Le Grand Amour Bath Bomb

While the Valentine's Day season bombards you with the notion that a romantic gesture of love might feature a shared bath between yourself and your partner, the reality is far more comical than they would ever let on. Whenever I envisage how the 'combined soaks' in my last relationship went down, I'm usually rekindled with the famous skit that comedian Lee Evans performed about the turmoils and tribulations of such an occurrence. I cannot say that I found it particularly endearing or romantic to be moaned at for running the bath water too hot, whilst positioning myself over the plughole so that I wouldn't injure myself moving about.


Le Grand Amour Bath Bomb seems like the perfect solution then, to enjoy a bath with a loved one, without actually having a foot in your face and being made to sit upright in order to fit another body into such a confined space. Instead, you can forgo sharing the bath with your partner and instead opt for using a magnified version of Lush's most romantic bath bomb, Tisty Tosty.

First released in 2008 as a celebration of Mark and Mo's thirteen year anniversary, this bath bomb is something of a novelty. Much like The Sexxx Bomb that made its debut appearance a few weeks ago, this giant ballistic is nothing is designed to be either bought as a one-off for a loved one; or for fans of the normal sized one, who just want to treat themselves to something a little more indulgent.

As with all of Lush's bigger bath bombs, in order for them to be utilised in the bath, Lush have to reduce the amount of fragrance that goes into making them. Simply enlarging them whilst keeping the ratios the same would be too potent on the skin and the nose. So that consumers are actually able to bathe with a whole product, the company have to considerably reduce the ingredients that go into making the fragrance. Ultimately, what you get then is a super-sized ballistic that has near enough the same strength as the regular version, but with just more sodium bicarbonate and citric acid to fizzle away in the tub.


Much like its older, smaller sibling, Le Grand Amour features both rose and jasmine absolute, along with a generous helping of geranium and lemon oil as well. Together, these ingredients create a very potent floral smell - one that features the sweet, muskiness of the rose and jasmine; the powdery, cloudy properties of geranium; and a tiny thread of lemon that gives the overall fragrance a little fruity burst.


Aside from the fragrances of these four components, each of the ingredients has also been specifically chosen to improve your physical and mental wellbeing throughout your bath. Rose oil is not only used to repair your skin and help it to feel soft afterwards, but apparently has the ability to soothe broken hearts as well. Whereas lemon oil adds uplifting qualities to the bath bomb, that allow you to feel invigorated and far more positive afterwards. Finally, jasmine is a well-known aphrodisiac, so the inclusion of this in this bath bomb should hopefully set you up with the right frame of mind to enjoy your day and your evening, with your partner.

Just like Tisty Tosty, Le Grand Amour Bath Bomb began to fizz immediately after it came into contact with the water - sending out thin waves of cloudy-white foam that dissolved almost straight away. After a short time, the dried rose buds that adorned the surface and the core of the bath bomb, began to drift out across the tub. While there were more than you would expect in the normal sized version, there were not so many that they made a mess in my tub Furthermore, they certainly wouldn't cause any hassle removing them, if you're someone who dislikes debris in your bath. 

Disappointingly, I found that the bath bomb shrunk very quickly in the water, and had completely disappeared within a couple of minutes. As to be expected, there also wasn't anything extra or spectacular about the bath after it had dissolved, and because it left the water mostly unscathed by any colour or decoration, this just seemed make the bath bomb appear even more pointless than any of the other enlarged ones that I have tried. I think that Lush would have done well to include a colourful centre, just to give this bath bomb an edge over its sibling.

While I did feel soft and refreshed after bathing with this product for a good ninety minutes (you have to get your money's worth, right?), I don't feel that it was any different from using a regular bath bomb, and even then the normal-sized Tisty Tosty is not known for being overly nourishing to begin with. 

Overall, I am glad that I am able to say that I have at least tried Le Grand Amour Bath Bomb now. However, I would definitely not consider buying it again - novelty factor or not. In hindsight, I would rather have invested the money on a smaller bath bomb and a bubble bar, and enjoyed an elaborate, colourful bath cocktail instead. This one is definitely not getting any love from me this year.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Rose Absolute, Geranium Oil, Lemon Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Rosebuds, Orris Root Powder, Geraniol, Citronellol, Perfume.

2017 Price: £8.25 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2008 

Scent Family:
Le Grand Amour Bath Bomb
Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb
Tisty Tosty Limited Edition Pink