Up The Wooden Hill Emotibomb

It's still hard to believe that there are people who choose to live without a bath. In a world where I rely on my regular soaks to survive the week, it would be a big adjustment to lose this luxury that I take for granted. However, I recognise that spacing in some places makes it near on impossible to find a flat with a bath, and there are obviously those that don't see bathing as a priority.

For Lush fans who don't have need of a bath bomb, there is the 'emotibomb', which according to Lush, works in the same way that you would expect a bath ballistic to do, only in the shower instead. Simply pop one of these on the floor by your feet and go about your normal shower routine. When the warm water meets the bomb, it'll fizz away and release a cloud of fragrant steam that alters your mood, dependent on the purpose of the emotibomb.

This emotibomb was first created back in 2008 - inspired by something Mo Constantine used to say to her children. Originally called  Up The Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire, this limited edition product came out for a short period of time, and is one of the only emotibombs to be created to send the user to sleep, rather than perk them up. 

Containing a strong dosage of lavender and chamomile oil, this rather plain-looking product is definitely impressive when it comes to the scent. The smell of this dominated my bathroom long after the product had dispersed, and I think it would probably leave an impression on the skin as well, if you chose to bathe in its waters.

Fans of Dream Cream Body Lotion, Dreamwash Shower Smoothie, Dreamtime Bath Melt and Waving Not Drowning would appreciate the very cooling chamomile aroma, but equally love the herbal elements from the lavender offering. This is definitely for those who enjoy gentler, more 'clinical-smelling' cosmetics. 

As with all of my emotibombs, I decided to put the plug in during my shower so that I would be able to enjoy the fragrance of this product for longer. After previous experiences with emotibombs, I found that if the product was too close to the plughole when I was in the shower, the scent was far too 'in your face',  and it would end up masking anything I was using in the shower at the time.

At the same time, putting the bomb directly underneath me meant that it dissolved in record time and only gave me a small window in which to enjoy the aroma before the product was washed away with the water. Not only this but it's rather annoying when you have to watch where you stand and how you move around in the shower with a product by your feet.

To prevent this from happening, I placed Up The Wooden Hill about a metre from the plug so it wasn't constantly submerged under the running water. This time I found that the product lasted a lot longer and offered me a strong scent throughout the entire shower. Some Lushies even suggest that you break the emotibomb in half and use it for two different occasions. However, I can imagine that this would take away a large proportion of the fragrance and render it almost pointless for those of us who want something strong to send us to sleep.

Despite the fact that it's designed for the shower, I don't see any reason why this couldn't be used as a bath bomb. While I don't think it would be as strong or as moisturising as a regular ballistic, nor would the product heed any colour in the water, I think fans of Ickle Baby Bot and Dream On would appreciate having another lavender-dominated product to bathe with. 

What I liked about this product is that it did make me feel a little sleepy. Often I am torn about whether or not it's a good idea taking showers before bed. Stimulated by the heat and senses engulfed by the various aromas of the products you're using, it often wakes me up to the point that I am no longer ready for bed. However, I found that this emotibomb allowed me to enjoy the strong aromas of neroli, lavender and chamomile, without overloading my senses too much.

Up The Wooden Hill was generous enough that the smell did radiate up my nose during the shower, and placing it further enough away so that it didn't dissolve within a matter of minutes, meant that it was one of the more successful emotibombs that I have tried so far.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that I would buy a load more of these to use, as I do prefer my baths. However, it was part of a routine that helped me to get a good night's sleep. And if anything is able to do that to a chronic insomniac, it's worthy of a mention in my books. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Lavender Oil, Lavender Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Neroli Oil, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £3.50 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2008.