Isabel Bercaw

Shall we bathe?

The Bercaw sisters started making bath bombs in their kitchen and turned their fun hobby into a huge business. Now they are sharing recipes with us so we give it a try too (the bath bomb part, I'm not sure about the business). A lot of the recipes are ones you can find anywhere, but the book is a fun gift for a teen or maybe for a wedding shower (wink wink).

I don't like tub baths so bath bombs don't appeal, but the shower melt variations certainly do. These are mini bombs that you put on the floor of the shower to set off fizz and scent when the hot water hits. There are recipes for shower accessories like loofah scrubbers. I'm also interested in the insect repellent soap bar with lemon, eucalyptus and thyme. Research shows that these scents are not very effective for most people, but every deterrent helps. If I were going to make these recipes as gifts I would go for bath jellies and the bath blob – candy-like gels that add bath oil and scent to the water. The shaving foam recipe, though, sounds like too much work for a one-use batch.

The scents the Bercaws choose are too kid oriented – who wants to smell like bubble gum? – but they hint at more sophisticated combinations and the suppliers they list sell a wide range of fragrances for grownups.

I am reading an ARC and so the text is not in its final version. I could not help but notice that some of the recipes aren't complete. For example, one lists mica chips but doesn't tell you when to use them. One nail soak lists mustard as an ingredient but doesn’t say what kind – dry yellow, black, Chinese prepared, regular yellow mustard or what. While there is discussion about avoiding greasy, discolored bathtubs and how to avoid soaking yourself blue with an overenthusiastically colored bomb, there is no reminder that using oils in shower stalls is particularly hazardous. There isn't much discussion of allergies either.

I keep thinking of this book in the hands of preteens… Look mom – Grammy turned green!

I received a review copy of "Fizz Boom Bath!: How to Make Your Own Bath Bombs, Sugar Scrubs, and More at Home!" by Isabel Bercaw and Caroline Bercaw (Quarto - Rock Point) through NetGalley.com.… (mehr)

Do you like DIY books? Are you wondering, why do I spend so much on bath products? Although you might have to spend a bit to get the ingredients for these products, once you have them they’ll last for a long time.

Check out the rest of my review here!

https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/fizz-boom-bath-learn-how...… (mehr)