Up The Wooden Hill Emotibomb

It's still hard to believe that there are people who choose to live without a bath. In a world where I rely on my regular soaks to survive the week, it would be a big adjustment to lose this luxury that I take for granted. However, I recognise that spacing in some places makes it near on impossible to find a flat with a bath, and there are obviously those that don't see bathing as a priority.

For Lush fans who don't have need of a bath bomb, there is the 'emotibomb', which according to Lush, works in the same way that you would expect a bath ballistic to do, only in the shower instead. Simply pop one of these on the floor by your feet and go about your normal shower routine. When the warm water meets the bomb, it'll fizz away and release a cloud of fragrant steam that alters your mood, dependent on the purpose of the emotibomb.

This emotibomb was first created back in 2008 - inspired by something Mo Constantine used to say to her children. Originally called  Up The Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire, this limited edition product came out for a short period of time, and is one of the only emotibombs to be created to send the user to sleep, rather than perk them up. 

Containing a strong dosage of lavender and chamomile oil, this rather plain-looking product is definitely impressive when it comes to the scent. The smell of this dominated my bathroom long after the product had dispersed, and I think it would probably leave an impression on the skin as well, if you chose to bathe in its waters.

Fans of Dream Cream Body Lotion, Dreamwash Shower Smoothie, Dreamtime Bath Melt and Waving Not Drowning would appreciate the very cooling chamomile aroma, but equally love the herbal elements from the lavender offering. This is definitely for those who enjoy gentler, more 'clinical-smelling' cosmetics. 

As with all of my emotibombs, I decided to put the plug in during my shower so that I would be able to enjoy the fragrance of this product for longer. After previous experiences with emotibombs, I found that if the product was too close to the plughole when I was in the shower, the scent was far too 'in your face',  and it would end up masking anything I was using in the shower at the time.

At the same time, putting the bomb directly underneath me meant that it dissolved in record time and only gave me a small window in which to enjoy the aroma before the product was washed away with the water. Not only this but it's rather annoying when you have to watch where you stand and how you move around in the shower with a product by your feet.

To prevent this from happening, I placed Up The Wooden Hill about a metre from the plug so it wasn't constantly submerged under the running water. This time I found that the product lasted a lot longer and offered me a strong scent throughout the entire shower. Some Lushies even suggest that you break the emotibomb in half and use it for two different occasions. However, I can imagine that this would take away a large proportion of the fragrance and render it almost pointless for those of us who want something strong to send us to sleep.

Despite the fact that it's designed for the shower, I don't see any reason why this couldn't be used as a bath bomb. While I don't think it would be as strong or as moisturising as a regular ballistic, nor would the product heed any colour in the water, I think fans of Ickle Baby Bot and Dream On would appreciate having another lavender-dominated product to bathe with. 

What I liked about this product is that it did make me feel a little sleepy. Often I am torn about whether or not it's a good idea taking showers before bed. Stimulated by the heat and senses engulfed by the various aromas of the products you're using, it often wakes me up to the point that I am no longer ready for bed. However, I found that this emotibomb allowed me to enjoy the strong aromas of neroli, lavender and chamomile, without overloading my senses too much.

Up The Wooden Hill was generous enough that the smell did radiate up my nose during the shower, and placing it further enough away so that it didn't dissolve within a matter of minutes, meant that it was one of the more successful emotibombs that I have tried so far.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that I would buy a load more of these to use, as I do prefer my baths. However, it was part of a routine that helped me to get a good night's sleep. And if anything is able to do that to a chronic insomniac, it's worthy of a mention in my books. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Lavender Oil, Lavender Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Neroli Oil, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £3.50 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2008.

Double Fast Luck Emotibomb

Those people who have read the majority of my reviews will know that I am not that big an advocate of Lush's emotibombs. Although the range of fragrances they offer are rather wonderful, and I cannot really fault most of them on that aspect, they're just not a product I really see as being all that productive. While there may be items that Lush release that I don't particularly enjoy all that much, I at least understand why consumers might find them valuable and useful. When it comes to this little family of products, I really don't 'get it'.

Much like bath bombs, emotibombs are designed to dissolve when in contact with water. However, while the classic ballistic is supposed to be used in the tub during a bath, the aforementioned 'emotibomb' was created to be used in the shower instead. Once the user is standing under the running water, either a chunk or an entire emotibomb is dropped by the feet, where the heat of the water lifts the fragrance and allows the person to enjoy the different notes while they are taking their shower.

Double Fast Luck Emotibomb is the fourth emotibomb I have tried from Lush, and by far the most attractive out of the bunch. Inspired by the Chinese New Year, this beauty was originally designed with the Asian tradition in mind - given that the Karma scent is one of Lush's biggest sellers in certain Asian countries.

With patchouli, lemongrass and orange oil forming the base, it's no wonder then that I was hit with a sweet, fruity but equally exotic fragrance when I first unpeeled the wrapper of this product. While the orange oil gave this, as with every other item in the Karma family, a juicy citrus element, the patchouli added a spicy note, which along with the pine oil, made the finished aroma a beautiful, warming shoutout to the 1960s.

While the lemongrass gives off a refreshing, citrusy note, it's also present to cleanse and brighten the skin - offering a strong, uplifting aroma that invigorates the mind and brings clarity during those early morning struggles. Brazilian orange oil also works with the lemongrass to double how invigorating the product is, as well as tone the skin, whereas the lavender oil balances any skin complaints and lavishes the body with a fresh dose of moisture.   

Originally released in 2008, this emotibomb made a brief appearance a year later - where it surprised fans with its newly pink and glittery demeanour. Since then, Lush fans have not been given the opportunity to try the refreshing, fruity goodness of this product until last week in the Lush Kitchen.

Although the concept of an emotibomb sounds like an interesting and rather unique take on showering, there are a couple of issues that I have with these products. Firstly, the emotibombs dissolve very quickly in the water, and while in a bath these are conserved in the tub, in the shower the product is quite literally being flushed down the drain. Secondly, the fragrance in most of the emotibombs is fairly strong to begin with, yet they never last longer than a couple of minutes in the shower. This means that within a short while after the product has been added to the water, you're in no better a position than you would have been if you'd opted not to use one. 

For something that costs almost as much as a bath bomb, there aren't really that many merits that would tempt me to invest in many more of these or any other emotibomb again. And the reason that I have rated this one and a few others as being fairly decent, is that I use them as part of my bath cocktails, where I can get a little more use out of them that way. If you love the Karma scent, you'll no doubt want to try this at least once. However, if you're not all that fussed, I would suggest sticking to products that work on washing and fragrancing you in the shower, rather than ones that attempt to fragrance the room instead.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Patchouli Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil, Lavender Oil, Pine Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Elemi Oil, *Citral, *Citronellol, *Geraniol, *Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 14700, Colour 17200, Colour 45410, Gold Glimmer Lustre, Iron Oxides.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £3.25 each.
2017 Price: £3.50 each.

Year Of Original Release:  2008

Scent Family:
Bling Crosby Bubble Bar
Double Fast Luck Emotibomb
Karma Ballistic
Karma Bath Melt
Karma Bubble Bar
Karma Dusting Powder
Karma Komba Solid Shampoo Bar
Karma Kream
Karma Liquid Perfume
Karma Massage Bar
Karma Revamped Bubble Bar
Karma Shower Bomb
Karma Shower Gel
Karma Shower Jelly
Karma Soap
Karma Solid Perfume
Karma Sutra Bath Bomb
Lush Bath Bomb

Too Drunk To **** Emotibomb

Emotibombs have always been a strange concept to me. As someone who would opt for a bath over a shower any day, I have never understood why you'd want to fork out money for a product that appears to have very little worth in the great scheme of things. As my flatmate stated yesterday, it appears as if you're quite literally washing your money down the drain, and until I gave this particular item a whirl earlier this week, I was under the same consensus.

Too Drunk is the censored version of an emotibomb named after a Dead  Kennedy's song - a strange-looking disc of sodium bicarbonate that depicts what appears to be a tribal face with a vegan chocolate eye. Measuring roughly 6cm in length and a little less in width, this disc of fragrance is definitely not one that shies away in both scent and productivity.

Designed to be the 'pick me up' we all need after a brutal night out, this limited edition is for when your head feels heavy and your stomach is dancing the waltz, and nothing less than a serious bout of fragrance under a hot shower, will suffice. While I drink very seldomly as it is, there are always mornings when the mere thought of having to even open my eyes is painful enough, and the idea of a soft blanket of smell to wake me up gently sounds like the perfectly remedy.


From the description, I wasn't expecting to like Too Drunk very much; I have never been a huge advocate of mint-scented products, and up until this point, I had never really had a lot of success with Lush's emotibombs. However, despite my initial reservations, I was very surprised to find that I really enjoyed using this one, and I would go as far as to say that this product may have even convinced me to give emotibombs another chance in the near future.

Containing peppermint, fennel, tagetes and orange oil, this item is designed to wake you up, engulf your senses and leave you feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. From the get-go, it is the peppermint that leaves the strongest impression, and with the other ingredients intertwined, the smell of the mint reminded me quite a lot of the bitter, mint aroma you get in After Eight Mint chocolates. It's definitely a very icy-cold mint smell, and it's strong enough that I didn't even have to open the Lush box to realise what was inside.

Alongside this is a strong dose of the tagetes oil, which for those unfamiliar with the name, comes from a flower called a marigold, and one that is associated with the sunflower family. The herbaceous, floral oil has a sweet, almost citrus-like smell - but one that is wrapped in a blanket of floral undertones as you would expect. This, coupled with the orange oil, gives the emotibomb a slight fruity tinge, but nothing strong enough to compete with the mint.

To finish off, a generous dose of spicy fennel oil adds a revitalising kick of heat to the mix - engulfing your senses in the shower and helping to warm even the iciest of moods. Together, these ingredients create the strongest and most alluring-smelling emotibomb to date, and one I was happy to have bought six of from the kitchen.

How to use Too Drunk is simple. Get your shower running, let the hot water cascade down your body and pop one of these bad boys by your feet. Much like a bath bomb, the emotibomb will dissolve in the water, while the steam and heat will stimulate the scented oils and douse you senses with a continuous helping of fragrance. 

Although I was a little disappointed to find that the smell only stayed with me for a few minutes, that time was definitely more than enough to invigorate me back to life enough to see me through the day. I really appreciated how fresh and crisp the aroma was in the shower, and this would make an excellent accompaniment for those much-needed summer cool-downs.  

With Too Drunk, I could really smell the peppermint oil straight away, and it was strong enough to engulf my airways so that I felt almost as if I was breathing in a vapour rub or taking a hit from an extra strong mint. My nose cleared almost instantly, and if I had been suffering from a cold at the time, I can imagine it would have cleared out my passage ways and helped me to breathe a little easier.

On the negative side, the price is not that far off the price of a bath bomb, and although a ballistic can do all of the above, as well as offer a colourful and hopefully softening experience, an emotibomb doesn't have any where near as many attributes to its name. For this reason, while I did enjoy using Too Drunk, and I will continue to enjoy the handful I have left, it is not what I call an 'essential' item, and isn't one I'd purchase regularly if given the chance. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Peppermint Oil, Tagetes Oil, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Fennel Oil, *Limonene, Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £3.25 each.
2017 Price: £3.50 each.

Year Of Original Release:?