Holy Moly Bubbles of Joy!!!

It’s no secret that I love all things bath related. A few months ago, I did a review of Lush’s “The Comforter,” a big, bodacious bubble bar that rocked my world! Now that I am into “soapy crafts” and formulating my own bubble bath, shampoo and conditioner, I stumbled across a tutorial on the Soap Queen blog about making your own solid bubble bath. As I watched the video, I thought, “Hmmm…I’ll bet I can do that and that kind of reminds me of that cool bubble bar that I got from Lush!” So, being the committed DIYer that I am, I ordered the ingredients that I didn’t already have and then got to work!

The nice thing about Anne Marie’s tutorial is that she tested out the formulation beforehand (which is a lot of hard work) so I already knew it would work. Her video clearly shows how easy it is to make solid bubble bath (aka “bubble bars”), which you can customize by using your choice of colors and fragrances. I used a fuchsia color from Brambleberry (Anne Marie’s online store) to make a dark pink and white bar (the same idea as the picture above) as well as a Brambleberry fragrance oil that I already had on hand (“Hello Sweet Thang”). A note on this fragrance—it smells sooo good but it did “brown up” the white part of my bubble bar so next time, if I use this fragrance, I’ll use different colors!

Here’s a link for Anne Marie’s tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/bath-fizzies/how-to-make-solid-bubble-bath-on-soap-queen-tv/

The process was really easy!!! Almost all of the ingredients are available by clicking the link in the tutorial but you may already have many of them at home (I did). And interestingly enough, the ingredients list is very similar to “The Comforter!”

Here’s what I did:

Mix the Dry Ingredients.

Once the liquid ingredients are mixed in well, the dough is divided and colored.

One color is formed into a rectangle on freezer paper or wax paper and then the second color is patted on top. At that point, the mixture is rolled up like a jelly roll (or sushi).

Then you end up with a “roll” that is cut into pieces. When I do this recipe again, I will make my roll shorter in length, which will make it “fatter.”

This recipe made ten bubble bars, which took about five days to dry, thanks to Virginia’s humidity.

I used one of these bubble bars for the first time over the weekend. WOW!!! The bubbles were huge and long lasting—amazing!!! I will definitely be making these again.

Do check on the Soap Queen blog and give this project a try. It’s a lot of fun and very rewarding, especially if you love a good bubble bath!!!

Get Comforted with Lush!

Last week was tough with travel and days that began at 5:30 and ended past 11. It was a week of massive changes due to the acquisition of my company by a much larger company, meeting new people from all over the world and closing business with my team. Lots of excitement and opportunity and no rest for the weary! That is until the weekend!

I arrived home after midnight on Friday and finally fell into bed around 2:30am. After sleeping for twelve hours (thanks, honey!), I gave myself a treat---a long, hot bubble bath courtesy of my new friend, The Comforter Bubble Bar, from Lush! This massive swiss roll-shaped bubble bar really packs a punch! Not only is it a beautiful dark pink and white, it colors the water pink and produces loads of long lasting, silky feeling bubbles. For an idea of its size, see below.

Before even reading the directions, I knew that this one had to be cut in half! Once I placed it into the tub with the water flowing, it immediately began to products large white, fluffy bubbles! As I lowered myself into the tub, my skin immediately felt silky and smooth. At first I thought it must contain loads of oils but according to the Lush website, that silky feeling is the result of the addition of cream of tartar to the formula. Let’s take a look at the ingredients:

Sodium Bicarbonate , Cream of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate) , Sodium Laureth Sulfate , Lauryl Betaine ,Fragrance , Titanium Dioxide , Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia) , Cassis Absolute (Ribes nigrum) , Cypress Oil (Cupressus sempervirens) , *Limonene , *Linalool ,D&C Red No. 27 , D&C Red No. 33

The ingredient list is pretty straight forward. Sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) is found in many, many bath products. It softens the water and generally makes bath products “fizz” (especially when combined with an acid like vinegar, but I digress). This formula also includes cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) and in this case, it is the acid that activates the baking soda, which helps to produce all of those lovely bubbles when also combined with sodium laureth sulfate, the surfactant that actually produces the huge amount of bubbles that spring forth from the Comforter. Another surfactant, lauryl betaine, is used to enhance the longevity of the bubbles. The rest of the ingredients are either used for scent or color (the white comes from the addition of titanium dioxide, which is also used in sunscreens and as a filler in mineral makeup.

Pretty simple stuff but, boy, does it pack a punch with all of those bubbles! I have literally never used a product that offers up the huge volume of incredibly long lasting bubbles that this one does. Honestly, I stayed in the tub way past “pruneville” and I had hardly made a dent in the foam. My bath was incredibly luxurious and lovely, thanks to the Comforter!

If you love a good bubble bath, you absolutely must try the Comforter Bubble Bar. If you have a Lush store nearby, head on over and pick up a couple or click here for the Lush website. There you will find the Comforter for $10.95 which may sound like a lot, but keep in mind that this bar is good for two baths with the longest lasting, fluffiest bubbles you have ever seen. I’m a huge fan after one use (which never happens)!

How about you? Have you tried the Comforter? What do you think?

Ages of Beauty rating: *****