Error 404 Bath Bomb (2016 Edition)

The very existence of this blog is evidence enough to show that I am a consumer, perhaps even more so than a lot of people who browse or read this page. However, in recent years, the hysteria that seems to have centralised around America's 'first official Christmas shopping day' has become somewhat of a farce. 

For this reason, I cannot say that I was overjoyed when I heard that Lush were unleashing a campaign to coincide with Black Friday. Having said that, I had enough faith in the company to know that their involvement was not going to rely solely on consumerism, at least not without a worthy cause behind it. And I was right. 

Error 404 is an ecquisitely-designed bath bomb; a product that begs an audience, with its name carefully crafted and protruding from its own belly, and a fine layer of golden lustre coating the surface like a high-end, designer coat. It's a bath bomb that both wants and deserves the attention it gets, which is why Lush have chosen such a beauty to help them spread their latest message and collect some money for an amazing cause.

Using the hashtag #KeepItOn, the company have been raising awareness of a serious issue in which many governments around the world, have been blocking or limiting the use of internet service providers in their countries - in order to silence the public from sharing these issues with the rest of the world. Blocking internet access during protests, debates, elections and many other important events has been one way that authorities in particular regions have been able to manipulate and oppress what gets shared with the public outside of their countries. 

The digital organisation Access Now has documented over 50 internet shutdowns in 2016 alone, and the number is only increasing. That’s why on Black Friday 2016 (25th November), Lush and Access Now launched the global #KeepItOn campaign against internet shutdowns, and along with it, the limited edition Error 404 Bath Bomb. All the profits from this bath bomb go to the Digital Fund, supporting AccessNow and grassroots digital activism. In addition, social awareness has been a high priority surrounding this cause, in order to educate a large audience of a problem that many people are simply not aware of.

Aside from the political reason behind the release of this bomb, there is also the consumer side that recognises how well-constructed this new release is. Sporting a new scent, which I happen to think is even better than the original, Error 404 is such a beautiful ballistic to bathe with, and here's why.

While the ingredients list states that vanilla absolute and gardenia extract are the key components, describing it as vanilla-scented would be rather misleading. To me, this bath bomb smells like dark treacle - a rich, intoxicating, sticky, sugary smell with a very subtle spicy element to it. Despite it being a strong smell, I wouldn't describe it as being particularly heavy, and impressively it seems to maintain the aroma once it has dissolved in water. 

Much like the original design, this bomb sheds its golden shell very quickly when it hits the water - decorating the surface with swirls of lustre that pattern the water for the most part of the experience. Once the bath is being drained, the lustre washes away with ease, and I didn't notice any on my skin or across the edges of the bath afterwards. 

Error 404 is quite a quick fizzer, but it's a fairly quiet one, so I suggest that you submerge yourself and watch as the waves of blue and green colour the bath water a beautiful shade of turquoise. It is definitely one of the prettiest colours that I've seen come from a bath bomb. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Vanilla Absolute, Gardenia Extract, Water (Aqua), Laureth 4, DRF Alcohol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, Perfume, Antique Gold Lustre; Bronze Splendour Lustre; Glacier Blue Lustre, Colour 42053.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £4.04 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2016.