More Tea And Sympathy Bath Bomb

As a British person, I am only too aware of how obsessed this nation is about their tea. I have had many strange looks directed my way when explaining that I happen to find the famous hot beverage to be rather on the boring side, and I'm sure I have severed possible connections with people simply because of my disinterest in everything tea-related.

Yet the design of More Tea And Sympathy Bath Bomb reeled me in faster than a sleeping fish on a conveyer belt. The mere fact that the bath bomb was shaped like a tea pot had me salivating from the word go; the vibrant pink design caused my lips to quiver; and the little blue cornflower petals that decorated the outer side of the bath bomb was enough to throw me into a frenzy.

Strangely enough, my initial thought was that it was the same fragrance as the classic Tea And Sympathy Bath Bomb, albeit slightly bigger and with a better design. However, when comparing the two ingredients, it's obvious to see that the two products merely share similar names but little else in character.

Firstly, I should probably start by describing how wonderful the scent of this bath bomb is. With lashings of bergamot, neroli and green tea absolute, the result is a sweet, musky floral aroma with a gentle herbal shout out underneath.  Alongside this, the inclusion of an Earl Grey tea bag inside of the bath bomb adds a wholesome tea-like fragrance that rounds the scent of this off wonderfully. 

The fragrance of More Tea And Sympathy is both well pronounced and strong in its composure, yet gentle enough to make it far more beautiful than something too overly potent or toxic. Although you can smell the scent of this throughout your entire experience in the tub, it is not in any way overbearing or toxic - which means it helps you to unwind far more quickly, while still cradling your senses while you're bathing.

Not only a gimmick, the inclusion of the tea bag and green tea absolute helps to clarify your skin while you are in the water, so I found that I felt really clean and smooth after my experience. While there was nothing else in the ingredients list to suggest why this was the case, I also found the water to be extremely moisturising, which left my skin looking and feeling really replenished.

My only piece of advice for when using this bath bomb is use a sieve when it is dissolving, if you wont wish to clog up your drainage system. While the blue cornflowers leave a beautiful decoration on the surface of the water, these pieces are small enough that they will disappear down the drain far quicker than a rabbit down a rabbit hole. It was easier for me to catch the petals while it was dissolving, than trying to scoop them out before pulling the plug. 

Overall, despite the hefty price tag, this bath bomb offers a wonderful experience in the water, and your skin will be enjoying its moisturising capabilities for hours after you have exited the tub. This is definitely one that I would buy again, but only when I have a good amount of time to appreciate it in the water. A twenty minute dip would just feel like a waste when the bath bomb is one of the most expensive ones available.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Water (Aqua), Bergamot Oil, Green Tea Absolute, Neroli Oil, Cream of Tartar, Blue Cornflowers, Dipropylene Glycol, Sodium Coco Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 45410, Colour 15850:1, Earl Grey Teabag.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £7.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

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Tea And Sympathy Bath Bomb

For someone who considers them self to be fairly intelligent, I don't know why I didn't think about the ingenious concept of bathing alongside a tea bag or two. Known for being incredibly detoxifying and softening on the skin, it's the perfect bathing companion, and one that will be making a reappearance alongside many of the cocktails that I concoct in the future.

Tea And Sympathy Bath Bomb is easily one of the most boring ballistics that Lush have ever produced. However, it doesn't need to be particularly attractive when the name is enough to warrant a good many sales. Add in the unique feature of including a tea bag at its core, and you've already appealed to the British mentality - enough to sell a batch or two without too much of a problem.

What immediately struck my about this bath bomb, when it arrived, was that it smelt very different to what I had envisaged. Described as being 'like white and green tea', I was expecting something very two-dimensional and perhaps a little bitter. However, what I found was that this bath bomb was far sweeter and prettier than I had initially given it credit for.

Containing calamine powder and chamomile oil as the two key components, I expected the bath bomb to be very overpowering and medicinal smelling. Instead I found Tea And Sympathy had all of the refreshing, herbal properties of both ingredients, but with a wonderful musky layer alongside this. The olibanum oil really does work its magic at sweetening the chamomile and offering an almost resinous quality to the bath bomb.

While the clary sage is one of the last ingredients, I could really appreciate the prevalent herbal thread that is featured because of this. Despite the fact that every component works in harmony with each other, you can definitely make out each ingredient individually as well, which makes this one of the prettiest smells that I have experienced from Lush in a while.

Having said this, the bath bomb still wouldn't win any awards in the tub. Upon contact with the water, Tea And Sympathy begins to froth and fizz, and it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes for the product to dissolve completely. While puddles of white froth and bubbles pattern the surface, these disappear very quickly, and you are left with a very boring-looking bath. This bath bomb does not colour the water at all, and if it wasn't for the lovely smell radiating off of the water, and the single tea bag floating across the water, you wouldn't really be able to tell that you've used a product in there at all.

In it's defence, the bath bomb is rather moisturising and softening, without being at all greasy. The inclusion of the tea bag definitely helps to purify and detoxify your skin during bathing, and you'll find that your pores will feel much clearer afterwards. 

Having said that, I found that the fragrance faded during my experience, and after using a couple of stronger products, I was no longer able to detect the smell at all. Furthermore, the aroma didn't permeate my skin enough to leave any sort of impression afterwards either.

Overall, this bath bomb is definitely one you have to try, but perhaps not one you need to rush out and buy. Although its not one that I need to have at all times in my life, I would definitely say that adding a couple of colours to Tea And Sympathy would make it far more appealing, and one that I would be far more inclined to buy.   

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Soya Milk Powder, Calamine Powder, Perfume, Chamomile Blue Oil, Olibanum Oil, Clary Sage Oil, Water (Aqua), Chamomile Tea Bag, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 42090, Colour 19140.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £4.25 each.

Year Of Original Release: ?

Boom! Toothy Tabs

By this stage into my toothy tabs exploration, I'm pretty sold on the range of flavours that are now available, and very happy to continue using these for the foreseeable future. While on paper some of them don't immediately jump out at me as potential favourites, I've learnt to enjoy and relish in the weird and wonderful concoctions that Lush have come up with as alternatives to toothpaste.

Boom! Toothy Tabs is one for the brave - a product that doesn't initially look or sound like it's going to do much in the way for your oral health. Presented as powdery charcoal-coloured tablets, this product actually looks more like it's going to do more damage to your teeth than clean and whiten them. In fact, images of Calypso's pearlies in the Pirates Of The Caribbean films sprang to mind when I originally began to use these. 

Containing a strange combination of chilli and gunpowder tea, these tabs are supposed to cleanse and freshen your whole mouth - leaving your teeth sparkling white and your breath equally refreshed. Aside from prolonging life, boasting your immune system and strengthening your heart, gunpowder tea (and green tea in general) is known for it's ability to reduce and remove unwanted bacteria in the body. 

Containing a component known as catechins, the tea uses this to inhibit the production of an enzyme called gyrase, which is needed by bacteria to flourish and multiply in the body. Gunpowder tea helps to eradicate this enzyme, reducing the chance of getting an infection as well as helping to alleviate existing bacterial infections that may be present in the mouth.

These particular tabs feature a number of ingredients that I was unsure about and had to research before trying them out for myself - not only to understand how and why any or all of Lush's toothy tab works, but also to educate others about the benefits they hold in this product; dicalcium phosphate anhydrous is the main ingredient in these toothy tabs and is a component used to help supplement the body's calcium intake, not to mention preventing the build up of tartar in the mouth; sorbitol is a natural alternative to sugar, which allows Lush to add flavour to this product without adding anything that'll rot your teeth; Lauroyl Sarcosine not only helps the product to foam up in the mouth, but is also used to remove unwanted bacteria that may cause problems in the future.

Featuring both lime oil and black pepper, these toothy tabs have a strange flavour that takes some getting used to. In the bottle, Boom! smells heavily of the lime with an almost powdery charcoal element alongside this. In the mouth, these tabs are very similar - tasting rather citrusy with a gentle homage to the black pepper and an even subtler chilli element that can barely be registered at all. 

To use them you simply pop a tab into your mouth, crunch down using your front teeth, wet your toothbrush and begin to brush your teeth as normal. The powdery mixture reacts with the water and the cream of tartar creates a foam that freshens your mouth and cleans away any stubborn pieces of food that may be lingering around. Unlike some of Lush's other tabs I have tried, this one melts almost immediately upon contact with moisture and you won't need to crunch these at all.

What I liked about these tabs was that they produced a rather generous foam when in use - something that some of the newer toothy tabs do not do. I found that I could continue brushing my teeth for a good 5 minutes without running out of product and they left my mouth feeling thoroughly clean. 

Unfortunately, these tabs do tend to stain your tooth brush a little and by the end of the first week I was left with a blackened brush in the bathroom. However, they definitely do not stain your teeth or indeed your skin so you don't have to worry about any discolouration happening while these are in use. 

While these tabs won't leave you with amazingly minty-fresh breath, and this may be something you'll have to get used to, it does leave a pleasant taste on the palette and provides you with clean-feeling teeth. Out of all of the new flavours that have made an appearance this year, these happen to be one of my favourites and I would definitely recommend that you try them out for yourself. 

Containing enough tabs for three months of daily brushing once or twice, this small bottle will last you a long time. And while they may work out a little more expensive than a tub of toothpaste, they're definitely worth the price tag - if only for the novelty of trying a flavour that is far more interesting than the hum drum of mint that you may be used to. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Sodium Bicarbonate, Charcoal, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Lauroyl Sarcosine, Sorbitol,  Kaolin, Fine Sea Salt, Flavour, Persian Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Aniseed Oil (lilicium verum), Black Pepper Oil (Piper nigrum), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax tonkinensis), Powdered Gunpowder Tea (Camellia sinensis), Organic Ground Chilli (Capsicum frutescens), Sodium saccharin, Citral, Limonene.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

Zen Soap

While a product has to be extremely special for me to award it the full six out of six, there are occasions where a product comes out of nowhere and blows me away so much so that I cannot justify NOT giving it full marks. Often the products that become my firm favourites are these same items - the ones that I had no previous expectations for, only for them to wipe the slate clean and demand my full attention.

Zen Soap happens to be the first soap that I gravitated towards after picking up my much-needed chunk of Sea Salted Caramel. Although the description didn't sell it to me in the shop, it was its gorgeous design that swayed my decision into buying a chunk to take home with me. And was I grateful that I did!

Presented as a large ring, this stunning soap looks like it's black in colour. However, on closer inspection you'll realise that it's actually a deep and very shimmery dark spring green. This rich and very gorgeous design has lustre threaded throughout the whole soap which when you cut it, looks a little like a galaxy of stars. To finish off, this beauty is painted with a thin layer of gold that makes this one of the most beautiful soaps that Lush have ever released. 

As if the design wasn't perfect enough, this soap offers more than just a fragrance - I would describe it as being more of an experience. With a white tea infusion as the main ingredient, Zen smells like a mug of chai tea with an extra dollop of cinnamon and a generous spoonful of patchouli. If you love Karma as I do, you'll recognise that sweet, exotic and slightly earthy aroma that you would normally expect from products in this scent family. However, in the case of this soap, the patchouli sits back a little in the mix and allows the other notes to come through more strongly. 

Lush describe the soap as being 'deeply medatitive' and I would wholeheartedly agree. With a blend of oudh, sandalwood and patchouli, this is a very relaxing, earthy scent - one that combines the fresh, woody aroma of sandalwood with the fruity, spicy patchouli perfectly.

As if the scent wasn't enough to win me over, this soap works amazingly well in the shower. When in contact with water, it produces a thick, creamy and slightly oily lather that glides over the skin and infuses your body with its beautiful aroma. Once the soap suds have been rinsed away, you're left with crisp, clean, smooth feeling skin. While a lot of lustre has gone into making this soap, I can assure you that none will get on your skin and or leave a mess in your tub for you to clean up afterwards. 

To reiterate what I said earlier, this is more than just a soap. I say this because not only was my body left feeling and smelling pretty amazing, but the fragrance itself left me feeling really calm and relaxed, and I definitely noticed a change in my mood after using this in the shower. 

What is great about Zen is that while it's not as moisturising as a shower gel, my skin was left feeling really radiant and soft - something that not a lot of other soaps can claim to do. While I was disappointed to find that the scent of this wasn't very strong on my skin afterwards, I was grateful to know that I could still sniff my piece whenever I wanted. 

Although £6.50 might sound like a lot for a small 100g piece, this is a soap that doesn't alter much in size between each use so it'll outlast a lot of other cheaper Lush soaps available. I will definitely be buying a large chunk of this when I'm next in the store and I hope Lush make this a regular so I can stock up whenever I need to. 

Quantitative Ingredients: White Tea Infusion (Camelila sinensus), Glycerine, Rapeseed oil: Coconut Oil (Brassica napus: Cocoa nucifera), Sorbitol, Water (Aqua), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Chloride, Labdanum Resinoid (Cistus labdaniferus), Sandalwood Oil (Santalum austro-caledonicum viell), Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Eugenol, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citral, Eugenol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Gold Glimmer Lustre (Synthetic Fluorphogopite, Iron Oxide Silica), Colour 77492, Colour 77891, Colour 42000.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £6.50 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

Scent Family: 
Goddess Bath Bomb

Zen Soap

Willow Pattern Soap

One of my favourite aspects about Lush is the backstories and inspirations behind some their products. There's nothing more romantic than knowing one of your favourite cosmetics has been created from an old poem or story, and this soap is one such item. 

I first came across Willow Pattern Soap back in 2012, when Lush brought it out as part of their limited edition Valentine's Day range. Designed to play homage to the popular classic white and blue etchings known as 'willow pattern', this soap was inspired by the story that gives these designs their name. Featuring jinxed lovers, revenge, death and tragedy, the tale is enough to put anyone off love forever. 

To look at, this soap is one of the most stunning designs that Lush have ever released. From a distance, it looks rather plain - a hard block of white with lines of shimmery-blue etched across the top. In fact, if you've only got a small chunk, you may find that it doesn't look any prettier closer up either. However, when you marvel the full design of the soap, you cannot help but be mesmerised by the intricate patterns that decorate the surface of the soap, and whether or not you enjoy the scent, it's worth buying a piece just to marvel these patterns up close.

Described as a rose and lemon soap, Willow Pattern has a distinctive floral smell, which is very similar in scent to the Rose Jam Bubbleroon and shower gel. The immediate aroma that this product gives off is a creamy but equal poignant rose scent - it's not as sugary as the Rose Jam range but at the same time, it's not as powdery as Tisty Tosty. It sits somewhere in the middle of these two scents and is the perfect balance of rose and sweetness. 

The sicilian lemon compliments the rose scent perfectly and just adds an uplifting element to the overall fragrance - the white tea infusion also adds a subtle underlying presence that gives the soap a herbal element. Although I can detect each and every one of the above ingredients, it's predominantly rose-scented, which makes the soap wonderfully fresh and sultry.      

In the shower, Willow Pattern lathers up really well and produces a thick, creamy lather to massage all over your body. However, unlike most of Lush's other soaps, the lather from this one has almost a clay consistency - a little like what you'd get when using Big Conditioner or Fresh Farmacy Soap. 

The product leaves your skin feeling really clean and soft, although it did dry my hands out a little when I was massaging this between my palms. I focused mostly on using this soap on my legs and found that it worked as a great alternative to shaving cream. It kept my legs moisturised and lubricated but taut enough that I didn't cut myself whilst shaving. 

A 100g block will set you back a little over £4, which makes it one of the most expensive soaps you can buy from Lush. However, it's one of those compact soaps that last a lot longer than the softer variations. I found that when I kept this dry between uses, a chunk could easily last me almost two months, which makes it good value for money. 

It leaves your skin smelling wonderfully floral when you leave the shower, and I would recommend this more for females than males. The strong rose scent is definitely not an old-fashioned scent, but it would definitely appeal to girls more than boys. I hope that Lush bring this out again in the near future as I would appreciate getting myself a few more blocks to see me through the year. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, White Tea Infusion (Camellia sinensis), Rapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Kaolin, Water (Aqua), Cornflour (Zea Mays), Talc, Perfume, Titanium Dioxide, Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena), EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Synethic Fluorphlogopite, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Linalool, Limonene, Colour 77510.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £4.95 for 100g.

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Aquatic Toothy Tabs

The other day, when I was reviewing Ultrablast, I thought that I had tried all of the toothy tabs in the range; until I discovered a half finished box of Aquatic toothy tabs and realised there was one final review I needed to write. Needless to say, I was probably far more excited by this fact than I should have been.

Composed of bicarbonate of soda, Kaolin powder, Sensha tea powder and Jasmine absolute, these tabs don't sound like something that would taste particularly nice to brush your teeth with. However, I know now that I can usually trust Lush with their strange and sometimes opposing flavour combinations, as most of the time, they usually create something quite wonderful and unique.  

Aquatic Toothy Tabs gently clean your teeth whilst leaving a slight floral aftertaste in your mouth. Simply nibble between your front teeth to break up the tab and start brushing. As it foams, the bicarbonate of soda gets to work whitening your teeth and joins forces with kaolin powder to remove plaque and build up. The tabs also contain a very mild abrasive to get rid of tough plaque and fine sea salt, a natural antiseptic, to give teeth that sparklingly clean feeling. 

These tabs have a subtle scent; one that I wouldn't immediately associate with tea, but that grows over time to reveal the slight woody scent of Earl Grey. I'm not a fan of tea, and when I first thought of brushing my teeth with this scent, it made me feel a little queasy. However, despite being able to pick up a slight earthy taste, it's mild enough to be pleasant, even to those who don't drink the stuff! With added jasmine oil, lime oil and wakame seaweed, you get a slight tart after taste, which makes these tabs a little bit more refreshing, without being too potent on the taste buds.

Aquatic is probably one of the more a delicate-flavoured tabs, which takes a little bit of getting used to for those of you who normally brush your teeth with a strong, minty flavoured tooth paste. In fact, to begin with, I wasn't sure I liked these as the flavour was weak and I was worried they weren't cleaning my teeth properly. However, after a few days of use, I found that I soon became accustomed to the gentle aromatic flavour and began to really appreciate not having to wash the flavour away before I could eat anything. 

These tabs are one of the more softer variations, meaning that you have to get your brush in quick otherwise the tab will just disintegrate on your tongue and leave a sticky residue in your mouth. However, they make your teeth and tongue feel really smooth and properly clean after just a single use.

One box (which contains roughly 40 tabs) will last you around three weeks, although at £3.50 a box, this is definitely more expensive than a normal tube of toothpaste. However, the results speak for themselves; my teeth felt clean throughout the entire day without the overpowering minty aftertaste that I disliked about using normal toothpaste. 

Although I was a little skeptical about these tabs tasting of Earl Grey tea, I soon discovered that the flavour is very mild, so you don't have to be a fan of the English delicacy to enjoy and use this product. In fact, I would go as far as saying that the lime was the more prominent taste here, which made them sweeter than I expected.

Overall, these are the second flavour of toothy tab that I have been more than satisfied with and I will definitely be buying these again in the future. However, these will only be bought every few months to change up my morning routine as I preferred Breath of God toothy tabs and these are £1 cheaper!

I am genuinely saddened that I have reached the end of my toothy tab exploration as I have enjoyed testing out the different flavour combinations. This is not my favourite flavour by any means, but it is one that I'll use again in the future. 

They are ideal for taking away on holiday or an overnight stay, and are handy to keep in your bag in case you need to freshen up during the day. My only issue is being able to store them in my bathroom, without wetting the box and destroying them all.

Quantitative Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sorbitol, Lauroyl Sarcosine, Kaolin, Organic Sencha Tea Powder, Jasmine Absolute, Lime Oil, Wakame Seaweed Powder, Fair Trade Organic Earl Grey Leaves, Fine Sea Salt, Sodium Saccharin, Flavour, *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

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