The Best Bath Bombs Are Lush Bath Bombs (2024)

The research

  • Who this is for
  • Why you should trust us
  • How we picked and tested
  • Our pick: Lush Bath Bombs
  • Also great: Old Whaling Co. Bath Bombs
  • Budget pick: Purelis Natural Bath Bomb Gift Set
  • Also great: Two Sisters Squishy Surprise Bubble Bombs
  • The competition

Who this is for

Like a lovely cloth napkin or the perfect pen, a bath bomb can elevate an everyday experience—here, a soak in the tub—into one that’s sublime. Although they differ from brand to brand, most bath bombs imbue bathwater with fizz, fragrance, and fun colors. Some also introduce bubbles, dried flowers, or flecks of biodegradable glitter.

As people slog away at their endless mountains of professional and personal tasks, taking the time to draw a bath instead of hopping into the shower may already feel like a radical act. For a few exhilarating moments, soaking with a good bath bomb serves as a metaphoric middle finger to time and responsibility, a personal fireworks display declaring victory in the name of self-care.

While most bath bombs are enjoyable, they’re not all created equal. Some contain ingredients that can trigger reactions in people with allergies or sensitivities, while others can stain skin and tubs. (Nearly every bath bomb available contains sodium bicarbonate, so if you have a known reaction to baking soda, consider relaxing with a nice bubble bath or bath oil instead.)

Bath bombs might not be for you if you can’t risk damaging your tub or skin, as staining is an uncommon worst-case scenario to consider, especially with highly pigmented or darker-hued bombs. All of our picks, including Lush bath bombs, have some online reviews in which buyers have posted complaints about skin and bathtub staining. Black bath bombs are almost guaranteed to stain something, whether it’s a tub or a manicure. Although most tub stains are actually the result of colorants adhering to soap scum and grime (not to the tub itself), some bath bombs can leave stubborn stains that take time to fade. If you want to use a colorful bath bomb but can’t risk damaging your tub, or if you’re in a shared-tub situation and you don’t want to undo your stress reduction by having to scrub immediately post-soak, consider using a disposable tub liner for protection and quick cleanup.

Why you should trust us

Personally, I’ve taken an estimated 3,000-plus baths over 43 years, and including the time spent bathing my two children, I’ve had tons of tub time to try all manner of soaps and soaks. I’ve also been bath-bombing since before the term became a zeitgeisty verb, and while researching this guide I spent hours scouring listings for the top-rated (and most underrated) bath bombs currently available. I also consulted New York dermatologist Michelle Henry, MD, for information on bath bomb ingredients and skin sensitivities (overall, research on the efficacy and safety of bath bombs is limited).

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How we picked and tested

I waded through a sea of customer reviews to find the best bath bombs. I omitted any bath bombs whose instructions sadistically involved a post-bomb rinse or additional soak (like these). Then, I whittled my initial list of more than 50 possible options down to 16, considering ingredients, price, and availability, with a careful eye on a high number of reported negative experiences, such as tub or skin staining (a possibility with all bath bomb brands).

Once I had our finalists in hand, my kids and I bathed for weeks on end, subjectively evaluating fizz, scent, and color strength, plus timing how long the bath bomb took to fully dissolve. (Our bath bomb testing also provided a home-schooling math lesson, as my kids and I had fun calculating the fizz-price-per-minute for each bath bomb we tried.)

Our pick: Lush Bath Bombs

The Best Bath Bombs Are Lush Bath Bombs (1)

Top pick

Lush Bath Bombs

A luxurious, effervescent tub treat

Often imitated but not yet duplicated, Lush bath bombs “explode” as soon as they hit the water, filling your tub with gorgeous color, long-lasting fragrance, and skin-soothing oils.

Buying Options

Buy from Lush(price varies)

Truly, Lush makes the very best bath bombs, which come in a variety of shapes, colors, scents, and fizz options. Lush co-founder Mo Constantine is credited with inventing the bath bomb in 1989, inspired by Alka-Seltzer. Every facet of the Lush bath bomb experience is, well, lush, from the minimalist packaging to the instant and intense fizz explosion upon first water contact to the baby-soft feel of the skin afterward.

They provide a multisensory experience. Unlike other bath bombs, which take a while to get going in the water, Lush bath bombs practically detonate once submerged. They fizz aggressively and are mesmerizing to watch as they fill the tub with color, perfume, and a skin-softening blend of oils. On average they fizz for three minutes, for an exorbitant fizz-price-per-minute of $2 to $4 (in contrast to our budget pick’s per-minute cost of roughly 20¢).

There are tons of colors and scents. Choosing which Lush bath bomb to soak in can seem as impossible as picking a single piece of chocolate from a box: The beautiful bathing baubles come in dozens of shapes and scents with silly names. Many people find it near impossible to buy just one or even to have a single favorite, a delightful conundrum that fuels the brand’s cultish fans, some of whom curate their Lush collections and rate their bathing experiences with more detail and gusto than top oenophiles ever exhibit. Like a quality wine, a Lush bath bomb is a pricey, fleeting treat that is physically savored for just a moment but sensually recalled fondly for some time.

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Whereas competitors come wrapped up in indistinguishable protective plastic, Lush’s bath bombs arrive “naked,” ensconced in biodegradable bags and packing peanuts. You can smell many Lush bath bombs even before you fully unbox them: Their fragrances are strong and long-lasting. For three months, the scent wafting from the no-longer available Bathosaurus Rex bath bomb perfumed my bedroom more intensely than many reed diffusers have.

To produce an especially colorful show in the water, most Lush bath bombs contain dyes. For a dye-free bath bomb experience, consider Lush’s Butterball, or any of the three dye-free varieties from our also-great pick, Old Whaling Co. bath bombs.

Although the Lush bath bomb experience is often imitated, by luxury and low-end competitors alike, no company has yet to duplicate Lush’s unique extravagance.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

With even the least expensive Lush bath bombs priced at $6.50, and most bombs going for $1.07 to $2.43 per ounce (at least four times the cost per bomb of our budget pick), Lush bath bombs are among the most expensive available.

On top of that, if you’re unable to get to a Lush store, you’re stuck paying for shipping on orders under $70.

As with all bath bombs, tub and skin staining is a possibility, most notably with the black, hot pink, and glitter varieties.

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Also great: Old Whaling Co. Bath Bombs

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Also great

Old Whaling Co. Bath Bombs

Bath bombs with dye- and fragrance-free options

These large, fizzy, long-lasting bombs come in a variety of options, including some that are dye-free and/or fragrance-free (yet still full of fun).

Buying Options

$8 from Old Whaling Co.

$32 from Amazon(pack of four)

If you prefer more-muted colors and scents, or you’d like a dye-free or fragrance-freebath bomb, consider Old Whaling Co. bath bombs.

They are nearly as impressive as Lush bath bombs. Bath bombs from Old Whaling Co. have plenty of effervescence (fizzing for upwards of three minutes). The scented versions smell incredible, while the dyed ones tint the tub water in gorgeous hues. The dye- and fragrance-free versions afford a subdued, more elegant bathing experience; once plopped in the tub, they fizz more like good Champagne. Comparatively, the Lush bombs we’ve tested explode more aggressively, like popcorn kernels.

And there are lots of available colors and scents. There are sixteen scents available, including an unscented version and four dye-free options.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

At $8 apiece (approximately $1 per ounce), they are more expensive but larger (and thus less per ounce) than most options from our top pick.

As with any bath bombs made from solid ingredients, with these there is a possibility of some post-soak flecks of oatmeal or spearmint leaves(in our experience, any debris is easily wiped away).

Budget pick: Purelis Natural Bath Bomb Gift Set

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Budget pick

Purelis Natural Bath Bomb Gift Set

A lot of bath bomb for the buck

Starting at around $1 each, these comparatively affordable Purelis bath bombs fizz longer than the competition and smell great.

Buying Options

$47 from Amazon(set of 40)

For an investment of roughly $1 per bomb (depending upon the arrangement), you can get a bulk box of fizzy and fragrant Purelis Natural Bath Bombs. In fact, the Purelis bath bombs’ fizz-price-per-minute of about 20¢ blows that of both the budget and luxury competition out of the water. On average, these Purelis bath bombs fizz for a whopping five minutes before completely dissolving (nearly twice as long as Lush bath bombs).

They’re bought in bulk, but each bomb is individually wrapped. Considering their lower price, these Purelis bath bombs make it possible to turn an occasional splurge into a more-frequent ritual. Although the bombs themselves are uniform in shape and size, they come in a set of 30 different colors and smells that afford a month’s worth of visual and olfactory bathtime adventures.

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The experience is excellent for the investment. If someone doesn’t know just how superior Lush bath bombs are in every way, they wouldn’t feel as if they were missing out on anything with Purelis bath bombs. Although Purelis bath bombs take a second or two to activate in the water, they offer a satisfactory fizz factor that lasts for a long time, they create beautiful tub colors, and they leave behind a subtle skin scent that is short-lived but still pleasant.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

They can’t be bought individually. These bath bombs come only in mixed sets, so if you find a scent that you especially like, you can’t purchase it individually.

As with all bath bombs, tub and skin staining is a possibility, most frequently with the Black Tea bath bomb in this set.

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Also great: Two Sisters Squishy Surprise Bubble Bombs

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Also great

Two Sisters Squishy Surprise Bubble Bombs

A bath bomb with a surprise inside

For the kid or kid-at-heart, these long-lasting colorful bath bombs produce amazing fizz and pleasing scents, and they reveal a surprise toy as they dissolve in the tub.

Buying Options

$33 from Amazon(set of six)

These pricey but powerful surprise-filled bath bombs deliver a one-two punch: a colorful, effervescent bath experience and a “squishy” toy that’s revealed as the baking soda and citric acid melt away. Two Sisters Squishy Surprise Bubble Bombs come in different packs of six bath bombs each, making each bomb cost around $5. For the bathtime- and surprise-toy-loving kid (or adult) in your life, they could well be worth the splurge.

The bath bombs themselves provide a fun experience. The fizz factor of these bath bombs is top-notch, and the smells are sweetly childish without being saccharine. Like our budget pick, these bath bombs dissolve for a generous five minutes on average.

And our kid testers were very pleased with the small toys inside. Although the squishy plaything inside is no more than a garden-variety gumball-machine toy, the surprise element is super fun, especially for young children. The post-bath skin feel and smell are pleasant and last for a few hours.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

They can only be bought in a set. You can’t buy these bath bombs individually, so you’ll have to plunk down $30 or so for a set of six. At 5 ounces, each bomb is double the size but five times the price of our budget pick, and it offers basically the same experience but with different scents and one of 71 “collectible” cheap squishy surprises inside. If you’re not motivated by the toy, our main pick or budget pick is a better choice.

Each bath bomb is wrapped in plastic. There’s also plastic inside to open—and toss. It’s near impossible for slippery little hands to open the plastic ball that contains the squishy surprise, so stay close by or tell your child to holler for you once it’s time to open the container, lest you find yourself like me, mopping up a path of foot puddles between your location and the tub.

As with all bath bombs, tub and skin staining is a possibility.

The competition

It’s hard to call a bath bomb that doesn’t irritate skin or stain the tub bad, but the LOL Surprise Bath Bombs come close to deserving that label. These bombs totally bomb, sinking straight to the bottom of the tub, ejecting a fizzless stream of color for a snooze-worthy three minutes.

Although they contain baking soda and citric acid, the 1-inch diameter Kate McLeod Breathe Pebble bath bombs don’t produce the same effervescent effects as our picks. (In various test baths, we used two or three of these “pebble”-size bombs, which fizzed minimally.) The combination of oils effectively moisturized our skin, and the strong eucalyptus scent was especially appealing to a tester who used these while recovering from a cold. Still, at just under $2 per bomb (costing $4 to $6 per bath), for the price we think most people will prefer the as-luxurious Lush bath bomb experience.

The following bombs simply didn’t hold up against our top and budget picks due to comparatively underwhelming fizz and muted colors: Bodycology Cherry Blossom Bath Fizzies (bag of eight), Da Bomb Bath Fizzers, (set of two), Dr. Teal’s Replenishing Pink Himalayan Ultra Moisturizing Bath Bombs (bag of four or five, currently available only in coconut, eucalyptus, or lavender)and Deep Sea Lavender Scented Bath Bombs (bag of five), , Hempz Triple Moisture Bath Fizzer, (set of two), Suave Flavor Factory Sweet Treats Bath Bombs (bag of five), and Two Sisters Eucalyptus Spearmint Bubble Bomb (currently unavailable). We previously dismissed two no-longer-available bath bombs from Ulta Beauty and Village Naturals.

This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.

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The Best Bath Bombs Are Lush Bath Bombs (2024)

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