Ah, the “pamper routine.” Those two words conjure up images of cucumber slices on our eyes, bubble baths overflowing with rose petals, and maybe even a glass of bubbly perched precariously on the edge of the tub. But in reality, carving out time for self-care, especially when our schedules are already overflowing, can feel like an impossible feat. Especially when you add two tiny ones and work into the mix.
But although rare and often long overdue, whenever I manage to have an hour to myself sans deadlines or a child (or two) trying to climb in the bath with me, I do just that – sink into the tub and indulge in an “everything” pamper routine that, whilst sometimes being as short as half an hour, will help me hit the reset button, recharge my batteries, and, yes, make my skin glow. Promise. Here’s how…
The Scent
First things first, and that’s setting the mood. For me, scent is incredibly important when it comes to relaxing and creating a spa-like atmosphere. Sometimes just the lighting of a sumptuous, scented candle is enough to offer a moment of zen during a crazy day, which is why you’ll find a fair few candles and diffusers dotted around my home.
But when it comes to having time to really indulge in a pampering session, I get out my finest flame – the candle that is just too nice to light on the regular. And for me, that has to be Aman’s. Not only do they impart a calming scent to instantly transform your bathroom into a spa, but their gorgeous black glass vessel looks seriously chic in any #shelfie.
Aman
Nourishing Spa Candle – £95
The Body Buffer
I’ll usually grab whatever body scrub is in my shower and frantically rub it all over myself when I remember to, but when it comes to my everything pamper routine, I’ll buff my bod pre-tub time. A) to get it out of the way quickly and B) to let my chosen body products penetrate even deeper. But more on that in a moment…
The Ameliorate ‘Exfoliating Body Mitt’ is genius. Designed for use on dry skin, its innovative fabric weave is gentler than your traditional loofah without compromising on exfoliating effectiveness. It’s as simple as sweeping across skin to remove dead cells, unblock hair follicles and boost circulation, so you can spend less time scrubbing and more time relaxing. Yes, please.
Ameliorate
Exfoliating Body Mitt – £10
The Bath Oil
Whilst I’m all for bath salts, foams and bombs, when it comes to indulgence, it has to be a bath oil. Not only do they smell divine, but they leave your skin feeling silky soft from top to toe and offer deep-down nourishment while you soak. A good glug of Neom’s new vitamin-packed offering and you’ll be feeling totally transformed in no time. Brimming with organic oils rich in vitamins and antioxidants (rosehip, chia and jojoba included), it also boasts the most blissful scent of lavender, sandalwood and jasmine designed to help you switch off and unwind.
Neom
The Head Hero
You know that meme “I’m 90% dry shampoo at this point”? That’s me. I show little love to my locks and scalp, and as I coat my head in dry shampoo to see me through the week, all that product build-up does start to cause itchiness and discomfort. Indulging in a scalp treatment is just that – an indulgence – which is why it’s part of my everything pamper routine. Once I’m in the tub, I’ll rinse my locks and apply a scrub that doesn’t just exfoliate and slough away build-up and dry, dead skin, but doubles up as a treatment, too. It’s all about the multi-tasking products over here… Right now, I’m loving Miriam Quevedo’s decadent scrub/mask powerhouse, which uses Tahitian mother-of-pearl and coral sand to gently exfoliate the scalp, while pro-vitamin B4 and caviar extracts condition, protect and nourish. It also smells amazing. I’ll massage that in and leave on for about 15 minutes whilst I work on my face…
Miriam Quevedo
The Face Scrub
Confession: I do not exfoliate my skin enough. I find it tedious and avoid it at all costs, which – as a Beauty Editor – I know is not an excuse. But it wouldn’t be an ‘everything’ pamper routine if I didn’t include a skin scrub, and there’d be no point adding the next few steps without a squeaky clean, fresh face to work with.
Caudalie’s exfoliator is deep-cleansing yet gentle, which means you can slough away dulling, dead cells without stressing your skin out. Packed with volcanic sand and microbeads, alongside soothing grape water and a gorgeous scent of mint and citrus fruits, it instantly purifies and refines pores to reveal brighter, smoother skin.
Caudalie
The Face Mask
Post scrub, it’s all about the face mask. One that’s soothing, hydrating and deeply nourishing, of course. Masks have become much more than a just a skincare staple and are now somewhat of a fashion accessory, with every A-lister and supermodel under the sun posting their mask-adorned selfies on Insta.
Which one I go for totally depends on my skin’s needs at the time, but you can’t go wrong with MZ Skin’s gorgeous gold mask. Drenched in actives including niacinamide, vitamin C, gold nanoparticles and collagen, it feels wonderfully refreshing and soothing as the hydrogel film settles onto skin, and it works while you soak (or wash up/fold laundry/run around like a mad woman) to plump and soothe skin while restoring your natural glow.
MZ Skin
The Body lotion
Right, now I’m scrubbed, masked and probably starting to resemble a giant prune, it’s time to leave the bath and lather on the body lotion. But again, I’m not talking my everyday body. I’m talking my reserved for when I’m feeling particularly fancy or when I’m really treating myself to some serious self-love beauty care. Name something more indulgent than slathering yourself in X. Nope? Thought not. Even just looking at its gorgeous golden tub makes me feel fancy. It’s the beauty equivalent of your granny’s best china.
It melts into skin to create a velvety veil and instant top-to-toe luminosity thanks to light-reflecting micropearls, while precious plant oils and antioxidant-rich intense vanilla planifolia water and oil soothes and revitalises. All whilst adding a big hit of hydration, of course. It goes without saying it smells gorgeous too. This is Chanel, after all.
The Tool
The perfect everything pamper routine ends with me in my pjs (always Eberjey – they are the softest things ever), glass of wine in hand, lying on the sofa watching Netflix. But that doesn’t mean the work is over, as this is the perfect time to grab a face tool. I find most LED masks bulky and annoying – definitely not conducive to relaxing and being able to see a screen properly. Which is just one of the countless reasons I’m obsessed with the LYMA laser. Don’t let its small size fool you, as this multi-functional device uses red light therapy, radio frequency, and electrical muscle stimulation to treat everything from redness and pigmentation to signs of ageing, scarring and breakouts on your face and body. All with no pain, no downtime, and in a perfectly portable format, meaning you can pour yourself another glass while you’re at it. This is the everything pamper routine, after all…
Déesse Pro
Déesse Pro Sculpta – £499
words by Frankie Rozwadowska
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