It is clear from recent releases that Lush have found themselves to be onto a winning streak when it comes to product design. While their increased sales are more than enough evidence to showcase their ever-growing popularity, it is not that often that they release a product that causes as much mass hysteria as the Roller Bath Bomb seems to do.
Since the release of this limited edition (which seems to sell out quicker than the speed of light), the company have brought out two more variations of the half ballistic/half bath melt combination - neither anywhere near as popular as the aforementioned 'best seller', but both of which offer a wonderful and very unique aroma.
To clear things up, despite looking almost identical to Never Mind The Ballistics, Over And Over Bath Bomb has a very different scent. Although both are described as having fruity aromas, the former product is more of a creamy, peachy sort of fruity smell, whereas the latter is much more spritely and fresh-smelling.
Supposedly sharing its scent with a liquid perfume called What Would Love Do, this bath bomb was first released in limited quantities during Lush's Creative Showcase event back in September of this year. Sporting a yellow design and half-dipped in an orange bath melt, this bath bomb is both highly moisturising and beautiful to boot, not to mention the fact that it smells like a little ball of sunshine.
Containing both lime and fennel oil, my immediate thought upon sniffing this bath bomb was that it smelled very similar, if not identical to Five O'Clock Whistle Shower Smoothie, albeit a little bit sharper and with more of a citrusy kick to it. The lime is definitely not tart or bitter on the senses, but I wouldn't say that it's as rounded or as sweet as something like Nightwing Shower Jelly.
The inclusion of the fennel is what sets this bath bomb apart from the aforementioned smoothie, as this ingredient offers a very subtle herbal layer that sits underneath the lime. This component helps to elevate the citrusy fragrance and give Over And Over an almost grassy, slight aniseed-like afterthought.
Some fans have said that the smell of this reminds them of Lemslip, and I can see where they're coming from. While this is strictly a lime smell, and there isn't a lemon component to speak of, the bomb does give off a fresh, crisp clinical scent that wouldn't seem out of place in a detergent or a toilet cleaner. That's not to say it's an awful smell - far from it. However, I can definitely see the link between the two.
Upon impact with the water, Over And Over froths up immediately and forms a large igloo of yellow foam on the surface of the tub. Within seconds, the ballistic starts to shoot out streams of bright pink foam across the water, and it is the combination of these two colours that give the bath its rich, bright orange finish. The overall experience lasted for a good couple of minutes - with the bath bomb decorating the surface with swirls of vivid colours, not unlike The Enchanter.
Unfortunately, I didn't find that this bath bomb was as potent with its fragrance once it had fully dissolved, although I was surprised to find that the smell stayed on my skin for a couple of hours after I had towelled myself down. Given the nature of lime-scented products, I do feel as if this is an ingredient that can sometimes disperse a lot quicker than other citrus smells - that's if it's not supported with other elements. As the fennel was the weaker of the two components, it wasn't much help at retaining the aroma for longer in the bath.
In its favour, this bath bomb is incredibly moisturising. Before I had even submerged myself under the water, I could see the swirls of oils on the surface of the water, and was slightly worried to see the build up of some of these around the outside of the tub. However, they washed away with ease after my bath and I didn't find that the experience was overly greasy at all; I would have happily washed my hair in the water and I don't envisage that it would have caused any problems if I did.
Instead the oils made the water seem far more sultry and thicker than your typical bath water, and both during and afterwards, melt skin felt super-nourished and in far better condition than it had been before I stepped into the tub. It almost felt as if the butters and oils had wrapped a protective layer of moisturise over my skin and for this reason, I didn't have to use a lotion or a massage bar afterwards.
Overall, this is a bath bomb that would work better in the warmer months, because although the ingredients help make this a product to use if you have parched skin and need it replenished, the fragrance is very uplifting and bright, and it's far lighter than what you'd necessarily want in the colder months. I really enjoyed using this for nourishment and because the smell is rather lovely, but I wouldn't say that this is one that I would want to stock up on, on a regular basis.
Quantitative Ingredients: Lime oil, Fennel oil.
Vegan?: Yes.
2016 Price: £4.25 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2016.