Bath and Body Luxuries

I could open a bath and body store, or museum, in my bathroom. Not only do I have my bathroom cabinets stocked, I have an additional free-standing, large corner cabinet I had put in. Granted, some of that space is for hair products, curling irons, and other personal products. I do use most of my bath and body products at some time, every once in a while I will go through and take out what I haven't used and give it away.

Out of the products I keep and use, it's a given that I have my favorites, the ones I use more often. I'm going to leave a few of them out of this post, because they're going to show up soon in a post on after-sun care. So we'll go with some of my year-long favorite bath and body luxuries.

Stress Relievers

Bath & Body Works- Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint- Body Wash & Foam Bath, Body Lotion, Sugar Scrub, and Pillow Mist. A favorite of mine for a very long time, also great when I'm feeling sick. I'm very into aromatherapy, which I'll get into in future posts.

Johnson's Melt Away Stress Body Wash and Body Lotion- I didn't link to this one, because Johnson's does not have it on their site, and doing a search leads me to believe that perhaps this may not be in some stores anymore? Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'll have to check next time I'm shopping. These products come in fairly large bottles, so it's been a while since I've had to buy one. I  know I purchased another Johnson's Body Wash that I *loved*, it was in a brown bottle and had wonderful oils in it, I haven't been able to find it in stores, but did see it while I was searching for the Melt Away Stress. Anyhoo. I initially bought the Melt Away Stress when I was taking care of my dying grandmother, yes, a very stressful situation, other family issues going on as well. These products did exactly what they said, my stress melted away, at least for a little while.


I Feel Pretty (and Sexy!)

Bath & Body Works- Sensual Black Currant Vanilla- Body Wash & Foam Bath, Body Lotion and Home Fragrance Oil. I don't think they sell the Oil anymore, I use it sparingly, as I burn a lot of other essential oils (lots of aromatherapy posts ahead). I love this fragrance, guys seem to like it too. I used to love topping the layers off with Fresh's Red Currant Basil perfume, but it's been discontinued. I have a bit left, hopefully I can find a bottle on ebay or somewhere that isn't stale.

La Bouquetiere Pamplemousse Vanille (Grapefruit Vanilla) Lotion- This lotion is the bomb! I tried it out at one of the boutiques in the historical city near where I live. It was a bit pricey for me at the time. However, after walking around all day, sweating, sleeping, passing out before we could shower (eww, I know), then waking up still smelling great and with baby-soft arms (where I'd applied the lotion) I immediately went back and bought a bottle. It's fabulous.

Benefit's Touch Me Then Try to Leave Body Cream- Okay, I'm really getting irked right now. Thank goodness I am stocked up on my favorites, because this cream is discontinued! Are you kidding me? This cream rocks, a nice, subtle scent, leaves your skin silky soft and so irresistable!

More?

So while I'm fuming about discontinued products I loved, one of my top 5 that's gone is Philosophy's Message in a Bottle. No link, except to a picture of the plastic bottle they last made. Initially, it was a lovely, ocean-inspired bubble bath, packaged in a real bottle with a cork, with cool script writing on the bottle. Not only was it a great product (the bubble bath left my skin so soft, and the scent was very relaxing), but the bottle was so cute and unique, there was no way one could hide it in the bathroom cabinet, it had to be on display.

Thankfully, I am gaining some new favorites, thanks to my best friend introducing me to Lush. We don't have one where I live, which baffles me, but I do most of my shopping online. However, with a place like Lush, I'd really like to be able to smell everything, there are so many choices! BFF is great, though, everytime she visits she brings me a little something to try out, so far I have loved it all. I still have one bathbomb to try, I have to borrow the boyfriend's bathtub for that, since his is 3x larger than mine. It'll give him uninterrupted time to work on his motorcycle.

Bliss Vanilla Bergamot Soapy Suds and Body Butter. I keep stocked up more on the Soapy Suds than the Body Butter. It really moisturizes, a little goes a long way, and it doesn't clash with most of my perfumes. I liked the old formulation better, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.

Fresh Sugar Rose' Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15. I use this on minimal make-up days, it barely has a tint, but makes my lips so smooth. I also use it while I'm applying makeup to soften my lips for lip pencils, stains, etc, and sometimes at night.

Candles

You can't have a luxurious experience without candles. I pick them up pretty much everywhere, but mostly have a huge stock of Yankee Candles, Bath & Body Works and Tyler candles. It's summer, so I'm burning light, beachy, summery scents, but here's a list of some of my all-time favorites:

Yankee:
Autumn Wreath
Beach Walk
Holiday Sage
Island Spa
Lavender Vanilla
Midnight Oasis
Mistletoe
Ocean Water
Sage & Citrus
Soft Blanket
Sparkling Angel
Sun & Sand
Tahitian Tiare Flower
Vanilla Lime
Wedding Day
White Christmas

B&BW:
Eucalyptus Spearmint
Japanese Cherry Blossom
White Sand

Tyler:
Fleur De Lis
English Ivy
Dolce Vita
High Maintenance
Beach Blonde


That's it for luxury (for now). We'll be diving into summer (bad pun, I know) and talking about all the different ways to protect your skin during those beach and pool days, as well as after-sun care. I'll also start sharing some aromatherapy tips. A preview:

For itchy bug bites, apply a neat drop of essential lavender oil to the bite. Make sure it is essential oil from a health-food store or similar place, not a perfumed oil. Do not rub it all over the skin, just a neat drop to the bite.