Lush Karma Bubble Bar Review and Demo
By Contributor: Shilpa Madan
Most people I know have quite strong reactions to Lush, you probably either love or hate it! Some like me are drawn by the multitude of fragrances emanating from the beautifully merchandised Lush stores whereas some like my husband run a mile away in the opposite direction! Some (like me) consider the not-so-inexpensive handmade cosmetics an indulgent treat to pamper myself where as some may consider it stupid to pay so much for a soap or shampoo. To each his own, but I am sold on their concept of no animal testing, minimal packaging (good for the environment), belief in freshness of ingredients, giving their employees credit (they put their photos on the products) and their playful attitude reflective in their nomenclature of products!
No one can deny that Lush stores are beautifully merchandized, with so many colorful candy-like treats around, it is impossible (at least for me) to not loosen my purse-strings.
The product in question today is one of my addictions – the Lush Karma Bubble Bar. I was honestly intrigued by this one – we all know bubble baths are liquid! How will this solid chunky bar create mounds of bubbles? Well, I was curious to say the least.
Lush says about Karma Bubble Bar: Good Karma is difficult to come by these days, so that’s why we created a bubble bar with our signature pine and patchouli fragrance in a potent swirl of time-warping bubbles so you can bathe in Karma too. Now you can transport your senses to a middle-eastern spice market from the comforting confines of your tub. Since Karma is a fragrance that keeps on giving, it was the least we could do for our loyal fans. We use elemi oil in our Karma products for its unique aroma and skin conditioning properties.
Expand your mind with a hippy trippy bath that envelops you in an orange haze of heady scents. A Karma bath is like a trip to a festival in a VW Camper Van; it will last all day and is full of smells, daydreams and anticipation of excitement to come. Are you a Karma, Karma, Karma, Karma, Karma chameleon? Do you blend into the background of same predictable scents or does Karma help you stand out and be different? If you’re a fan of this fragrance then we’ve made a whole Karma range for you – Karma soap, Karma Komba, Karma Kream, and Karma perfume! One Bubble Bar Slice contains the exact amount of fragrance and bubble power needed to give you one perfect, Hollywood-film-star-style bubble bath. (I don’t really agree with this last sentence, read on to know why?)
How to use? Crumble under running warm water as you fill the tub. The stronger your water pressure, the more bubbles you will make. Encourage experimentation for best results. To get the most out of bubble bars, keep them in a cool, dry place.
The bar is a beautiful mélange of pink-orange and yellow colors with a little bit of glitter (not very noticeable). Looks pretty, but the real magic happens when you smell it. It’s a stunning smell, one that you take long sniffs of…and then come back for more. Lush lists the key fragrance notes as orange, patchouli, pine, lavender, lemongrass and elemi. It’s citrus and spicy, but not overly so, to me it smells invigorating, bright and optimistic. No sticky, overly sweet fruits in there! It’s a crisp, potent, energetic, spicy fragrance. It was in my cupboard for a week before I used it, and my cupboard smells awesome now!
Since I wasn’t sure of the amount of the bubbles it would generate, I ended up experimenting by slicing the bar in half. And then crumbled a handful under direct water from the tap, and voila! It is magic! Gave me tons and tons of frothy, luscious bubbles with less than half bar, enough to cover my not-so-tiny bath tub. (Hence each bar gives me 3 luxurious bubble baths! ) Turned the bath a shade of light orange, which was ok with me. Luxurious, indulgent bubble bath left my skin normal…not icky or stretchy, so I guess the elemi oil is doing its job. The fragrance blooms beautifully in the bath and I loved the experience. Stayed on me for around 3-3.5 hours and possibly could have stayed longer if I had used the full bar for one bath (as Lush recommends)
Lush Karma Bubble Bar Demo:
My bath tub full of bubbles
Leveraging the concept of layering we learned, Lush has a whole Karma range including soap, solid shampoo, body cream and perfume for Karma fans who want to makes this fragrance last longer on their skin by layering multiple products.
Here are some Lush store photos for you
What Works:
- Addictive, alluring (not the candy floss, bubble gummy, sweet kinds) fragrance
- Loads of bubbles!
- Easy to use in the bath
- Not tested on animals
- Preservative free
- Minimal packaging
Or as Lush says, “a clean conscience and a clean body”
What Doesn’t:
- The put down price is high, though it lasts at least 3 uses.
Price: Rs.290 (Lush is also available to buy online in India)
VNA Rating: 4/5
Will I re-purchase? Yes, most definitely! Actually, taking it one step further…I am after the perfume now!
So, is it for you? Next time you are at the Lush store, give it a sniff! Chances are, you will fall in love with Karma Bubble Bar. The fragrance is addictive and who doesn’t love bubble baths! It is my guilty pleasure after a tiring, long day or a nice pick-me-up after an awfully bad day!
Also read: DIY Lush Bath Bomb at home
