Review: LUSH The Sound Bath Spa Treatment

Do you ever just hit a rut in your life and feel like you need something to clear away all the uncertainty and confusion in your head, so you can think clearly again? That's exactly how I was feeling on the days leading up to booking my Sound Bath spa treatment. I felt sad and foggy, like every day was the same and I was too tired to even think about making any changes.

I thought back to how carefree and uplifted I felt after my The Comforter? spa treatment at LUSH Leeds, and decided it was finally time to use one of the spa vouchers I have been hoarding since Christmas.

I emailed the LUSH Leeds spare to book a double room to share with my best friend, Em, and we decided on The Sound Bath due to it being her first ever spa treatment. Whilst I was researching treatments I stumbled across the most incredible article on The Sound Bath, which cemented my decision to book it right away. 

So what did I think to my Sound Bath experience? I've split this review up into three parts in order to accurately express my feelings and emotions during every step of the treatment. Spoilers ahead!

Before

Due to an accident on the motorway, we were 8 minutes into our 10 minute grace period for lateness when we finally got to LUSH Leeds Spa. Sweaty and stressed, we were lead downstairs into the country kitchen where everything just... stopped.

As soon as the door to the spa closed, an air of serenity settled around me. It was as if all the stress and rush of the city had been blocked out in a instant as we were settled down at the big kitchen table with our beautiful therapists, Beth and Megan. 

Beth and Megan explained the overall purpose of the treatment to us and how it was designed to open our minds and remove toxins from the body via sound vibrating through our heart chakras (the one that influences balance, calmness and serenity) and massage of the crown chakra (our state of consciousness and awareness of the universe.)

We were then presented with our ‘box of wonder’ - a small square crate from which wisps of smoke were gently pooling. Upon opening the box, we found inside two mushrooms with the words ‘eat me’ and two bottles labelled ‘drink me’ nestled on a soft bed of green moss. It was as if we were entering the world of Alice in Wonderland. Megan explained how the raw cacao mushrooms and apple and elderflower ‘shots’ were natural mood boosters and would open our heart and crown chakras to prepare us for our sound therapy session. 

They also showed us the ear candles that would be used in the treatment and assured us that they were safe and wouldn’t wouldn’t pull any substance in (our out of) our ears. I really appreciated this, as it was the part of the treatment I was the most nervous about. 

We were shown to our double treatment room and asked to remove our shoes and any jewellery that would get in the way. We were also invited to remove any other items of clothing if it would help us to get more comfortable in the beds, but it wasn’t required for the treatment. The accompanying CD was playing the most serene track of goat bells, mixed with the sounds of bumblebees cheerfully zipping around, as of we were laying in a meadow. 

Once we were settled snugly in the treatment beds I rang a little bell to let Beth and Megan know we were ready to begin.

During

Our Sound Bath treatment began with ‘grounding’ us to the space we were in. Pressure was slowly applied to each of my limbs in the same way a cat would pad its feet on you before settling, and Megan blew incense over me before holding the tuning forks over my ears. 

I was strapped onto the pillow (but not in a scary straight-jacket way, in a super-soft headband kind of way) and my first facial massage began. Using Jojoba oil, Megan squished my face into all kinds of funky positions, drawing all the tension out of my cheeks and jaw. She then used two comfortably hot stones to massage the oil into my face. It was the most luxurious feeling, and sent a tingle down my spine every time the hot stones passed around my eyes. 

Next she placed a buzzing tuning fork on my chest, directly above where the heart chakra is and applied a little pressure. It was a strange feeling that I could feel vibrating throughout my entire body, and didn’t last as long as I would have liked it to. I found that to be a reoccurring theme with the tuning forks - they tended to ‘run out’ quicker than I felt they should have done. 

I then had the tuning forks placed over my temples, cheeks, forehead and behind my ears in turn. Before being placed, each facial part was gently stroked so I unconsciously knew to prepare for the ‘buzz’ that followed. Feeling them behind my ears was the strangest experience, but felt absolutely incredible (and was definitely a minor turn-on, sorry Megan.) 

Megan then gently whispered in my ear, asking me to turn onto whichever side was the most comfortable for me. Once I turned over, a Hopi candle was gently placed into my ear and lit, causing a crackling sound and warming sensation to travel deep into my ear. It felt exactly like lying next to a roaring log fire, with an instant feeling of relief once removed. I’d like to think it was the feeling of ‘toxins being drawn out’ but it was most likely ear sweat. Either way I really enjoyed it. 

Up next was the scalp massage. Our therapists had briefly mentioned that the scalp massage would be more intense than any other we may have had before, but I was not prepared for anything as vigorous as what I received. I love my hair being played with anyway, and it was fantastic to have a thorough scalp treatment, even if it did feel a little too hard at certain times. 

Finally I had a second facial massage with another hit of incense blown over me. I originally thought that the hot stones were the height of luxury - they were nothing compared to the feeling of the cold stones being run over my face. On such a hot, humid day it was absolute bliss and I did not want it to end. 

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and my The Sound Bath treatment ended with once again being grounded in the cat-like way from the beginning before Megan whispered that my treatment had finished, and we could take as long as we needed to relax and readjust before joining them in the kitchen for a cup of tea.

After

Immediately after sitting up, I noticed how much more energised and alert I was feeling. Whilst The Comforter? had placed me into a dreamy trance, The Sound Bath has awakened me, and everything felt much clearer. Em stated how her sinuses felt much better, and the treatment had definitely soothed her allergies and hay fever. My hearing had become incredibly heightened, like a little fox. The ear candles had definitely worked a treat!

A pot of tea each was waiting for us when we returned to the cosy kitchen, and Beth said we could take as long as we needed to relax and enjoy the tea before returning to the bustle of the outside world. She advised us not to eat too much dairy, drink any alcohol or submerge our ears in water for the next 24 hours, as we had been purified of toxins.

Overall I really enjoyed my Sound Bath treatment, but it didn’t have the same lasting effects as The Comforter? did, and I didn’t find it quite as enchanting either. I did absolutely love how it was a very green, ‘witchy’ treatment, what with talk of chakras and the Earth goddess inspired soundtrack and theme (including the box of wonder) but I’m not sure if any of it did anything. For example, a scrub and body serum is a physical thing that you can feel the effects of, whilst musical prongs being held by your ears doesn’t really have an after effect that can be measured. 

Another thing I noticed with The Sound Bath treatment was that I was definitely more aware of what was happening when compared to The Comforter. I picked up on each and every sound and movement the therapists made, as opposed to just drifting off and listening to the soundtrack. With all the different sounds and sensations in the room, I barely noticed the CD was on at all, yet at the same time it provided the perfect background ‘noise’ to complement the treatment. 

All in all, The Sound Bath spa treatment promised to be deeply immersive (very) and relaxing (not quite) whilst awakening the senses, which it definitely accomplished. I don’t think it would be my first choice to try again, but I’m glad to have experienced it for myself. 

Have you tried this energising LUSH Spa treatment?

What did you make of it?

Review: LUSH Tender Is The Night Bath Bomb

To celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the bath bomb, LUSH decided to release 54 new bath bombs online and in selected stores. These bath bombs were previously exclusive to the Harajuku store in Japan, so it was incredibly exciting to have so many new goodies to try at once.

I've been pacing myself by only ordering three new bombs at a time, but up until now I had been underwhelmed with the ones I had tried.  So what did I make of Tender Is The Night bath bomb?

Initially, my thoughts weren't good. Despite being an average sized bomb, Tender Is The Night has a price tag of £5.95, a whole £2 more than it's equivalent sized friends. Usually I would make a point about certain bath bombs containing luxury oils which contribute to the price, however after checking the ingredients list, it really doesn't differ wildly from Sex Bomb.

Both bombs feature Ylang Ylang and Jasmine as the main ingredients, with the only real difference being that Tender Is The Night contains Vanilla Absolute instead of Clary Sage. A slight annoyance, especially considering all the recent price hikes at LUSH are resulting in a single bath edging towards the £10 mark when you factor in a bath bomb and a chunk of bubble bar. (But that's a rant for another time.)
In bomb form, Tender Is The Night doesn't really look like much. It's a simple spherical ballistic in a pale candy-pink shade, with stripes of white running through it. It's delicate and pretty, but doesn't scream "pick me!" when you compare it to the rest of the bombs available. If I wasn't such a sucker for anything pink, I probably wouldn't have chosen Tender Is The Night to try at all.

As you can imagine from the ingredients I mentioned above, TITN (effort to write it out again so many times!) is a powdery sweet bomb with a little hit of vanilla. To describe it, I would say Sex Bomb and Silky Underwear mixed together and dipped in chocolate. The jasmine is nowhere near as strong in TITN as it is in Sex Bomb, but it instead supplies a deliciously powdery base note which is sweetened by the Ylang Ylang to create a sultry yet gentle scent. It very much reminds me of vintage pin-up girls with their hair in soft curls whilst lounging in satin pink lingerie. Innocent, yet provocative all at the same time. 
Popping it into the water, I was actually shook at how much of a dark horse this bath bomb is. Whilst I was expecting a quick fizz of pale pink, a soft dark pink foam began to froth off the sides of the bomb. It was like soft seafoam, very thick and totally luxurious, almost as if I'd used a bubble bar. The bath slowly started to fill with swirls of pink and white as the bomb fizzed on, leaving milky pink water behind in it's wake. It was toally gorgeous, and I couldn't resist getting in before the bomb had even finished its show.

Once out of the bath, the delightful scent gentle lingered on my skin all night. It was such a dream to pull on silky pyjamas and wrap myself up in fresh bed sheets after using this bomb, living out my pin-up girl fantasies.
Tender Is The Night bath bomb also shares it's sexy/gentle scent with Tender Is The Night massage bar (who'd have known.) I have never tried the massage bar myself due to viewing it as a bit basic, but after using TITN bomb I am absolute dying to have a full pamper night featuring the bomb, massage bar, and Sex Bomb shower gel (which I have just ordered from the new Community favourites launch.)

Overall, I am pleased with this bath bomb. I'm not too keen on the price, which is the only thing stopping me from 'stocking up' on it. However I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely be grabbing one every so often as a special treat. It may even replace Sex Bomb as my favourite girly bath.

Have you tried any of the new Harajuku bombs?