Karma Massage Bar

During my attendance of the Lush Summit event last year, I stumbled upon a demo table that immediately captivated my full attention. The display explained that Lush were soon to bring out a brand new spa treatment completely centred about the Karma fragrance, and my tongue couldn't help but lol out of my mouth while I listened on with glee.

Before leaving, I noticed that the table had a single Karma Massage Bar for fans to demo: a little taste of what you could experience if you were lucky enough to book in for the full treatment upon its release. As I left the stall and headed around the rest of the displays, I couldn't help but wonder how complete my life would feel if I could get my hands on one of those magical massage bars myself.

Fast forward almost a year, and the Lush Kitchen answered my prayers: bringing out the bar as a limited edition release for us all to buy: yet another taster that drew us Karma obsessives in. After using the bar for a straight two weeks, I began wishing I had bought a few more to hold stock until they came back again. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that this dream will ever come true.

While rather plain to look at, Karma Massage Bar smells exactly as you would want and expect it to be. Oozing with patchouli and sweet orange oil, this limited edition offers a delicately fruity but equally as spicy affair. As with most products in the Karma range, this one sends out vibes of the swinging sixties: it's sultry and sexy, yet naughty and fruity at the same time. 

The lemongrass and pine oil yet again revel under the surface: offering short bursts of green without being overly generous. Lush describe it will by stating that Karma 'evokes memories of summer and the heat and spice of India', and you only need to give this bar a sniff to know that this is the perfect description to match the wonderful fragrance.

What I loved about this massage bar was that it was super easy to melt - running over my skin and leaving a delicate layer of oils to massage across my body. The cocoa and shea butters really get to work at softening and hydrating your skin, whilst the orange oil has a radiance and a shine that stays with you as the oils are sinking into your skin. 

While some Karma-scented products can be rather powdery, this one was a little more sultry: a little closer to the soap than it is to the perfume. It's perhaps a slightly more reserved than the perfume, but I think that's what makes it truly special in this format.

As with most massage bars, this can last a long time, depending on how you use it. While I went a little crazy and used it for a couple of weeks straight, this is best used as either - as the name suggests - a tool during a full body massage, or as an intense moisturiser a couple of times a week. As the latter, this bar can last upwards of three to four months - making it great value for money in my eyes. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Patchouli Oil, Pine Oil, Elemi Oil, Lavandin Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Orange Oil.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

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

Karma Shower Bomb

While a shower bomb wont change my life, the slogan 'don’t fear change - revel in it' is definitely something that I have been struggling with a lot these past couple of years. While I love progression, and dislike monotony a lot, there are still aspects of my life that I try to cling to when there isn't any need to. Learning to embrace is a far greater way of getting the most out of life, and unleashing a mountain full of stress that quite simply just doesn't need to exist.  

Offering one of Lush's oldest and most popular scents, Karma Shower Bomb is everything a fan of the fragrance could have possibly asked for. With the familiar blend of patchouli, orange and pine, this shower bomb delivers an aroma that you'll want to relive time and time again the shower. While a single piece won't offer you that much pleasure, this little pyramid of happiness can easily be sliced in half and shared across two separate experiences - sweetening the deal even more.

As with any of Karma's bath products, the fragrance on offer here is a powdery and slightly spicy one: very reminiscent of the Karma Sutra Bath Bomb. The patchouli gives out a strong, spicy and slightly woody smell; the orange sits alongside this and offers a sweet, slightly sherbety scent. Behind these two smells is an offering of pine and lemongrass, which work in perfect harmony with each other. The former adds a subtle herbal note whilst the latter brings about a little thread of green to the mix. Whereas the lotion and bubble bar are slightly sweeter and remind me of old fashioned cola bottles, the aroma is definitely more mature and more patchouli-orientated with Karma Shower Bomb.

As with all of Lush's new shower bombs, the idea is that you hold them under the running water, where they will begin to foam up in the palm of your hand. This foam can then be used much like a shower gel to clean and gently buffer your skin, leaving it super soft and smelling wonderful afterwards. The inclusion of the turmeric powerful in this bomb also helps to purify the pores a little during use, which is probably part of the reason why my skin felt so good afterwards. I could honestly smell this on my skin for a while after exiting the shower, and a little squirt of the perfume would have been a perfect match before bedtime. 

Whilst this is going on, the essential oils featured in the bomb intertwine with the heat and steam of the shower and create an atmosphere that is supposed to help calm and relax you - getting you ready for either a good night's rest, or a long productive, successful day.

As someone who was rather skeptical about the idea of a shower bomb, Karma has definitely gone on to prove that this concept does work, and it is effective at what it does. I would definitely buy this again in the near future, and I look forward to any other shower bombs that may come out in the future.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Citric Acid, Potato Starch, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Calcium Lactate, Sodium Alginate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Patchouli Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil, Lavandin Oil, Pine Oil, Elemi Oil, Water (Aqua), Turmeric Powder, *Citral, *Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 15510, Colour 47005, Colour 19140.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £2.75 each (30g).

Year Of Original Release: 2018.

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

Bling Crosby Bubble Bar

Let’s be honest: I can think of very few reason not to love Karma. It’s a classic - a smell I go back to time and time again, and fall in love with each and every time. There is something for everybody in this fragrance, and this Bubble Bar is an extension of the family that needs to be experienced by all.

To look at, Bling Crosby Bubble Bar is not exactly the most exciting of bath products, although I know that the allure of the glitter will win some hearts over straight away. Sharing its scent with all things Karma, this limited edition boasts pine, patchouli, lemongrass, orange, lavender and clove. Yet despite this impressive list of potentially clashing components, the fragrance is one of many layers. You can smell a combination of orange and patchouli to begin with - which offers a sweet, spicy note reminiscent of the swinging sixties. There is something almost intoxicating and strange exotic about the combination of these two ingredients, which makes for a strong base on which the other notes flourish. Next up the lemongrass, which intertwines itself around the orange and hides a little of juiciness that citrus fruits sometimes display. This gives the scent a dry fruity smell rather than a zesty one, and adds a gentle layer of green to the mix. Then there is the pine oil, which works with the latter ingredient to offer something a little green and almost coniferous about the smell. 

All of these elements work well together - offering a burst of smells that is richly sweet, with a spicy warmth that earns his scent family its massive following. What I love about Karma is that, while the notes work in unison with each other, you are also able to pick out each component individually as well. 

Bling Crosby offers that unique Karma smell right away, although I would say that it’s slightly more subtle than the regular Karma Bubble Bar that you can buy in stores. What I love though is that it turns your bath water a wonderful shade of orange, which is reminiscent of the original Karma Bubble Bar - a colour that I think suits this fragrance a lot more than purple does. 

The product is easy enough to crumble under the running tap, and it produces a wonderful layer of light, fluffy bubbles to submerge yourself beneath. Furthermore, the inclusion of the gold lustre means that you also experience swirls of pulsating sparkly glitter, under the surface of the water, as you’re bathing. However, I should point out that the lustre does not decorate your skin at all whilst you’re bathing, and it washes away easily afterwards. 

As with most of Lush’s Bubble bars, my skin benefitted from the softness of the water and I could feel how smooth and moisturised my skin was after exiting the bath. Moreover, I was impressed when I was able to smell a note reminiscent of Karma on my skin after I had towelled myself down, and a spray of the liquid perfume, and a generous lather of Karma Kream, and I was able to enjoy the scent for the rest of the day. 

Despite its physical lack of appeal to me, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the experience overall. While I used the whole bar in my bath, you could easily use a half or a third, and you’d still heed a fragrant bath to enjoy over the winter period. Although I much prefer the new and improved pyramid-shaped Karma Bubble Bar, this is a great (and slightly cheaper!) alternative for those who need a big dose of Karma to see them through the day/night.  

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Lavendin Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil, Patchouli Oil, Pine Oil, Gardenia Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Silica, *Citral, *Citronellol, *Geraniol, *Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 77492, Colour 14700, Whole Clove

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £3.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2006.

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

Karma Wash Card

Back when the flagship store on Oxford Street first opened, the 'Shower Sheet' was a brand new product that excited Lush fans around the world. For those not content with shower gels and shower jellies and shower smoothies and buttercreams, here was a brand new, innovative design that challenged the concept of 'normal showering' once again. 

Yet, after recognising their many merits, there was still a part of me that felt as if I wasn't getting as much value from a £13.95 sheet as I was for a similarly priced bottle. Therefore, once I had tried all of the sheets to review on my blog, I settled back into the routine of using my favourite gels and jellies once more.

However, after the Kiss Me Quick Business Card made an appearance earlier this year as part of the Valentine's Day range, I began to recognise other purposes that this format was able to offer, and I found a newfound appreciation of the product. So when Karma Wash Card was one of many new cards to showcase themselves at the Lush Summit event on February 8th, 2017, I was far more optimistic about picking myself up a handful.  

Firstly, the size of this card means that this will slip easily into a purse or a side pocket of a bag/suitcase - making it a great travelling companion that wont weigh you down. Due to this format not being able to create any unwanted spillages whatsoever, this solid rendition of a shower gel also guarantees to be leakage-free, and suitable to take on board a plane as part of your hand luggage.

Secondly, the lack of any active moisture means that the sheets are preservative free - meaning that they should have a much longer shelf life than their liquid counterparts. In addition, the lack of moisture means that they are far more densely packed with ingredients. For this reason, when used in the shower, the theory is that they'll be able to create much more of a lather from far less of the product because of this. Furthermore, they don't contribute to package waste in the slightest, making it far more environmentally friendly than their other shower counterparts.

Seeing the cards placed next to their perfume partner made me also realise that these are a great way of trying out a fragrance before you invest in a jul-size bottle. While £2 initially seems rather expensive for what roughly equates to about 6-10 showers worth of product, I feel as if this is worth doing rather than spending £30+ on a bottle of perfume that you realise you are not so keen on a few weeks later. 

While Karma Shower Gel and Karma Shower Jelly are both available fairly often in the Lush Kitchen, these are not products that are accessible to every Lush fan at any given moment. Once these cards make a permanent feature in stores, it'll mean that fans of certain fragrances will be able to have full time access to shower products in their favourite scents.

Sharing its scent with the popular Karma range, Karma Wash Card is exactly what you'd expect. Probably being closest in smell to the shower jelly format, this patchouli, pine, lemongrass and orange-scented aroma is beautiful in every way.

Karma is an ambient fragrance reminiscent of the sixties. Spicy orange oil is definitely the heart and soul of this fragrance - with warm, earthy and slightly spicy hints of patchouli to compliment the main scent. An occasional burst of lavender gives it a herbal touch and pine oil seals the deal, making this a multi-layered festivity of smells. The scent is both sweet and citrusy, and reminds me of those old-fashioned cola bottle sweets you used to get when you were little; or summer days where the smell of burning incense can be found wafting out of shop windows.   

What is great about this wash card is that it can also be used as a shampoo, which helps to lighten your load even more when you're travelling. Having only tried this out once, I can honestly say that it left my hair feeling silky-smooth and incredibly clean - not to mention the fact that the scent radiated from my locks for hours afterwards. 

While it lathered up quickly, and was equally as generous as a regular shower gel in terms of the amount of 'foam' it produced, I was a little disappointed to discover that the sheet near-on disintegrated when coming into contact with the running water. This is definitely not a product you should use in one go. Instead, to get the most out of it, I would recommend that you break off a small piece (1cm), add a little water away from the direct flow of the shower, and then massage it across your skin in a circular motion. 

The wash card produces a light, fluffy and very fragrant lather, and you can easily clean your entire body with the recommended size piece. In that sense it is equally as effective, if not more so than the shower gel variation, and works as a great top up for those who love the scent but don't have the privilege of owning the shower gel or jelly.  

As a gift, or as a product to store for future travel plans, this is a lovely limited edition to invest in. Although I won't be replacing my shower gels anytime soon, this business card has definitely sparked my interest in the shower sheets a little more, and I would definitely consider carrying these with me on trips rather than storing the usual bottle of gel. While a part of me considers £2 to be a little expensive for the size of the item, I can also see how its price tag makes it easily accessible for those on a budget, and who perhaps don't wish to invest the amount it costs for a full-sized version.

Quantitative Ingredients: ?

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £2 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

   

Lush Cocktail: Keep Calm And Karma On

Sarl's 'Keep Calm And Karma On'Cocktail

Contains:

1 Karma Bubble Bar

1 Golden Wonder Bath Bomb

Lashings Of Blue Skies Bubble Bath

Wash With Big Calm Shower Jelly

Karma Kream Body Lotion 

Video:

Verdict:

I have been so busy as of late that I've barely had time to run a bath, let alone browse through my extensive list of amazing cocktails, choose and compile the ingredients, and then film the whole thing to share with other Lush fans. So when I finally did find a few hours to do so, I knew I had to pick one that stood out by a mile.

Keep Calm And Karma On was actually one of the first cocktails suggested to me, back when I opened up my blog to hear, read and try your ideas. It was a recipe that oozed sophistication and sounded unbelievably complex and delicious. So when I finally got around to trying it last night, I couldn't believe that I had waited so long to execute it in the tub. 

As with a lot of the cocktails that have been shared with me, this one asks for a large number of products - most of which are not available all year around. While I tend to follow the recipes strictly, there would be no harm in halving or even quartering this recipe - I can't imagine the bath being any less than enjoyable.

To begin this one off, I crumbled the freshly purchased Karma Bubble Bar under the running water. As I stated in the video, you can use either this version or the newer pyramid version - the only difference would come in the overall colour of your bath. Both bubble bars will create a soft haven of orange and patchouli, and both would produce a wave of fragrant bubbles to cocoon yourself beneath. 

While the water was still running, I also added three generous squirts of Blue Skies Liquid Bubble Bath. This has a different smell to the bubble bar, but shares the inclusion of patchouli - giving this experience a very exotic and rather calming element that matches the title of this really well.

Once the tub was full, I then added in a Golden Wonder Bath Bomb. This seasonal favourite is such a light and uplifting citrusy smell, and it entices the orange out of the Karma to give you a much stronger fruity note overall. This game-changer alters the colour of the water once again and you're left with a beautiful forest green colour, with swirls of lustre under the surface. 

During the experience, I used Big Calm Shower Jelly, which with its pineapple and coconut fragrance, is very different from the first three components. This adds an almost revitalising aspect to the cocktail, and I really enjoyed the diversity of smells while I was using it. 

Once I had towelled myself down, I topped up the Karma smell but adding lashings of Karma Kream Body Lotion - a light, refreshing moisturiser that'll leave you feeling relaxed, calm and ready for bed. This latter ingredient was a nice way to round off the whole experience, and if anything, it made me fall in love with the Karma fragrance that little bit more.

Overall, this was such a wonderful experience. The aroma given off was complex and very rounded; the water soft and nourishing. I did feel calm and composed after this, and once I tucked myself into bed, I was very quick to fall asleep. Definitely one I would treat myself to again.

Vegan?: Yes.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10.