Lush Butterball Bath Ballistic

I'm not a big fan of baths, but I guess that was when I took my nice clean bathtub at home for granted. Moving into student accommodation changed everything, and the second I saw our bathtub I decided the first thing I would do on my visit home would be to take a bath - just because I could.

So after watching as much junk on TV as I could (I don't have a TV at uni either) I ran myself a bath. My Lush Guru (every gal should have one), a fellow Ciao member, had recommended a Butterball bath ballistic and so it was this I tried.

• Lush •
If you haven't heard of Lush, they're a company who've been making us these beautiful treats for 10 whole years now! So where have you been? Their products are handmade, suitable for vegetarians (and more often than not for vegans too) and they have stores located all over the UK, infact all over the world!

• Butterball - what is it? •
The Butterball is a bath ballistic, one of the products Lush is most reknowned for. It's perhaps one of the most plain looking bath ballistics, and it's also one of the smallest, but you know what they say - all the best things come in small packages.

You'll find all the bath ballistics together in your local Lush shop (if of course that's where you're buying it from) and it's just a case of choosing one, putting it in a Lush bag and taking it to the counter where a sticker, containing lots of relevant information about the product (more about this later) will be used to seal the bag.

• Butterball - what does it contain? •
The little sticker I mentioned should contain all the information you want to know about this product. The name, the date you bought it, the price...and the ingredients. If my memory doesn't serve my right, then you'll find a list of ingredients for the product in Lush Times or on the website.

I don't see the need to relay the entire list of ingredients to you now, but there are definitely a couple which merit a mention. Notably there is cocoa butter, which is where this beauty gets its name from. This promises to have a conditioning, softening effect on your skin, whilst scenting it with ylang ylang and musk.

The musk used in Butterball is synthetic, and the reason for this is cited on the website - apparently actual musk comes from the scent gland of a civet cat and since Lush are 100% against testing on animals and all of their products are suitable for vegetarians they use a synthetic musk in this product. I should also mention that this product is suitable for vegans.

• Use •
It couldn't be easier to use - just run yourself a bath, and then when it's run just drop in the Butterball. I get in the bath and then drop it in, it just fizzes into a oblivion whilst you relax. The reason I do this is because as it is dissolving the bits of cocoa butter are released. As soon as they come into contact with your skin they'll start to have their effect but if you're not in the bath they'll just end up round the side and it's a bit of a waste.

The smell....what can I say - it's gorgeous! It smells faintly like white chocolate and the musk gives a really warm smell which is very relaxing.It's a shame it doesn't last a little bit longer but a few minutes after the Butterball dissolves the smell disappears. However it does linger on your skin, again it's quite faint so it's easy to cover up if you so wish.

Don't expect anything magical to happen to the bathwater...if you're looking for a bright, sparkly bath then Butterball isn't for you. Infact, you won't even get any bubbles from Butterball, which might be a disappointment to some of you. Of course, on the plus side this does mean minimal cleaning out once you've finished in the tub.

• Verdict •
I love, love, love this bath ballistic. I haven't tried any of the others but this one absolutely keeps its promises. My skin felt so soft and in such good condition after I'd used it. I loved the scent that lingered on my skin and just felt really relaxed the whole time I was in the bath. I absolutely would buy this again, infact I already have! I've found the effects lasted well over a day which I was really impressed with.

• Price and Availability •
The Butterball is listed on the website as being £1.70 although I'm convinced that I paid more for mine than this, more in the region of £1.85. This is quite expensive for what it is, but it's much cheaper than other bath ballistics (of course it's lighter - weighing only 90g)
Still, I have showers more than I have baths so this makes a really nice treat for me when I have a bath. It's great if you're going to be baring your legs for some reason and they need a bit of TLC.

If you can't make it to a Lush shop, and for your nearest I suggest looking on the Lush website - www.lush.co.uk - you can buy online at the same address, or through the Lush catalogue - Lush Times. These are available in store or you can request a paper version through the website.

I wish they did some kind of Butterball shower gel because I love this ballistic - it almost made me consider using the bath here at university...though no bath product is THAT good!
I'd give it a 9/10 - it's a bit expensive to use everytime you have a bath, but it's well worth splashing out every now and then, your skin will love you for it!

Also, if you really love this product, at Christmas they bring out the limited edition Mr. Butterball - the same product shaped like a snowman and with a very slightly different fragrance. I've tried this as well and it comes just as highly recommended as Butterball itself. Mr. Butterball, though no longer available as it isn't Christmas anymore, will set you back around £1.85.