Lush DIY: Mumkin Shower Gel

It was only a matter of time before I found new ways to enjoy my Lush products. Now that I have tried pretty much everything that Lush are currently offering in their shops and I'm on top of my Lush Kitchen orders, I have a little spare time to experiment and convert my favourite Lush products into other formats.

While I may possess one of the largest Lush shower gel collections in England, I obviously don't have enough to satisfy my cravings and I'm always on the lookout for more fragrances to take with me into the shower. After receiving a fresh Mumkin Bubble Bar from the Lush Kitchen last week, I fell in love with the wonder aroma all over again and just knew I had to have this in shower gel format. 

Video:

Review:

What you'll need:

-A bowl 

-A Spoon

-A rolling pin or something strong enough to crush the bubble bar

-An empty plastic bottle (preferably 250g)

-A funnel 

-1 whole Mumkin Bubbleroon 

-200g of unscented Shower Gel

Begin by measuring out the amount of shower gel that you'll need for this project. This time around I used an empty 250g Lush bottle so I roughly filled 4/5ths of the bottle. As per usual, I used the unscented shower gel from Calmer Solutions as I find that this has always worked perfectly in my DIY projects and results in amazing shower gel.   

Place the bubble bar into the bowl and use the rolling pin to crush the product as much as you can. You could probably grate this if you wanted to, but I found this method much easier and quicker - and much more satisfying! Don't worry too much if the bubbleroon is not completely crushed - you can easily wizz it through a blender if you're worried. However, the composition of Lush's bubble bars and bubbleroons means that when they're mixed with the wet ingredients, they react and breakdown so there isn't any lumps to worry about. 

Pour the measured out shower gel into the bowl with the bubble bar and give it a good stir until all of the lumps are visibly gone. While bath bombs will react to the mixture at this point - rising and frothing in the bowl until you're left with what looks like mousse, the bubble bar won't do this. However, it is important that you leave it to sit for a good 30-40 minutes. 

The DIY gel will create rather a lot of bubbles when you're combining the two ingredients. If you try transferring it to a bottle straight away, the mixture will foam up and explode out of the bottle. Believe me - I found out the hard way!

Once you have left the mixture to set and develop, you will need to pour the mixture into the plastic bottle for storage. If you have a funnel, I would highly recommend that you use it as it'll make things far easier. If you don't have one of these handy, you can craft a makeshift funnel using a piece of greaseproof paper and some sellotape  Make sure that if you're using the latter, you support it whilst the liquid is being transferred as it can make a large mess if the paper falls out midway through. 

Once it's in the bottle, it's ready to use. By this stage, the product smells beautiful and the bright shade of red only adds to the allure. Once it has been bottled, you should find you'll have roughly 250g worth of shower gel to enjoy, As there is not preservatives in this shower gel, I would say that this bottle will last roughly 2 months, depending on how it's stored. The shower gel shouldn't separate but you may need to give it a little shake from time to time. 

If you want to conserve your Lush products, you might want to halve both of the ingredients here and make a smaller batch to try out. What is appealing is that Mumkin Shower Gel smells as beautiful, as strong and as refreshing as the original bubble bar - you won't dilute the scent doing this and you certainly won't lose any of the moisturising properties of the bubble bar as it's super soft in the shower and will leave you feeling amazing. Furthermore, you'll also be able to smell remnants of it's beautiful fragrance on your skin when you exit the bathroom. 

While I love the Mumkin Bubble Bar, I love the fact that this bottle will last me so much longer than the two-three baths I would have gotten out of the solid form. As it's a limited edition product, this means I can still enjoy it's light, fruity and very refreshing smell into the summer months. 

This is yet another successful project - lathering up in the shower and giving off a wonderfully strong and beautiful fragrance. The combination of a good quality shower gel and the moisturising properties of all of those wonderful oils in the bubbleroon, leaves your skin feeling really silky soft and clean. I would highly recommend that you give this a try yourself. 

Tulip Mum Reusable Bubble Bar

...And so I reach the last seasonal review.With all of the new Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter products, I feel like I've spent the last month living in my bath. My flatmates would argue that I've probably spent more time in their tub, than I have in my own bed, and there's already talks about the 'dreaded' water bill at the end of this month. I wish I could say that I've left the best until last but unfortunately this is not the case. 

Tulip Mum Reusable Bubble Bar is a pretty looking product, and fits in nicely alongside The Mum and Madame Butterfly. Much like both of these other limited edition 'wands', this one has also taken a popular scent from Lush's regular range, and repackaged it for a seasonal release.

Possessing a blend of ylang ylang, clary sage and jasmine oils, this product shares it's scent with the popular Sex Bomb Ballistic. The ingredients have been combined to help you unwind and clear your thoughts - exactly what a hard-working mother might need. The jasmine is the key ingredient here as, known for being an aphrodisiac, it'll help to ease stress and anxiety. The other ingredients merge together to create a slightly spicy, and very gentle, floral fragrance.

As with the other two reusable bubble bars, the Tulip Mum is very reasonably priced. For £5.95, this bubble bar can be used multiple times, making it a lot cheaper than a normal bubble bar or ballistic. Lush claim that you can reuse these bars a good five or six times, although I found that this one would probably only squeeze three or four baths out in total. 

As you can see from my video, I used Tulip Mum by holding it under the tap, where it immediately beings to spew out a nice amount of soft bubbles. If you're not a fan of too many bubbles, you can opt to swish this around the tub instead. The great thing about all of Lush's reusable bubble bars, is that you have complete control over deciding how strong you wish your bath to be, meaning that this bubble bar can last as long as you want it to.

Surprisingly, the original bubble bar didn't change the colour of the water at all, which was disappointing when you considered how beautiful Sex Bomb was once it had been dissolved. However, the reformulated version created a wonderful golden yellow colour, which was definitely appreciated. Furthermore, the fragrance of the newer bubble bar was a little stronger, and I found that the fragrance was actually a little more enjoyable than the one offered with the bath bomb. 

Overall, the bubbles were nice and soft and they did help to moisturise and soften my skin, but the whole experience was definitely not one of my favourites. As I'm not a big fan of the scent family, this bubble bar was never going to overly impress me. However, if you love Sex Bomb or jasmine-scented products, you'll no doubt love this. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Bicarbonate, Lauryl Betaine, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Glycerine, Glycerine, Cornflour, Citric Acid, Perfume, Lemon Peel Powder, Synthetic Musk, Jasmine Absolute, Clary Sage Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Lilial, Methyl Ionone, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 14700, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine. 

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £3.95 each.

Scent Family:

Bada Bing Bada Boom Shower Jelly
Joy Of Jelly Shower Jelly
Love Soap
The North Polar Left The Tap On Soap
Sex Bomb Bath Bomb
Sex Bomb Body Lotion
Sex Bomb Solid Perfume
Tulip Mum Reusable Bubble Bar

The Mum Reusable Bubble Bar

Last year, when I was eyeing up the Mother's Day range, I remember feeling pretty annoyed when I realised that The Mum Reusable Bubble Bar was not vegan-friendly. Of all the scents offered to us by Lush, it is this gorgeous creamy caramel fragrance that appeals to me more than most; I'd probably say that it sits in my top ten all-time favourite smells. Despite my annoyance, I recognised the fact that a scent based around honey, was very unlikely to be free of animal derivatives, and I resided in the fact that the closest I'd ever come to using this smell, would be to give the blocks of soap a quick sniff when I was visiting a store. 

However, when Lush chose to re-release the bubble bar this year, I immediately cottoned-on to the fact that it was now labelled as vegan. Over the years Lush have begun to replace animal ingredients with more natural alternatives, meaning that a lot of products that once contained honey water, now seem to be veganised, which is fantastic. Most recently, the Golden Egg Bath Bomb was released, fragranced with the Honey I Washed The Kids scent, despite the fact that there is no honey visible in the ingredients list. This makes me an incredibly happy Lushie; I only hope they're working on a vegan alternative for American Cream. 

Let's have a look at this product; Priced at a very reasonable £5.25, this bubble bar is one of the cheapest going on the Lush site. As I expressed in my review of Madame Butterfly, this reusable bubble bar can be used multiple times, making it a lot cheaper than a normal bubble bar or ballistic. Lush claim that you can reuse these bars a good five or six times, although I found that out of three 'wands', this one is less reusable than the other two. 

I used The Mum to give me three incredible baths, and I could have perhaps squeezed a forth out of it if I had wanted less bubbles. The reason why I think this bubble bar lasted less than Madame Butterfly and Tulip Mum, is because the centre is made up of what looks like crystallised sugar. This means that when you swish it through the water, or hold it under the tap, these little pieces of sugar melt quite quickly. 

With sweet wild orange and bergamot oils for their toning effect on the skin, and anti-inflammatory marshmallow powder; this reusable bubble bar not only smells good enough to eat but leaves your skin feeling really smooth and velvety. Furthermore, the sweet wild orange oils moisturise and soften your skin, leaving it smelling beautifully fragrant and sexy. 

For those unfamiliar with the Honey I Washed The Kids scent, you'll discover that this is a sophisticated, richly indulgent sweet caramel fragrance, with a slightly citrus burst that prevents this smell from being too sickly. It's a comforting, creamy smell that'll appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth. It's mouth-wateringly good.

As you can see from my video, I used The Mum by holding it under the tap, where it immediately beings to spew out silky soft and beautifully fragrant bubbles. If you're not a fan of so many bubbles, you can opt to swish this around the tub instead. The great thing about all of Lush's reusable bubble bars, is that you have complete control over deciding how strong you wish your bath to be, meaning that this bubble bar can last as long as you want it to.

This product turns the water a beautiful lime green colour, which stays enduring throughout the entire experience. Coupled with the beautiful fragrance that remains present until the end of your bath, this is an experience I want to have again. As if the bath wasn't amazing enough, the scent then gently lingers on your hair and skin for hours afterwards; a sultry smell that's a real treat for the senses. 

I wish that Lush made a permanent vegan bath bomb with this smell as it's tantalisingly gorgeous. Promisingly, their Shoot For The Stars bath bomb, which came out as part of their Christmas 2013 range, was wonderfully infused with this very scent. Therefore, I hope it's only a matter of time before the Honey Bee bath bomb is veganised so that I can enjoy this fragrance all year round.

This is a wonderful product, and one I'll be stocking up on before it's been discontinued - one of my favourite Mother's Day products. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Lauryl Betaine, Glycerine, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cornflour, Citric Acid, Perfume, Gardenia Extract, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Bergamot Oil, Marshmallow Powder, Amyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Geraniol, Lilial, *Linalool, *Limonene, Perfume, Lauryl Betaine, Colour 19140:1.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £5.50 each.

Scent Family:
Golden Egg Bath Bomb
Gold FUN
Honey I Washed The Kids Body Spray
Honey I Washed The Kids Liquid Perfume
Honey I Washed The Kids Solid Perfume
Honey I Washed The Kids Soap
Humpy Dumpty Bath Bomb
Ma Bar Bubble Bar
Noni I Washed The Kids Body Lotion
Santasaurus Reusable Bubble Bar
Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb (2013)
Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb (2016)
Sugar Mama Sugar Scrub
The Mum Reusable Bubble Bar

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Madame Butterfly Bubble Bar

My first experience with bubble bars was back in 2011, when I tried the Magic Wand for the first time. It wasn't the best of experiences, which meant that when Lush released their Mother's Day 'wands' last year, I wasn't overly keen on trying them out. This year however, I've given them a second chance, and I'm really glad that I have. 

Madame Butterfly is the first of three limited edition 'bubble bars on a stick' that Lush have released to coincide with their Mother's Day range this year. What is great about the design of this, and indeed the other two wands that I'll be reviewing shortly, is that they can be used multiple times, making them a lot cheaper than a normal bubble bar or ballistic. Lush claim that you can reuse this product to give you a good five to six baths, which when retailed at £5.25, makes it one of the cheapest products that they offer. I used this wand to give me four incredible baths, and I could have easily squeezed another two from this if I wasn't being so greedy with my bubbles!

Sharing it's scent with Lush's popular Rose Jam Shower Gel and Bubbleroon, Madame Butterfly gives off a sweet and floral aroma, showcasing the most beautiful rose fragrance I have ever smelt. The smell reminds me of the gentle aroma of fresh rose petals, intertwined with a sweet lemon scent to give it that freshness. It's a sugary-sweet blend that smells exactly like freshly-made turkish delight. 

As well as it's beautiful fragrance, this bubble bar is packed full of skin-softening ingredients that not only help to create it's wonderful scent, but also moisturise your skin and leave you smelling gorgeous. Firstly, there's rose oil and rose absolute, both known for their soothing and moisturising properties, and both of which add the natural rose scent that's immediately recognisable; Lemon oil gives this fragrance an uplifting quality, helping to clear the mind whilst adding a glossiness to your hair and skin.Together, they create a rich, sophisticated smelling bubble bar that projects warmth into all who use it.

As you can see from my video, I used Madame Butterfly by swishing it throughout the water until I had enough bubbles and scent in the water. You can also hold this bar under the tap, which I find creates more bubbles that way, but can also break the bar if the water is too powerful. The great thing about this wand, is that you have complete control over deciding how strong you wish your bath to be, meaning that this bubble bar can last as long as you want it to.

One aspect that you must remember about this product is that, after you've finished using it, you'll need to store it somewhere dry so that it doesn't deteriorate. I find that laying it on the packet it came in, or standing it upright in a mug, will often do the trick.   

Ultimately, what I loved about this product, was that the beautiful rich rose aroma became apparent the second it was placed under the tap. Especially given that the last few products I've tried from Lush have not had a very strong scent, I appreciated the fact that this bubble bar possessed a strong scent that was prolonged throughout the entire bathing experience. This wand performed really well in the tub, making the water smell wonderful whilst leaving it feeling soft, creamy and hydrating. Furthermore, under the bubbles, the water turned a delicate shade of pink, which was gorgeous. 

After my bath, I was left with a beautiful delicate floral smell that lingered on my skin for hours after my bath. I topped this up with some Rose Jam Perfume a few hours later and felt like a goddess for the rest of the night. This is definitely one of my favourite products from this year's Mother's Day range, and one I'll definitely be keen to see again. I only hope that Lush bring it back for successive years to come.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine, Sodium Bicarbonate, Lauryl Betaine, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cornflour, Citric Acid, Perfume, Rose Absolute, Geranium Oil, Rose Oil, Lemon Oil, Rose Petal Powder, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, *Limonene, Colour 14700, Colour 45410, Colour 17200.

Vegan?: Yes.

2014 Price: £4.95 each.
2016 Price: £5.50 each.
2017 Price: £4.50 each.

Scent Family: 
Black Rose Bath Bomb
Giant Rose Bombshell Bath Bomb
Jason And The Argan Oil Solid Shampoo Bar
Madame Butterfly Reusable Bubble Bar
Pearl Massage Bar
Ro's Argan Body Conditioner
Ro's Argan Gourmet Soap
Ro's Argan Sparkly Naked Body Conditioner
Rose Bombshell Bath Bomb
Rose Jam Bubbleroon 
Rose Jam Liquid Perfume
Rose Jam Naked Shower Gel
Rose Jam Solid Perfume
Rose Jam Shower Gel
Scentenary Soap

The Sparkler Ballistic

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Wonder Woohoo Bubble Bar

Wonder Woohoo is a limited edition bubble bar, released as part of the 2014 Mother's Day range. Inspired by Wonder Woman with it's golden lustre coating, this brand new product is fragranced with the wonderful The Sun; a staple perfume in my house.  

Bursting with Brazilian orange oil, sandalwood oil and mimosa absolute, this bubble bar is a fizzy, sweet and fruity product, similar in smell to the likes of Sunnyside and The Brightside. However, unlike both of those bubble bars, Wonder Woohoo possesses a more natural scent; it reminded me of fresh orange juice intertwined with a slightly wood element. Designed to bring happiness and joy to mums, and whoever has the luxury of using it, this bubble bar certain leaves you feeling relaxed and revigorated after a long day's work.

Like every other bubble bar, Wonder Woohoo can work in a number of ways. As you can see from the video, I often throw my bubble bars under a running tap, where more often than not they begin to bubble and froth quite quickly. However, I found that this one was a little stubborn to release those gorgeous bubbles so I chose to crumble the remainder of the bar under the tap, and as you can see, those much-wanted bubbles quickly filled the tub. 

Unfortunately, this product didn't produce as many bubbles as I would have expected, especially given that I used an entire bar in the bath. I used a third of a Comforter Bubble Bar last week, and this produced far more bubbles than this entire bar did. Furthermore, it also turned the bath water a slightly yellowy colour, which is not a colour you'd choose to bathe in if you had a choice.

As for those of you worried about the use of glitter, you'll be glad to know that this bubble bar neither decorates your bath or your skin with annoying sparkly bits. You'll notice once the product has been dissolved into the water, that it leaves gorgeous trails of golden lustre throughout the tub, which then wash away easily at the end.

Despite it's wonderful smell in the packet, this bubble bar lost most of it's scent when in use. Once the bath had been run, and I had settled myself in the tub, I found that I could only pick up the scent occasionally, and this was normally when my nose was very close to the water. Lush have recently begun to use cornflour as one of their main ingredients in their bath products, and I wonder whether this has any correlation to these newer products containing less scent that normal. It's rather disappointing.

However, what Wonder Woohoo did do, was make my skin feel absolutely beautiful. Within minutes of being in the bath tub, my arms and legs felt incredibly soft and this continued into the following morning. I found that I didn't have to moisturise at all after this bath, which was nice. This softness was no doubt caused by the use of Sandalwood oil, an astringent and antiseptic ingredient that helps to soothe, cool and soften the skin. I just wish that my skin had retained some of it's scent as it would have been lovely to top up the smell with a little The Sun perfume and carry this fragrance around all day. 

Lush claim that The Sun fragrance is like 'a ray of sunshine in the depths of winter', which might explain why they decided to use it in one of their bubble bars. Wonder Woohoo is definitely an attractive looking product, and to smell in the shop, I can see why consumers would be interested in trying it out. However, it's beautiful scent is lost almost completely when in use, which was disappointing. While I cannot claim that the bathing experience was particularly euphoric, I can say that it made my skin hydrated and soft, and had this product's scent remained perennial in the water, it would have scored full marks from me. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Radiant Gold Lustre, Cornflour, *Farnesol, *Limonene, Brazilian Orange Oil, Mimosa Absolute, New Caledonian Sandalwood Oil, Perfume, Colour 14700, Gold Glimmer Lustre

Vegan?: Yes.

Year Of Original Release: 2014.

2016 Price: £3.95 each.

2017 Price: £4.25 each.

Scent Family:

The Sun Bath Oil

The Sun Liquid Perfume

The Sun Solid Perfume

Wonder Woohoo Bubble Bar

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Rose Bubble Bar

When Lush's Mother's Day and Easter ranges were first announced, there was a lot of criticism about the fact that a large percentage of the products were heavily rose-scented. And where I can recognise why this negativity has come about, I for one am very happy with this smell being a prominent part of the range. I only wish that the products were fragranced with a new rose-inspired scent, not just a remodelling of products that are available to buy in the first place.

Rose Bubble Bar was probably the one product that didn't immediately get me excited when I saw the Mother's Day range. Although it shares it's scent with the wonderful Amandopondo Bubble Bar, I wasn't initially bowled over by it's design; it looks a little cheap. It's supposed to represent a rose, hence the name, although in pictures I think it looks more like a roulade of pink and white children's play dough. These colours intertwine and create a swirly pattern; giving off an almost pearly glimmer that makes the bubble bar look tarnished. This shine is no doubt a product of the many essential oils that Lush have packed in here to make it an enjoyable experience.

When I first received this product through the post, there were two aspects of Rose that stood out. Firstly, the bubble bar didn't look anything like the ones that Lush had posed on their website; mine didn't represent a flower in anyway, as you can see from the picture above. Not that this was a problem as I'm much more interested in how a product performs than it's design. 

Secondly, this is by far the smallest bubble bar I have ever brought from Lush - it's tiny! I was advised by another Lush fan that Rose Bubble Bar was created using a new concentrated recipe, meaning the bar had double the strength of a regular bubble bar and therefore, only needed half the size to create the same amount of scent/bubbles in the water. However, given my experience of this bubble bar tonight, this 'concentrated' element is definitely not working. In fact, I would say that this bar produces the least amount of bubbles that I have seen from a bubble bar to date; even my bars from 2008 and before, produce more bubbles than this disappointing thing. Although the bubbles produced were lovely and soft, they dwindled very quickly and left me with a bath of rose-tinted water, and little else.

Fragranced with Turkish rose absolute to soothe the spirits, lemon oil to bring clarity and cocoa butter to soften the skin, this is definitely an exquisite and highly beautiful smelling bubble bar. It's scent was the first that greeted my senses upon opening up my Lush order, and became the dominating smell in my room for weeks.

Unfortunately, when this bubble bar is placed in the bath, it gives off next-to-no scent at all, and I was only able to smell it's fragrance when I stuck my nose to the water. Only when I got into the bath, could I pick up the smell a little stronger, but it was still very weak. I found that whenever I would use another product in the bath, Rose's smell would be completely overridden by the scent of my shower gel, soap and shampoo. 

Ultimately, this is not a product I would recommend. Although it has an elegant, floral smell, the fragrance is very weakly displaced within the bar and fades very quickly. On getting out of the bath, I did notice that my skin had retained the slightest hint of rose. However, this was lost within a matter of minutes.

This is definitely a bubble bar for those of you who like gentle, subtle smells, and maybe that was Lush's aim when they designed and created Rose. I've given this bar three marks simply because it does have a wonderful smell, even if it smells stronger when not in use; it does leave your skin feeling quite soft after you've towelled yourself down and it did relax me quite a bit. However, for it's £2.95 price tag, I was expecting a lot more. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Cornflour, Perfume, Lemon Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, Rose Absolute, Organic Rose Hip Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Citric Acid, Laureth 4, *Citral, *Citronellol, *Geraniol, *Linalool, *Limonene, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate and Titanium Dioxide, Colour 17200, Candy Leaf.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £2.95 each.

2017 Price: £3.25 each.

Scent Family:

Amandopondo Bubble Bar
Amandopondo Perfume
Amandopondo Soap
Ring of Roses Buttercream
Ring Of Roses Soap 
Rose Bubble Bar (Mother's Day 2014)

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