I absolutely adore Mario, Nintendo’s best and brightest mascot. I’m also a big fan of LUSH cosmetics and toiletries, and know to use a bath bomb once in a while to make bathing more exciting than writhing in my own dirt.
So when LUSH announced a Mario-themed collection in partnership with the Super Mario Bros. movie (out this week, April 5), I couldn’t help but want to take a small loan to buy the stuff. Apparently, I also couldn’t resist the urge to crack as many jokes as possible. People don’t like it that much, but what about those who do? You are my people.
However, what I’m not a big fan of is my pick of LUSH x Mario products. This isn’t the first time I’ve bought something from LUSH that makes bath time the opposite of what it should be – stressful. I did buy the brightest pink bath bombs I could find a few years ago and ended up staining the tub. No matter what I try, and no matter how much bleach I subsequently inhale, the pale pink ring around the tub never fades. Ultimately, it didn’t matter because that landlord didn’t deserve my unparalleled cleaning.
Last week, I picked up the Power Up Block, a giant yellow bath bomb that hides a secret, soapy power-up block. In addition to it, I also bought the body wash and many people don’t like the body wash I call “Luigi Cream”. If this applies to you, you’ll be glad to know that Luigi’s cream completely blew me away and smelled more like Play-Doh than apples. Undoubtedly so.
I also found it quite ironic that my Power Up Block, a bath bomb designed for gamers and avid Mario fans, turned my bathtub the color of a very dehydrated gamer’s piss. Very apt, even. There’s an orange flash with the Power Up Block, but after that? A grand cleaning job.
A bath bomb as big as a Power Up Block can create a lot of mess, which is exactly what I expected. I didn’t expect to go back to my old mistakes when I was bleaching yellow and orange stains in the tub. Even now, after two showers and several showers, I can’t get rid of the glistening residue lingering in every crevice around the tub and toilet. I don’t even know how it got there.
That said, chaos really is one of the joys of the series. Of course, Luigi’s apple-flavored body wash didn’t make me feel refreshed, and Power Up Block made me cancel the previous Mario-themed relaxation time by cleansing. That said, the powdered soap in it makes it all worth it; mini mushrooms. In Mario’s world, this would shrink me to just a fraction of my size, but in the comfort of my bathtub, this secret soap smells like candy. As a bar of soap, it can also be stored for a while and reused, which makes my purchase feel worthwhile.
Watching my Power Up Block sizzle while eagerly anticipating my Mario-themed soap makes me honestly feel like a kid again. I often indulge in bath bombs or other things to enhance my bathing abilities, but I didn’t expect to experience an almost child-like joy from this activity. While not a quality collaboration, offering the same indulgence and relaxation as other LUSH products, it’s certainly a fun collaboration!
An interesting one, I would buy it once and never again.
