Lush Love-Part One

I've seen the stores for years and have resisted the urge to go in. The bins full of bath bombs and logs of soaps just did nothing to intrigue me.  I mean really, an entire store that only sells bath bombs and bars of soap?  I figured they'd be out of business in a blink of an eye.  Well a decade later, I finally wandered into my first Lush store.  I'm thinking now it was probably a good thing I waited so long.

For those of you who are fragrance sensitive, this is not the place for you.  The smells in the store can be overwhelming and this is not a company that is interested in doing fragrance free. In fact, just being in the shop can be frustrating, since so many of their products are things that aren't familiar to the average person.

Sure, most of us know what bath bombs are and bars of soap are pretty self explanatory. Bath Melts, Massage Bars, Shower Jellies and Solid Shampoos are not something I'm real familiar with.  Even the bath bombs intimidated me. According to the web site, they make at least 42 different bath bombs, and I'm pretty sure my local Lush store had most of them.  One entire wall was covered in baskets of them stacked 3 deep! 

Have no fear though, Lush hires some of the most helpful sales people out there (think Nordstroms ten years ago). Friendly but not pushy, they helped me pick out a few bath bombs (bath ballistics to those in the know) suggested I try a few Bubble Bars (they make more then 30!) and Bath Melts.  Of course with Sierra there, it wasn't possible to leave without letting her pick out something for her bath. 

Now a month later and two return visits, I'm an addict. The Bubble Bars are crazy fun.  They tint your bath a lushious (sorry, couldn't resist) color and give you amazing long lasting bubbles.  The scents are divine and it's just a matter of finding your favorite one.  Bubble Bars are simply bubble bath in solid form.  By making the bubble bath solid they are able to eliminate the use of preservatives and packaging.  The Bubble Bars are filled with soothing oils that keep your skin from drying out like it can with so many other bath products.

The biggest draw back to the Bubble Bars is that they are rather expensive.  At best you might get 4 baths out of a bar and more likely 2 or 3 depending on the bar and the size of your tub.  They are a luxury, but then again so are baths,  shouldn't we make them as special as possible?

To get the most out of my bars, I cut them into several pieces.  I crumble them under the running water while I fill my tub.  You can get more bubbles out of your bar by placing it in a clean stocking and holding that under the running water. More bubbles are good, right?

 I really like the Magic Mushroom, but unfortunately it's only available around Valentines Day.  The top of the mushroom is strawberry and the stem is cream.  Soaking in a tub of strawberries and cream, pretty sweet!

The Comforter is a fun bar.  Its scented with cassis (black currant) and tints the tub a pretty berry shade. It's the largest of the Bubble Bars that I've tried.  I can easily get 4 baths out of it and the bubbles last longer then the water stays warm.

Amandopondo is a pretty little bar, with a dried rosebud nestled on top.  I only got 2 baths out of it and the scent (rose with lemon and orange oils) was extremely delicate. It was an enjoyable bath, but not a bar that I will buy again.

Creamy Candy Bubble Bar was sweet and the perfect girly bath.  The scent is creamy, I don't know how else to describe it.  Using a stocking I easily got 3 baths out of it.  I just love the candy flower on the top.

Using Lush products is something you can feel good about. They use only ingredients not tested on animals, use little to no packaging, use fresh and organic ingredients and ethically source their ingredients.  If you haven't succumbed to the lure of Lush, now may be the time.  The Bubble Bars are just the treat you deserve.