The Boog Bath Bomb

It has been quite a while since something new from Lush's vaults has made an appearance in their kitchen - something that had me in a bit of a state when they first announced the menu back before Christmas. As per usual, I took a leap of faith and purchased a handful of these beauties, and as is normally the case, it paid off. 

Inspired by a Swiss tradition, The Boog is a symbol of celebration - a bath bomb that draws from the colourful and playful nature of the original custom that dates back to the early twentieth century. During the month of April, the Swiss celebrate the ending of winter by creating an effigy of a snowman - its head stuffed with fireworks whereupon it is hoisted onto a bomb fire and observed until it explodes. The idea is that the longer it takes for his head to explode, the better the following Summer will be.

While I cannot guarantee that this bath bomb will influence the weather in any shape or form, I can assure you that it'll definitely banish away those winter blues, and alleviate the cold a little from your weathered skin.

Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was that they didn't smell anything like I had imagine them to do, and they were also slightly different to the version released a few years ago. With clary sage, rosemary and myrrh cited as the key ingredients, I was expecting a strong, herbal fragrance. Instead, what I detected was sweeter, much less imposing and far more beautiful than I could have imagined.

An initial sniff reveals a smell not unlike the May Day Bath Bomb - a gentle, powdery vanilla and lemon smell - something very unexpected given the ingredients list. Behind this you can detect notes of both the clary sage and the rosemary, which not only hold their own, but also intertwine with the other ingredients to create a smell that replicates Grass Shower Gel.

While I would describe this bath bomb as a very light, calm-smelling herbal scent, I wouldn't say that this factor is detrimental to the experience at all - if anything, it's the very opposite. It's primarily a sweet and slightly lemony, grassy smell with herbal elements that make themselves more pronounced in the water. In my opinion, I think that the fragrance of this would work really well as both a perfume and a dusting powder, and I look forward to such releases from Lush in the future.

Not only was the scent different to what I have envisaged, the design has been altered to what it was a few years back. Whereas the original had the coloured discs on the outside, visible for all to see, the newer edition keeps the colours as somewhat of a mystery and secures them on the inside. Not only this, but judging from pictures and videos of the original release, it seems as if this newer version is a tad bigger as well, which is great.  

When The Boog hits the water, it immediately begins to fizz and froth, and thick waves of white foam begin to decorate the surface. It is not until a few minutes later that the different colours begin to make their presence known - sending out little trails of blue, purple, pink, green, orange and yellow that dissipate across the water, creating a rather lovely looking display to observe.

As the heat mixes with the fragrance, the grassy, herbal aroma becomes more pronounced, and I was surprised by how much a little hot water can coax out the smell. Despite this, I found that within five minutes of submerging myself below the surface, the scent has all but disappeared, and I was only able to detect the aroma once I was out of the bath and towelling myself down afterwards.

Having said this, I was grateful to see that once the ballistic had fully dissolved, the water was left silky-soft and creamy While it wasn't as moisturising as you would expect a bath melt to be, it did leave a pronounced, buttery layer across the surface that meant my skin felt so soft and smooth afterwards. It was just a shame that the bath bomb didn't alter the colour of the water at all, so I would recommend that add a bubble bar or another ballistic to add a bit of excitement. 

Ultimately, this is definitely not a bath bomb that I would rush out and grab as I would one of my favourites. However, it is a very lovely product with a wonderful smell - one that made a difference from my usual baths, and one that I would definitely like to experience again. I shall enjoy my handful of The Boogs and may be tempted to buy a couple more, if they ever make their presence known in the Kitchen again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Armoire Oil, Myrrh Resinoid, Rosemary Oil, Clary Sage Oil, Cream of Tartar, Lauryl Betaine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Dipropylene, Glycol, Gardenia Extract, Citral, Limonene, Linalool,  Colour 15510,  Colour 45350,  Colour 42090,  Colour 17200,  Colour 45410.

2015 Price: £3.50 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2010