Before now, the appeal of these types of gift sets have never really been that prevalent in my purchases. I much prefer the boxes and tins that I can reuse afterwards, as I find designs such as this one is more of a novelty, and doesn't really serve much of a purpose once the products have been used up.
Having said this, as one of only two regular gift sets containing Spring Bunny Bath Bomb, I couldn't resist the idea of stocking up in case I didn't manage to grab any of these Oxford Street exclusive ballistics in the store itself. And in fairness to this brand new release, I think the selection found inside is more than worth the price tag.
What is great about Bouncy Bunny is that it offers a lovely selection of seasonal and regular products - a set that showcases some of the more popular bath and shower items from this year's Easter range. Given that there is a both a jelly and a soap featured here, it's surprising to consider the fact that collectively this gift set could easily stretch out across a couple of months. While you'll need to top up with a couple of bath bombs if you're a regular bather, the shower items have longevity, and this would be very appealing to someone looking for a set that's going to last.
Priced up at £18.95, the price tag might at first seem a little high. For the size of the collection and the small list of products inside, I can completely understand why some people might shy away from purchasing this to begin with. However, when you consider the fact that the four products inside add up to a little under £14, and the full-size knot wrap that decorates the outside would cost £4 by itself, I think it works out good value for money.
Overall, this is a great little gift to offer someone who is not looking to over-indulge in chocolate during the festive season. For a cosmetics fan, this is the perfect pint-sized alternative - one that gives them an overview of some of Lush's new releases, while offering at least one epic night in the tub.
After a long and rather expensive first part to the year, this purchase symbolises what I hope is the last seasonal item for a while. Although I know that Lush should be bringing out their Fathers' Day range at some point, the fact that I've already ordered the range from Spain, means that I shouldn't have to buy anything more (aside from any Kitchen releases) until the Halloween collection towards the end of the year.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow is the last Oxford Street exclusive to make an appearance in the shop - a bath bomb that is currently only available in the flagship store, but which I hope makes an appearance in the Kitchen at some point during the Easter releases. If not for the desire to ensure that every Lushie has the chance to at least try this product for themselves, I hope it's made available worldwide for the simple fact that it is such a great bath bomb, and needs to be experienced.
Sharing its scent with the soap of the same name, the fragrance lends itself far better to this format. While the design hints that this ballistic will be a fruity experience, it's rather intriguing them to discover that it is very different from the citrus affair I was expecting.
Containing neroli, mandarin and rose, the smell of this is like a woody, rose aroma, with a sickly sweet note that reminds me a little of Hot Milk? Bubble Bar. Initially, you get both the rose and the neroli - the former offering the usual powdery, dry floral component; the latter bringing a sort of metallic, green scent, with uplifting but spicy facets that give this bath bomb a woody, grassy aroma.
Alongside these two notes is a gentle and rather dry mandarin element. It's definitely not the usual fruity, zesty smell you'd expect from such an ingredient, and instead reminds me a little of those pot pourri sets you purchase that have slices of dried fruit added alongside the other components.
What is impressive about Somewhere Over The Rainbow is that it omits a very strong, long-lasting aroma - yet one that isn't overbearing, neither inside the packet or when combined with water. This is a fragrance that is as robust as it is delicate; one that'll linger on your skin and hair for hours after you've exited the bath, yet one that doesn't dominate other products when you're in the bath. For this reason, I consider it to be near enough a perfect bomb.
Upon contact with the water, the ballistic immediately begins to fizz, albeit quietly, and releases wave after wave of thick, colourful foam across the surface of the tub. At first, the outer peach-coloured layer froths and sends an impressive wave of foam across the water; the orange layer following suit, and the inner purple layer finishing last.
While the ballistic dissolves slowly and silently in the water, trails of blue, orange, yellow, purple and green also begin to burst from the bath bomb, and you end up with all seven colours of the rainbow on display while the product is doing its job. Although these colours soon dissolve into the water and leave behind a vivid, orange tub of water to bathe in, the colours create patterns across the surface while they're still present, which is beautiful to observe.
Once the product has finished, the bath water is as bright and vibrant as it is fragrant, and I found that I could detect the scent the whole way through my experience, not matter what other products I used while in the tub. The bath bomb was also rather moisturising on the skin, although not overly so. My skin was really soft and smooth after bathing in its water, and it cleared up a couple of the dry patches that I had developed on my hands.
For a bath bomb I wasn't particularly enamoured by because of its description, I was so surprised that I loved it as much as I did. Not being a fan of the soap led me to believe that I was going to find the aroma of this to be too potent in the hot water for my liking. However, I found that it worked incredibly well, and created a fresh and exciting bath that I was sad to leave.
Ultimately, this is a unique and very surprising bath bomb - standing out like a sore thumb amongst the many other citrus-dominated bubble bars and bath bombs that have banded together to form this year's Easter range. This is for those that want something different from the family of Brazilian orange oil inspired products that have been released, and different it definitely is.
As I am making a conscious effort to not stock up on every product that makes an appearance in Oxford Street, I won't be buying many more of these. However, this is not because of the bath bomb itself, which I think is easily one of my favourites to come out this year. If you can get to Oxford Street, try your best to grab a couple of these - if you don't live within means of a visit, set a date to order a couple of these when they (hopefully) make an appearance in the Kitchen.
Whenever Lush bring out a new seasonal range, I tend to purchase a number of 'must haves' online, and then pop down to Oxford Street to grab the entire collection on the same day. The reason being that while I want to get my greedy mitts on the products as soon as I possibly can, I'd rather have not cart a large bag of goodies home with me, unless it's absolutely necessary.
When I discovered that Spring Bunny was only going to be sold individually in the flagship store, I decided to purchase two of the gift sets online - both of which had the ballistic as part of their collection. This was to ensure that I would receive them fairly quickly, just in case Oxford Street didn't have them in stock.
The Carrot was one such set, and as I'd already purchased a slightly different variation last year, I thought it was only fitting that I continue the trend. Made from a thin cardboard, with a tissue paper finish for grass, this limited release is shaped like a large carrot - the outer shell a combination of orange, purple and pink stripes that also happen to glow in the dark.
Marked up at £19.95, I'd say that this was a little on the pricer side. Individually, I reached a total of just under £16 for all four of the items, which means that you are paying a hefty £4 for the outer shell. For that sort of price tag, I would expect a reusable box or tin, and given that the nature of this gift set and how difficult it would be to find a use for the elongated packaging afterwards, it does seem a bit overpriced for what is essentially a novelty.
Having said that, it is a unique and rather interesting looking alternative to the usual chocolate-themed gifts that people give each other during Easter. Rather than paying for the novelty of having chocolate in the shape of an egg, you're just opting to invest in the privilege of having cosmetics encased in a giant, multicoloured vegetable.
Overall, this is definitely worth it if you're unable to get to Oxford Street and pick up the Spring Bunny for yourself, and perhaps in hindsight, the price reflects this fact a little. However, it's not really a collection I would have invested in, had I known that the aforementioned bath bomb was going to be as easy as it was to acquire.
'Til Jen threw him in, filmed his guts, watched them spew,
All for the sake of her latest review.
On closer inspection of the different seasonal releases, I've released that it is only during the Easter range that Lush opt to bring out the 'bigger' bath bombs. Although I know that they have brought out Valentine and Christmas editions across the years, the larger ballistics have predominantly been featured in the Easter range, at least since I began to buy regularly from Lush all those years ago.
Humpty Dumpty Bath Bomb is no exception - a rather large ovoid shape that may look bigger than the usual bombs from Lush, but one that is hollow inside so doesn't weigh that much more than its older siblings. Having said that, the bomb is not as hollow as the likes of Love Locket and Which Came First?, so you definitely get more for your money.
One of two larger ballistics featured in the Easter range, this one is brand new this year, but shares its scent, for the most part, with the Honey I Washed The Kids range. Priced up at £6.95, this marvellous release is quite a hefty investment for consumers, and this may stunt the popularity of the little guy when compared to other less expensive alternatives. However, when compared to the price of a good quality chocolate egg, Humpy Dumpty is far more appealing and better value overall.
The idea behind the bath bomb is that you crack it open and use it across multiple baths; with the size of each half being comparable to that of a normal bath bomb. Furthermore, when broken apart, you'll find that there is a miniature bath bomb in the shape of an egg, and this can either be thrown in with one of the halves, or used by itself or as part of a cocktail.
While other bloggers have stated that this bath bomb has the same fragrance as the Honey I Washed The Kids aroma, I would say that there is definitely a slight difference - especially if you were to compare it to the likes of Shoot For The Stars, which is a straight forward replica. There is definitely something unique about this smell that isn't found in other products.
First of all, I could definitely smell the HIWTK fragrance when I removed the bomb from its packaging. This part of Humpty Dumpty offers a sweet and rather sickly combination of orange and caramel - a duo that is both playful and rather sophisticated as well. There is definitely something very unique about this combination, and its presence is there from the get-go with this bath bomb.
Having said this, there is also a rather powdery component to the smell, and you also get a stronger note of bergamot as well. To me, this bath bomb was far more musky smelling and slightly more grassy than your typical HIWTK-scented products, and I appreciated the difference.
In the water, this ballistic is a very fast fizzer, and despite its size, the whole product dissolves in under a minute. As soon as it comes into contact with the water, it sends out waves of vivid blue and pastel pink froth across the surface of the water. As the bomb continues to dissolve, the fried egg in the middle begins to seep through, and both this and the bow on the front offer a little trail of yellow in the mix.
Once the product has fully dissolved, you're left with a sea of blue water to bathe in and a scent that is as strong as it was before the ballistic was used. Both of these features retain their strength throughout the experience and you exit the bath with a gentle sweet toffee-eque scent on your skin afterwards.
While it's not overly nourishing, it's definitely a moisturising bath bomb, and one that gave my skin a lovely soft feel about it. I chose to use the whole bomb at once, and found this offered a really lovely, wholesome experience. Judging by how strong the scent and colour of this bath was, I'm certain that using half will also heed fantastic results.
Overall, I think this is definitely more of a novelty bath bomb - one you would buy as a one-off gift for someone else, or as a treat for yourself - something different from one of the regular bath bombs. While Humpty Dumpty omits a lovely smell, and definitely a little step away from the typical HIWTK replicas, I still think that Shoot For The Stars is far more visually pleasing and better value for money overall.
For this reason, one is more than enough for me, and this wont be one I stock up on before it disappears. However, it definitely has many merits as a product, and I'm not saying that it's a bad product at all - just that it would be far more appealing if it wasn't such a wallet strain.
Aesthetically pleasing to the eye, with a miscellany of colourful swirls to garnish its exterior, Down The Rabbit Hole is what most Lush fans would call the 'perfect bubble bar'. Epitomising the company with its bright, fun and rather exciting design, this limited release represents the approaching spring time wonderfully - the promise of fresh, fruity fragrances and newly sprung colonies of flowers.
While its diameter would almost equal that of The Comforter, it is thinner in size - a bar that will easily offer you two luxurious baths, or 3 - 4 if you're looking for a slightly more reserved experience. However you choose to use this unique product, you can be assured that it'll be the perfect remedy after a long day's work.
When I heard that this bar was supposed to share its scent with Layer Cake Soap, I was far too excited than you would expect a normal person to be about a bubble bar. One of my favourite soaps from the original Oxford Street exclusive catalogue, the idea of a bath product with as much zest and fruity goodness, was enough to send me into a frenzy.
Unfortunately, while I do really like the smell of Down The Rabbit Hole, and I can see the resemblance between the two products, I wouldn't say that the fragrance has been replicated perfectly, or as well as I was expecting it to at the very least.
Firstly, the aroma of the bubble bar is surprisingly subtle. Not only would you expect a bubble bar so vivid to possess a far stronger fragrance, but Lush products in general tend to be more potent than other brands, and this was simply not the case with this particular release. If you enjoy gentle scents, and find that Lush can sometimes be a little too overpowering, this might appeal to you; If, like me, you prefer the more powerful aromas, you might be slightly disappointed.
Occasionally I find myself struggling to describe the scent of a product, and this was one of those incidents to begin with, hence why I haven't reviewed it until now. To my nose, this product has elements of raspberry, orange and lemon in it - a smell that blends so closely together that it's hard to really decipher and pick out the different components by themselves.
The fragrance is quite a thick and almost 'cloudy' one - one that seems heavy and compressed, but as I said above, not very potent. The smell almost gives you the impression that the fragrances have come from dried fruit as opposed to fresh fruit, and together they remind me a little of mixed fruit cordial. Unfortunately, the bubble bar was far from the zesty, uplifting experience that the soap offered me - instead giving off much more of a sweet, comforting and fruity aroma.
Aside from its smell, Down The Rabbit Hole is fairly easy to crumble under the water, and half a bar will heed enough bubbles to give you an all-round comforting experience. The bar will turn your water a vivid orange colour and will soften your bath water as you would expect any of Lush's bubble bars to do so. It definitely doesn't stand out as being overly moisturising, but it'll leave you with lovely soft skin afterwards. The scent itself, although 'quieter' than other products, remained detectable throughout the experience, and you'll leave the tub with a gentle aroma to carry around with you for a short while.
Overall, this is a lovely addition to the Lush family, and I can see this being a favourite for many of those who cannot get enough of the brand's more fruity fragrances. I for one enjoyed the fact that this featured a new smell in a bath format, and I did feel very contented once I had left the bath. However, I do feel slightly underwhelmed with how beautiful the design is compared to the complexity of the aroma, and I do feel as if the Layer Cake scent was not as impressive as it was in the soap format.
