Walking around the Lush factory, these were one of the last Christmas products I was given an exclusive sneak peak of, yet they were one of a handful of items that left the biggest lasting impression. If there is any theme going on with this year's seasonal releases, it's definitely that Lush have stepped away from the usual hum drum of wintery smells, and have offered a selection of versatile products, suitable for any and every season. This is no exception.
Modelled on the popular Roller Bath Bomb, Never Mind The Ballistics is a play on words of a famous Sex Pistols album, although I would interested to know what it is about the fruity new Christmas edition that has anything to do with the rebellious seventies album - aside from it being described as 'anarchic' in the water.Shaped very much like your typical bath bomb, this Christmas beauty has then been dipped into a vat of oils and butters to give it a bath melt coating. This means that you get all of the benefits of a bath melt while still being able to enjoy the experience of using a bath bomb in the water.
As to be expected, these extra butters and oils offer a really moisturising bath. You can see the gleam of these oils across the surface of the water and after only a matter of minutes of getting into the bath, I could feel how creamy the water was and how smooth my skin had become. Don't be worried by these excess butters though - it's not at all greasy and definitely not on the same level as this year's Shoot For The Stars. For this reason, you should be able to wash your hair in the water without worrying about making it oily.
At the same time, Never Mind The Ballistics still works as a fully functioning bath bomb, and as soon as you place it in the water it begins to expel its beautiful array of colours across the surface of the tub. To begin with, the outer shell releases bubbly streams of sunflower-yellow into the water but as the ballistic dissolves, pinks and oranges begin to prize themselves from the centre and create beautiful swirls of colour, ending with a tub full of bright orange water with a gentle gleam across the surface.This is quite a fast fizzer and although it also happens to be a quiet bath bomb for the most part, Never Mind The Ballistics dissolves in the space of a couple of minutes. Despite the heaviness of it, due to the cocoa butter coating, this bath bomb remained floating on the surface - something I was rather impressed with.
Scent wise, this bath bomb contains both orange and lime oils as well as an entire fresh banana, so the smell that it radiates is a very sweet, fruity one. However, both of the citrus fruits are rather mild in this mix (something we have the banana to thank for) so this is not zesty in the slightest. Instead the product offers a smell that reminds me a little of tropical juice, just without the inclusion of the coconut.
Impressively, although the bath bomb is not the strongest out of the packet, this ballistic kept a robust fragrance throughout the entire experience and I could still detect the wonderful, creamy fruity smell while I was using other Lush products. Furthermore, the bath bomb left a faint but long-lasting aroma on my skin afterwards and I was still able to detect it on my body and hair some four hours after I had exited the bath.
Thanks to both the bananas and the cocoa butter, my skin was left feeling really soft and well moisturised, and I found that I didn't have to use a body lotion afterwards. My skin remained in noticeably good condition for the entire day and into the next, and I even found that some of the paper cuts on my hands healed up a lot quicker than they usually do. Overall, this is a really wonderful addition to Lush's Christmas range this year and I am so glad that it's a regular item for all to enjoy. I won't be buying a surplus of these to last me through the year but I am very happy to have a large handful to keep me going into the warmer months. Whether you're feeling rebellious or not, Never Mind The Ballistics is definitely one to share a bath with this winter.
Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Lime Oil, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Olibanum Resinoid, Fresh Banana, Cream of Tartar, Gardenia Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Propylene Glycol,l PEG-6 Caprylic / Capric Glycerides & PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, *Limonene, Perfume, Colour 19140:1, Colour 19140, Colour 45410, Colour 15510, Colour 14700, Colour 17200.
Vegan?: Yes.
2016 Price: £4.25 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2016.
