Monday 28 November 2011

What is your bath style?

I love a bath! In the mornings for practicality, I always have a shower, but I look forward to a Friday evening bath as a time to relax and de-stress whilst reading a glossy mag and perhaps having a cheeky glass of wine! This is making me sound as though I am an OAP wearing my nana shoes, but honestly, although I enjoy going out with hubby and friends and family, at the end of the week, I am usually too knackered to do much and a bath is just what I need!

There are 3 different types of products you can use in your bath, depending on your personal preference and the overall effect you would like. 

Bath Foams
These are the traditional type which provide lots of suds! Very useful for making impromptu Santa’s beards out of if you so desire (or am I the only person who does this??!).

These can often be quite drying for the skin, especially in combination with a scalding hot bath, mainly due to the use of sodium laureth sulfate.

Some tried and tested foaming products that I have enjoyed using are:

Radox Bath Soaks, around £2 – an affordable treat which comes in a variety of scents. The Sleep Easy and Eastern Spirit varieties are my favourites.

Sanctuary Bath Soak, £5.10 – this has the usual Sanctuary scent and I find it to be more moisturising than most bath foams.

Green and Spring Relaxing Shower and Bath Foam, £18 – this has a gorgeous lavender scent although it is quite pricey for a bath foam. It can also be used as a shower gel too which is how I tend to use it as I feel the scent tends to linger for longer

Lush bubble bars £2-£4 These are solid products which are crumbled under running water to produce a foam. As with all Lush products, they are heavily scented which is no bad thing for me. They are however not the most economical method of enjoying a foaming bath as you tend to only get a maximum of 2-3 baths out of one bar.

Bath Oils
These are my favourite type of bath product as I find the scent tends to be strongest in oil form and a little goes a long way. They are also very moisturising, although you have to be careful to rinse the bath out properly afterwards as I once forgot and hubby almost knocked himself out when he slipped on the super oily residue! 

Cowshed, £20- these are my favourite bath oils and you can pick up travel packs of their various products for less which allows you to try a wider variety of the range . They are not cheap, but I have yet to come across a scent I do not like, and I am particularly fond of their ‘Lazy Cow’ scent which is a mixture of essentials oils of Jasmine, Chamomile and Sandalwood. The oils can also be used for massage if you wish.

Aromatherapy Associates, £37 is another good producer of bath oils and they do a selection pack so you can try out your favourites.  This year, for Christmas, they are also doing little star shaped tree decorations, £10, with bath oils contained within them, which are cute stocking fillers.

E45 Emollient Bath Oil, £5.49, is a cheaper but equally moisturising bath oil for sensitive skins, and is a veritable bargain.  There is no fancy scent, but it is super moisturising and great if you suffer from eczema or dermatitis.

Bath bombs / Bath melts
These are almost a theatrical spectacle in some cases, as you watch them fizz and dash about in your bath. The bath bombs tend to be the fizzy ones and often provide a stronger scent but they can be less moisturising. Bath melts are a creamy consistency which dissolve gradually and tend to leave your skin softer and more moisturised. One thing you do have to watch for with bath bombs is that they can have a lot of ‘bits’ in them which mean the bath will need a good clean once you have finished. I find cleaning the opposite of relaxing so I usually give it a quick rinse and hope hubby cleans it the following day….!

Lush is perhaps most famous for its bath bombs and they constantly have new products coming out. The Christmas products in particular are worth investigating, with the Abombinaball and Cinders being two of my favourites.

Bomb Cosmetics – I have mentioned Bomb Cosmetics previously here as they are a great alternative to Lush, if you fancy a change. Their bath bombs and melts are smaller than Lush’s but no less pungent and are well worth a try.

These are my favourite bath products. What are your favourite methods of bathtime pampering?

4 comments:

  1. Lush bubble bar. Definitely. :)

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  2. I love bath oils (REN) and all lush products x

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  3. The bath bubble bars from Lush sound interesting as do the bath oils - both i've never tried. I don't have baths enough to justify buying either - I prefer the quickness of a shower and I get bored trying to relax in the bath lol

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  4. Alex - The bubble bars are a lot of fun!

    Sandra - I still haven't managed to try anything from REN. I must rectify that soon!

    Rachel -I could never have a bath for anything other than relaxation, when I need to clean myself and wash my hair it is always a shower.

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