely be buying again.
I honestly believe that Lush have stepped up their 'game' with the Fun bars this year - not only for the seasonal range but with all of the limited editions that have seen the light of day this year. Magic Of Christmas is just another example of how sophisticated and enjoyable these products can be, and at only £5 for 200g worth of Fun, I will be stocking up on this one before the year is out.
Quantitative Ingredients: Cornflour, Talc, Glycerine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Juniperberry Oil, Tangerine Oil, Fennel Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Radiant Gold, Gold Glimmer and Pearl White Lustre, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42090, Colour 14700, Colour 17200.
Vegan?: Yes.
2015 Price: £5 for 200g.
Year Of Original Release: 2015.
Jingle Spells Ballistic
The Magic Of Christmas FUN
Wizard Bubble Bar
Hi Jen! Just so you know, the themes are" The Lush Bazaar" (like a marketplace, not the bizarre haha!), Alladins Cave and Winter Woodland!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Thanks for noticing my mistake - I've corrected myself now! :)
DeleteI've just tried this Fun and I'm usually a bit unimpressed by the range but the new Xmas Fun really has shown me the light! I made a blue and white beluga whale that didn't take well to the water so then I squished the poor thing up and painted my arms. Said arms have taken quite some damage lately by two cavies who have came into a friend's life and whom I have been given the task of socializing. They are very sweet but get very scratchy when they decide that they've had enough of my lap! I remembered what you'd said about fun leaving skin so soft and now my guinea-scratches feel much better!
ReplyDeleteAs my poor Fun beluga sadly sank I suddenly thought that it would really cool if lush did, say, an orca inspired fun in support of the poor real cetaceans in bathtub-like-pools around the world.