2014/11/11

Bath Time Treats

Vancouver has truly been living up to its reputation as "Raincouver" these past weeks, and as we fast approach the cold winter months, bath time has become a regular part of my night time routine, followed by folding myself up in a nest of a thousand blankets. Here are some of my favourite bath time treats.


The Bathory Bath Salts ($30 for 7oz/200g)

I reckon any bath salts would deliver similar effects, but these were particularly fun to order because you can pick your own blend of essential oils. For my salt mix, I picked the bask option, which contains a blend of three salts that help to ease stress and help with sleep. I do find it rather annoying that you cannot see on the container which essential oils you add in to the mix. How am I supposed to order another batch if I really loved the scent? Perhaps the Bathory just wants to keep up the excitement of mixing and matching new scents each time. Always a surprise.

The container, while gorgeous, is much smaller than I had initially anticipated. Each bottle contains 200g of bath salts. The Bathory recommends you use 25% of the bottle for a quick fix, 50% for full benefits, and 100% for the best bath of your life. I am not ready to spend $30 on one bath even if it is going to be the best bath of my life, so I typically use 2-3 caps of product for my bath. It may not be the best bath of my life, but the aroma of the essential oils are so soothing, and my skin feels wonderfully soft. These bath salts would probably make for a wonderful Christmas gift as they come in lovely packaging and are perfect for this time of year.


Fresh Rice Sake Bath ($56 for 6.8oz, or $94 for 13.5oz)

Fresh is one of my favourite skincare brands, and they've got a beautiful collection of body products. The yeast extract in sake is meant to smooth and hydrate the skin (SK-II, anyone?). Although this product is quite pricey, I only need 2-3 caps to fill my whole bath with fun bubble times. The scent of the bath kind of smells like a combination of peach and LOTS of ginger, and is meant to be inspired by the bathing rituals of Geishas with real peaches. The plant extracts are meant to increase blood circulation and ease muscle strain for maximum relaxation. I don't think these effects are very noticeable, but the scent is divine, the bubbles are perfect, and my skin is irresistibly soft at the end of it.


Honyaradoh Bath Salt ($3.99 for one pack)

The Honyaradoh Bath Salt in green is such an interesting bath product. It's a herbal soak for those who get cold easily, which is 100% me. Think hands and feet that are always freezing no matter how thick your coat is. The product itself is a green powder that doesn't foam up and makes your entire bath a bright green. It has a pleasant rose scent that isn't too over-powering. The product is meant to work by stimulating blood flow and circulation. Now normally I would scoff at a product concept like this and would not buy into the belief that a couple of plant extracts are going to get me through the piercing cold winter winds, but I have to say that this product actually works. I start to work up a sweat while lying in the bath tub, and this state of warmth persists throughout the entire evening. Weird, but if it works, I'll take it.


Lush Northern Lights Bath Bomb ($5.95)

And now, I've saved the best for last. The Lush Northern Lights Bath Bomb is really just a magical bath experience. I watched the demo video on the Lush website and immediately had to run out and get it. I cut the bath bomb in half so I could get two baths out of it. Throw it into your bath and it turns the water into a beautiful swirl of blues and purples.

(screenshot from the Lush website)

Just look at that beauty. I just want to get my hands all up in there. There are little stars floating around in the water - how can you say no to that?

The scent is a mixture of jasmine and ylang ylang. I'm not normally a fan of ylang ylang, but this actually has a very delicate, pretty scent to it. I can't say that the product had any magical effects on my skin, but boy did I have fun splashing around in a mystical starry sky. I believe that this is a special Christmas product that Lush has released, so get it while you still can!


What are your favourite bath time treats?