Showers are popular because they're quick. But speed doesn't mean that a pleasant experience cannot be had during that brief snippet of your day. Well that's what GROHE think, anyway, with the GROHE Power&Soul Cosmopolitan shower head (our version is the 130). Incorporating four different modes, it attempts to strike the right balance of relaxation in the evening and vitalisation in the morning.

Power&Soul Model Differences

The price of the GROHE Power&Soul Cosmopolitan starts at £112.66 for the first of three versions of the shower head. The base version is referred to as the Cosmopolitan 120 in reference to the diameter. It doesn't have the Bakoma spray, leaving it with just two spray modes. The third and most expensive model is the Cosmopolitan 190 at £158.18. Our mid-range shower head is the Cosmopolitan 130, with a price tag of £126.51, and we'd definitely stump up the the extra £14 for our model over the base model, for the additional modes.

Design & Features

We can't criticise the build quality or design of the GROHE Power&Soul shower head. The roundness, merged with brash straight lines and the 'StarLight' chrome exterior, strikes a refined contemporary look which would fall into bathrooms of a modernist leaning effortlessly. This design is reasonably comfortable to hold when needed and also functionally intelligent too, water is encouraged to flow in a straight line due to the head's straightness and this helps to maintain high water pressure even before it goes through the nozzles. GROHE even claim that lime scale can be cleaned in just one swipe from a cloth. Installation is simple, with the shower head having standard thread so it can be installed onto pretty much any shower. And if you're dubious about the quality of the water at the next hotel you go to, the GROHE Power&Soul wants to go with you: it has a water filter and comes supplied in the box with a good quality carry case that resembles a bike saddle.

Usability

Using the GROHE Power&Soul Cosmopolitan shower head is very simple and brilliant for people who are in a near zombie-like state when waking up. This is because GROHE have made different water dispensing modes selectable via the press of a button, ridding fiddly sliding and twisting mechanisms often seen implemented on shower heads. This is definitely the easiest shower head we've ever used because of this and also the most precise as the definite presets don't allow trickles of water to leak out of other nozzle holes. One or more buttons can be pressed half way down to select that particular spray pattern mode, but if one button is pressed fully down, when others are also enabled, it deselects them.

Modes

The four modes consist of Jet, Rain, Rain o2 and Bokoma Spray. Jet mode blasts water out of a limited number of holes achieving a high pressure. This mode will do a good job in vitalising some people in the morning, but for us it's a bit too much of a shock to the system. Rain and Rain O2 are basically the same thing, they both mimic rainfall, except Rain O2 oxygenates the water. This mode dispenses water from nearly all the nozzles and the oxygenation feels very soothing and calming against the body, wonderful for evening showers. Bokoma Spray is a novel mode, which uses water pressure to tilt its associated nozzles, so the water dispensed decreases and increases in diameter. This has a massage-like effect and loosens the body up in pure blissful relaxation, but won't wash away shampoo and shower gel fast enough solely on its own if you're in a rush. So our favourite combo is Bokoma Spray with Rain O2; it gives enough water pressure to wash out shampoo from your hair quickly but you feel composed and vitalised in the process.

Overall

GROHE have designed a stylish and user friendly shower head with the Power&Soul Cosmopolitan, incorporating some neat innovations which we have never come across like the Bokoma Spray, to make showering a more personal and pleasurable experience.