'I tried Papa Johns' viral garlic bath bomb and it did something awful to bathroom'
Papa Johns has launched an 'unhinged' scent of bath bomb that I was so curious to try - but after plonking it in the bath, I was soon having regrets and literally gagging
Danielle is a Social News Reporter for the social newsdesk, serving titles including The Mirror. She previously worked as a Lifestyle Writer for The Mirror. She has a special interest in books, feminism, stories from the LGBTQ+ community, and fashion. She's also worked for Reach PLC's InYourArea team as a Senior Community Content Curator.
Having a bath with candles, bubbles, and a bath bomb is one of my favourite little luxuries. There's nothing better than stepping into a hot, bubbly bath after a stressful day at work and plonking a bath bomb in there for good measure. Gorgeous scents help me to relax and switch off; whether that be floral, sweet, or spa-like, I've tried many over the years.
While showers may make you feel more 'clean' and are certainly more efficient, reading in the bath just cannot be beaten. When I heard Papa Johns was launching a garlic-scented bath bomb to celebrate National Garlic Day (April 19), I knew it was going to be disgusting, and people had referred to it as "unhinged" on TikTok, but I was too curious. But as they say, curiosity killed the cat.
I could smell the pungent garlic aromas before I'd even unwrapped the bath bomb, and I was hesitant. Don't get me wrong, if I smell garlic and onions frying when my partner is cooking, I'll always comment saying how tasty it smells, and I think you can't go wrong with loading up on garlic-based goods.
I even tried the UK's most garlicky pizza last year. But I think this bath bomb has truly pushed me to my garlic limit.
The bath bomb was launched by Papa John because people have joked that they love the garlic dip so much they'd 'bathe' in it. But whoever said this will likely be eating their words now if they've tried this, because it's safe to say I'd much rather eat the dip than have my bathroom stink of it.
On this occasion, I decided to run the bath and pop the bath bomb in, and I am glad I did. It was wrapped up really nicely, and the packaging was cute. But sadly, that's where the niceties end.
Once fizzing in the bath water, the product was an absolute assault on the senses. You haven't smelt garlic like this – and I'm not exaggerating.
It wreaked total havoc on my bathroom – as I felt like I could smell it for the next few hours. I had to clean my bath out after it had stopped fizzing.
And to make matters worse, I couldn't even bring myself to get in the bath because I was gagging so much. It's safe to say the smell is so intense that it could banish vampires until the end of time.
After I'd washed the bath out and sprayed the bathroom with sufficient amounts of sweet-scented room spray, I could somehow still smell it. Imagine having that on your skin. Absolutely no thank you.
However, Adam Wilcock, Research & Development Director at Papa Johns, is confident the bath bomb will continue to intrigue customers. He said: "There’s a lot of love for our Special Garlic dip, and when we started to see comments on our social channels around how much people are obsessed with it and how far they’d go, we thought we’d help them and see just how devoted they really are. One thing we can guarantee is that our garlic bath bombs will definitely give them a garlicky fix that lasts..."
While the item is undoubtedly very intriguing, I won't be using one again.
After smelling the bath bomb, it has confirmed to me that bath bombs should not smell like garlic. I'll stick to my faithful Lush ones for future baths because the smell of those lingers in a pleasant way, rather than smelling as though I've placed a thousand gone off garlic bulbs in the bathroom. Overall, I'd swerve this bath bomb from now on, much like Dracula would. I'm just so grateful I didn't actually get in the bath because I feel like the smell of garlic would've stuck around for weeks on my skin, and no amount of sugar scrub would've exfoliated it off. If you love garlic and feel like you want to smell like you've bathed in a thousand cloves, you can get your hands on one here until tomorrow (April 20).