Bullet and Bone Gift Box Review

Reviewed by Emma Rogers

Bullet & Bone was co-founded by Ian Murphy, an amateur sports fanatic who realised that there were no high performance sports care products that included natural ingredients and enhanced performance. The products were designed by fitness professionals, sports coaches and one-to-one personal trainers to give users all of the performance products they need in one range, whether they need to warm up muscles before a match, or open their airways before a game. I have a small home gym and personal trainer so we tried these out before a workout session.

We tested the Fitness Lovers Gift Pack (RRP £39.99) which includes Muscle Activating Rub (100ml), Vapour Release Balm (100ml), Cooling Recovery Body Wash (50ml) and Protect Moisturising Spray. The products all arrived in a very sturdy box which is just about the size of a shoe box. The packaging and marketing are definitely aimed towards me with their blue/grey/orange stripe design and descriptive names. The instructions clearly state it’s for ‘sportsmen’ which as a sportsWOMAN somewhat put me off. Let’s hope they at least live up to their promises even if they don’t manage to win any awards for equality.

Looking at the four items in the box, I tried the three ‘pre-workout’ items first. The Vapour Release Balm is a light, petroleum type balm which has a slight scent of menthol, but is probably more like eucalyptus. It’s not too heavy, which is a relief for anyone who’s ever used Vicks Vapour Rub before! It’s soft at warm temperature too so it goes on easily. I put it on my wrist for the work out and although I could smell it, suggesting that it was still entering my lungs, it was a nice accompaniment to my workout. As it’s a type of oil/balm, it could be used outside of exercise time too, if you need it on your hands for instance. Yes, this would appeal to women who want to use it too! Before my workout session I also tried the Muscle Activating Rub. The packaging states that it, “warms and stimulates muscles with ginger, black pepper and willow bark to get started faster.” I could smell the essences as soon as I opened the lid. Again, they’re not too overpowering but still pleasant, and again, it’s a very masculine smell. For test purposes, I tried it on one calf only so that I could compare. I have to admit, even with only a small amount of application to the area, it did start to work deep into the muscle. It’s similar to Deep Heat but it’s not annoying. I’m trying this product in April when it is unseasonably hot, but I can imagine this working very nicely on a cold run early one winter morning.

The last pre-workout item is the Protective Moisturising Spray. The bottle says it’s light and non-greasy, and I was surprised to see that it isn’t greasy, although I couldn’t really smell the 11 essential oils and extracts. The spray is to condition the skin before, during and after your game. I’m guessing this is another way of saying “helps prevent chafing”? By testing the product on my arm first, I can see that it works as a good moisturiser, and isn’t too heavy. So onto the in-exercise testing. I can still smell the vapour rub balm throughout the session, and I seem to get a waft of it whenever I raise my wrists. It does seem to open the airways more, which was very welcome when I am suffering from hay fever! The muscle rub wore off after about 30 minutes, with only a slight deep heat still there, but it did the trick in getting the muscles started quicker. I can’t wait to use these two products together in the cold to jolt me out of laziness when I need to get up and out.

The protective spray did protect, but I think this is used for more heavy duty running or treadmill etc. Looking at my skin, it has kept the moisture in nicely throughout the workout. Finally, the last item is the Cooling Recovery body wash. This reminds me of some of the menthol and mint items on the market that you never want to get-where-it-shouldn’t because it stings like hell. This is a slightly less abrasive version with the menthol, peppermint and eucalyptus. It’s invigorating, and cleans like a body wash should. I enjoyed the items, and they are all very useful for when undertaking sport and workouts. However, the masculine marketing and the overtly sexist wording put me off a lot. The gift set would make a lovely birthday or Father’s Day gift and is also suitable for women to use!

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £39.99

This product is available to buy from the Bullet and Bone website here.