Guest Author - Jilly Florio

Lush bath ballistics are so creative, pretty, and often multipurpose. This bath bomb was rumored to help ease PMS cramps: I was ready to try anything, since I don’t like taking medicine if I don’t have to. Here’s my Lush Hot Java Ballistic Review.

Well, I had saved the Hot Java Bath Ballistic (a newly discontinued Lush item) for when I had unmanageable PMS cramps. So, here is the review:

Hot Java makes a pretty bomb for display and smells just wonderful when dry, too, so I enjoyed smelling and looking at this bomb on my vanity display area. I have quite a bit of Lush products sitting out. :)

In the tub - it was very pretty while dissolving, and dissolved more quickly than some Lush bombs that kick around for awhile (I do prefer the ones that take awhile as a rule, but I wanted to see if they helped my cramps, so fast was good in this situation).

This was nice - the Hot Java ballistic made the water a nice deep smoky reddish-peach. :)

I didn’t mind the big chunks of cinnamon released from the bomb. I retrieved a few of the pieces, let them dry, and added them to my homemade Bellevue Potpourri (afterwards). I didn’t find myself sitting on the cinnamon stick chunks or finding them poking me, as many of the Lush Forum “Lushies” complain about Hot Java. But then again, I different people have different tub configurations.

Anyway, the spicy-ness was enjoyable but slightly irritating, so I didn’t stay in the tub long. Each time I picked out the cinnamon bits my cracked cuticles would hurt…so I wasn’t sure i wanted an obvious irritant like that soaking into my privates. The spice did seem to make the heat of the tub last longer, though.

There was no red ring left behind in the tub - a plus.

A minus - no soothing salts or cocoa butter - this was more of a simple ballistic. So I added a chunk of a Floating Island (Lush bath melt - mostly cocoa butter and some vanilla and sandalwood scents that didn’t fight the Hot Java theme). That really made a difference, softening the water and making it a bit more luxurious.

Overall, I can’t say if the ballistic helped the cramps (I did feel better for a bit after, but that could have been the bath in general). Spicy essential oils (cinnamon, ginger, coriander and the the like) are considered counter-irritants, which DO help relieve deeper inflammation in many situations. It’s the same reasoning behind using mint oil on the feet, or camphor on the lips. But then again, hot water alone also helps ease body aches and pains, spices aside. Since the spices helped retain the water heat longer, then I could say this bomb did help in that regard.