Lush Review: Dashing Santa Ballistic

After my last encounter with the Humpty Dumpty bath bomb, which was all too disappointing, I really wanted my next Lush product that I used to be a big hit. And I was not disappointed. Since I'm leaving for the beach tomorrow and will be residing there for the entire week of spring break, I decided I didn't have time to wait for my order to be delivered, and I certainly wasn't going to pay a hefty price of $36 for one day shipping off the Lush website! So I turned to Amazon. The prices off there are marked up, usually a few dollars more than the usual in-store cost, but I was willing to pay, especially since I have Amazon Prime and can get two-day shipping without a cost at all. I finally decided on the Secret Santa gift set, which includes Dashing Santa Ballistic and Peeping Santa bubbleroon for a total of only $13! I also ordered the Stardust bath bomb, as well as Father Christmas, so reviews on these will be coming later. Anyways, Dashing Santa ballistic- it's definitely worth the money. As soon as I received the box, I could smell it through all the packaging. Despite being a few months old, it was very strong. Dashing Santa is described by Lush as a, "...jolly satsuma-scented bath bomb." I'd say their description is spot-on. Brightside bubble bar, for comparison, has a very sickly sweet, straight-up orange scent, one of freshly squeezed mandarin oranges. However, Dashing Santa has a different kind of orangey, citrus scent, and it very much surprised and pleased me the first time I took a whiff. Packed with mandarin oil, bergamot, and orange flower absolute, it smells to me like a sweet orange, coupled with a floral note to it that was unexpected for me, but I absolutely fell in love with the scent. Today I had a tennis lesson and came home exhausted and drenched in sweat, and I decided on a little pick-me-up bath to keep my spirits and energy up. Dashing Santa stood out to me right away. This bath bomb has a cute, festive design. In the shape of a Santa in a running position, with a parcel in hand and his golden boots, I can imagine that this item could easily be cut and used across a few baths, which is a definite perk. However, I was feeling greedy today and was in no mood to cut anything short. Once placed in the hot water that had filled the tub, this cheery ballistic bobbed at the top and immediately began to spew out the most beautiful baby pink and some cherry reds, and the gold drifted off Santa into the water like liquid gold might. Despite the name, this product fizzes away at slow rate, and it finally melted all the way into oblivion after about 12 minutes. I was very pleased with this, as I'm more of a person for a nice long soak and a good show, and by no means short-lived. Upon it finally disappearing once and for all, the water was a lovely color. Although I've heard of so many dedicated Lushies claiming this ballistic turned the water a "period blood" color, I couldn't disagree more. The shade of my water, a nice, soft, peach color, reminded me right away of Raspberry Peach Snapple. And the smell remained just as strong as ever throughout the experience. Although this ballistic didn't leave my skin feeling particularly moisturized, I didn't want to leave the tub ever! And once I did grudgingly exit and drain the tub, I smelt of orange and orange flowers, leaving me as living proof of the best perfume ever made. I gladly give this Lush product a 5/5. With it's slow melt-away time, the wonderful show as it fizzes away that it puts on, the fantastic smell it gives off and clever design, it can't be beat.