Lush Cocktail: Little Red Riding Hood

Betty Boo's 'Little Red Riding Hood' Cocktail

Contains:

1/3 Blue Skies And Fluffy White Clouds Bubble Bar

1/4 Green Bubbleroon

1/6 Red FUN Bar

Lashings Of So White Shower Gel

Video:

Verdict:

After watching Into The Woods one afternoon, I was inspired by this classic fairy tale-inspired cocktail, and knew it would be a great ending to a fairly wonderful Saturday. Not only was it a fairly straightforward recipe to follow, there was also very little involved in making it - making it great for those who don't want to use too many products for a single bath. 

While I'm unsure how the bubble bar fits in with the theme of Little Red Riding Hood, I figure the bubbleroon represents the forest, the FUN plays homage to her famous cloak, and the shower gel is reference to the very nature of it being a fairy tale to begin with. With my ingredients at the ready, I couldn't wait to escape reality with this fictional concoction. 

As all four of these products require you to crumble or pour them under the running tap, you can choose which order in which to add them. To begin with, I decided to hold and crumble the generous piece of Red FUN under the tap. This produced a beautiful and very warming orange bath, and filled the bathroom with a wave of sweet, mandarin and tangerine. 

Up next, I choose to crumble the Green Bubbleroon - which only served to deepen the orange colour in the water and give off a strong, robust 'green' aroma. As its name suggests, this product offers a beautiful, uplifting scent; a wonderful sweet but fresh aroma that smells like freshly cut grass with a generous splash of lime oil.

This happened to be the strongest element of the bath, despite the size of the piece that was used. I'd only suggest that you double the other ingredients if you wish for it to be further down in the mix. 

Up next, I decided to add in my 2-3 lashings of So White Shower Gel - the reason being that I thought the fresh, crisp apple aroma of the product would work really well when alongside the FUN and bubbleroon. And I was right.  Not only did it almost rival that of the bubbleroon in terms of its strength, but it softened the water and became noticeably more silky-soft within a matter of seconds.

Finally, I crumbled the Blue Skies And Fluffy White Clouds Bubble Bar, and this is where things changed rather dramatically. As I expected, this is the odd one out in the mix, yet there is something magnificent about its inclusion that makes it worthy of staying. 

Not only did it turn the water a strange but rather alluring shade of green, but the scent was one that needs to be experienced to be really appreciated fully. It definitely didn't compliment the other ingredients well, but thats not to say that it didn't 'work'. Instead, its presence created a cocktail that seemed almost disjointed, but one that was rather enjoyable at the same time.

Although I was disappointed with the lack of colour and bubbles by the time I climbed into the tub, this is definitely something very different from the usual bath cocktails I have, and for that reason, it was most certainly rounded my Saturday off to a winning finale. 

Vegan?: Yes.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Lush Cocktail: Let The Sparkler Show Begin!

Anonymous' 'Let The Sparkler Show Begin!' Cocktail

Contains:

1 Sparkler Bath Ballistic

1/2 Unicorn Bubble Bar

1/6th Star Light Star Bright Bath Melt

Video:

Verdict:

Deep in the darkest crevices of my Lush collection, I have a fair few favourites that only see the light of day when I'm looking for something special. Since its release last Halloween, The Sparkler has made a big impression on me - cementing itself as one of my all time favourite bath bombs. Unfortunately, I only managed to secure two before they were discontinued and I've been clinging to them ever since, hoping that Lush bring them back out again at some point. 

Tonight I needed a cocktail to rouse my spirits and this was the only item I seemed to crave. Coupled with a pair of odd choices for a cocktail , I was intrigued to find out where this recipe would take me, and thankfully it offered me everything I could possibly want, and more. 

To begin with, I crumbled half of a Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar under the running water. Sharing it's scent with the Christmas Hedgehog Bubble Bar and the very popular Noriko Soap, this bubble bar is a delicately sweet and lightly fragranced product that works wonders as a treat to help you settle before bed. It's a little creamy and malty like Twilight, while still retaining a very natural lavender aroma - one that isn't too potent at all.

After crumbling the bubble bar under the running water, the tub filled up with wonderfully soft and fragrant bubbles - although again, the lavender was strong enough to be appreciated but gentle enough that it wasn't overpowering. Admittedly, there wasn't as many bubbles as I would normally expect for a piece this size, but there was enough to keep most people happy. 

When The Sparkler hits the water, it immediately begins to bubble and froth - producing a thick, silky-soft layer of foam that coats the surface of the water and turns it a vibrant shade of golden-yellow. As the ballistic continues to work it's magic, streams of golden lustre ooze out and create stunning patterns across the surface.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Rose Jam Fragrance, this bath ballistic gives off a gorgeous scent; a sticky, sweet floral aroma like no other smell you have ever come across before. There's an abundance of rose oil here to give you that wonderful natural rose smell, while lemon oil elevates the floral element and adds a citrusy twist.

Finally, I added in the stump of Star Light Star Bright Bath Melt. Packed full of Cocoa butter, this is a bath product that promises to soften your skin and heal up those dry patches. The shea butter fondant centre inside this bath melt is rich and moisturising, creating a soft and creamy bath that not only relaxes you, but helps to relax your skin as well. It also contains coconut oil which hydrates, nourishes and strengthens the skin, making you ready to face the nasty winter weather.

Together, these products produced a stunning bath - one that packed a punch with the amount of fragrance it offered. While I would say that the Unicorn Horn doesn't do much aside add a helping of bubbles, the whole experience is stunning and one that I will use again with my last Sparkler.

This is a sweet but very floral orientated experience - a cocktail that offers a different experience when any other that I've tested out so far. I really hope that Lush bring The Sparkler back because I'm down to my last one now, and this cocktail is begging to be experienced again!  

Rating: 9.1 out of 10.

Vegan?: Yes.

Lush Cocktail: Sweetsy Lust

Ink's 'Sweetsy Lust' Cocktail

Contains:

1 Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb

1/2 Sunnyside Bubble Bar

1/2 Creamy Candy Bubble Bar

1/2 Floating Flower Bath Ballistic

Video:

Verdict:

Let's be honest - this cocktail requires an awful lot of products, so is probably one of the most expensive ones I've tried to date. While I am more than happy to test it out and review it for others, I'm aware that many will view this as a little too wasteful to be a regular bath. 

However, I will go ahead and say that this one is really worth the investment. In fact, you could easily half the Sunnyside and Creamy Candy portions, and perhaps even half the Shoot For The Stars if you're being careful with your products, and still enjoy a super amazing cocktail.

What is great about Sweetsy Lust is that all of the products are so vastly different in scent and colour, yet something about the sweetness that all four of them elevate allows for this cocktail to work, and work well. Furthermore, aside from Floating Island, both of the bubble bars are regular products that can be purchased at any time, and while you'd lose a little colour in the water, Shoot For The Stars can be replaced with Honey Bee when the Christmas stuff is not available. 

To begin with, I crumbled the Sunnyside Bubble Bar under the running tap. What started out as a product that I wasn't that fussed about, has since grown into one my favourite bubble bars - one that works well in pretty much any cocktail and adds that golden glow that makes the experience that little bit more special.

This bubble bar has a lovely citrus scent and offers a heap of golden lustre that swirls and pulsates under the water during the whole experience. Yet it doesn't make a mess of your tub and will wash away with ease afterwards. It also doesn't paint your skin with lustre either so you don't have to worry about leaving the bath looking like a glitter ball. 

Next I crumbled the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar under the running water and watched as the water instantly darkened and became a very beautiful golden colour. The vanilla and candy floss scent also intertwined with the citrus aroma already present and created a gorgeously uplifting and sweet fragrance. 

Once the water had finished running, I then added in the Floating Flower Ballistic. This has quite a strong jasmine smell - sharing its scent with the Lust family. While I thought it might overpower the other elements, it instead worked really well with the sweet and citrusy elements - losing some of its pungency and offering a delicate floral scent to give the cocktail another layer of smell. 

Finally, I added in the Shoot For The Stars which again changed the colour of the water - deepening it a little more and creating a beautiful pastel purple haven that I couldn't wait to submerge myself beneath. The Honey I Washed The Kids fragrance that it carries was the perfect finish to this cocktail - mixing the sweet and the citrus with the floral perfectly. 

While I do have a sweet tooth, I don't often want to indulge in a strictly candy-orientated bath. Sweetsy Lust has kept this in mind and introduced me to a way of getting my sugary fix but with some depth and a little more sophistication. Although this might have been an expensive cocktail to make, I will definitely be stocking up on my Shoot For The Stars so I can appreciate this every so often.    

Rating: 9.1 out of 10.

Vegan?: Yes.