Home Spa Happiness

By Gina Akers

The kids are back at school, the new normal is settling in and now you might just have some time for that much needed spa wellness session. What better way to do this than creating your own luxury home spa.

To start with get the setting right. On the chosen day of spa bliss clear the bathroom of any untidy accessories and unsightly laundry.  Next ensure the transition from bathroom to spa by using fragrance such as Essential Drops Bathroom Aromatics (£18.00 each) perfect for creating and maintaining a fresh bathroom by eliminating lingering odours. With a blend of pure Essential Oils add to the toilet bowl and hand basins to expel undesirable odours, and provide a more natural deodorising solution. There are three delightful fragrances to choose from: Grapefruit & Kumquat, Pomegranate & Lychee, Ginger & Black Pepper visit www.essentialdrops.co.uk

Before beginning your home spa session dim the lights (or bring in a battery powered lamp). Put on some calming music or seashore or whale sounds - whatever you find relaxing. 

Start running your bath and add in the perfect bath soak such as No Secrets Bath Sugar (£30.00). Made from magnesium sulphate these are a modern twist on traditional bath salts which have been ground to the consistency of icing sugar, making them quicker to dissolve and avoiding that grainy feeling on your skin. From the moment you untwist the lid on the glass jar the room fills with one of No Secrets beautiful signature scents, perfecting for evoking a home spa experience, available at www.nosecretsbeauty.com  

If you are looking for more of a foam bath or need to deal with aches and pains try Dr Teal’s Foaming Bath Soothe & Sleep or Relax & Relief (£8.99 each). The Soothe & Sleep option features a calming and soothing scent of Lavender which helps your body and mind de-stress and unwind naturally, promoting a better night’s sleep. The Relax and Relief option includes Eucalyptus & Spearmint which make a powerful combination, eucalyptus is known to stimulate the senses while spearmint restores the body. Both are also available as body washes (£7.99 each) from Boots, Superdrug, ASDA and www.amazon.co.uk 

Next light some candles, choosing a candle fragrance conducive to a spa mood is essential. Try Art House London’s Luxury Candles (travel size £13.00, medium £26.00, 3 wick £49.00), which are lovingly hand poured in England using 100% natural plant wax (mainly soy and rapeseed), with lead-free cotton wicks for a clean, non-toxic burn. These luxury candles seductively fill the room with enticing aromas to relax, freshen or inspire.  They are infused with either the finest pure essential oils, or premium fragrance oils which contain no harsh chemicals or colours.  The quality of the oils together with the superior plant wax ensure that the candles burn evenly, and that they fragrance the room even when unlit.

For a more floral spa space try the Rosebud fragrance, this is a timeless classic scent which can evoke a wondrously romantic scene, with aromas of a delicate and fragrant cloud of velvety rose petals. For a more musk type scent try the warm, sophisticated and alluring Shaved Sandalwood, featuring the smooth rich woody notes of sandalwood infused with the aromas of spices and musk to give rise to a satisfying lingering milky scent, which is both exotic and comforting.  This type of soft, earthy fragrance offers a calming and therapeutic atmosphere. Visit www.arthouselondon.com

To get the right aroma instantly use a room spray such as Maddi Alexander’s Serene Natural Room Spray (£18.00). Designed with a delicate floral fragrance including a soothing blend of lavender and geranium, this aromatherapy room spray will help you relax and unwind. This kind of blend will leave you feeling tranquil and is renowned for encouraging relaxation and sweet dreams, perfect for creating a peaceful space, from www.maddialexander.com

Time for that DIY home spa facial. First cleanse, then exfoliate, then apply an advanced face mask such as CACI’s Hydro Mask (£6.00 each or £30 for a pack of 5), to soothe, calm, reduce redness and rehydrate skin. Infused with skin-plumping collagen, water-binding hyaluronic acid, nourishing rose water and antioxidants to help smooth and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. You can think of it as the ultimate skin saviour to help replenish dehydrated or sun damaged skin. This intensely hydrating transparent gel face mask comes in two sections to cover the upper and lower face, from www.caci-microlift.co.uk/shop/

If you’re putting your hair up during your pampering session then be sure to use This is Silk hair bands (£15.99 for 3), with normal hair bands the elastic weakens and damages your hair, making it prone to kinking and breaking. These pure silk hair bands are made of 22 momme mulberry silk, which is brilliant for protecting your hair from friction and providing a strong hold but without the damage. They also look beautiful on wrists, when not holding hair. Available in black, grey, pink and white from www.thisissilk.com

While relaxing why not indulge a gorgeous glass of Wild Elderflower Bubbly (£20.28 for a box of 12 bottles) from Luscombe drinks at www.luscombe.co.uk. For real indulgence be sure to team up with divine chocolate treats from Farhi www.farhi.co.uk. 

For your post spa bath regime always pat skin dry with a soft towel, don’t rub your skin as this can irritate and cause dryness and will remove any good moisturising properties you’ve gained from your spa bath. When your skin has dried smooth on or work in a rich moisturising body oil such as Guava & Gold’s Paradise Found Shimmering Body Oil (£32.00) with macadamia, sweet almond, avocado and coconut oils, all blended with delicately glistening golden sparkles, available from www.guavaandgold.com

This is the perfect time to give your feet some attention too, Footner’s Exfoliating Socks (£9.99) are ideal for a DIY home pedicure. Repeated pressure on your feet can easily cause build-up of dead skin particularly on the soles and heels, which make it challenging for the body’s natural exfoliation process to cope with. After one 60 minute ‘wear’ of Footner’s Socks any hard, dead or dry skin on your feet will peel off within 7-10 days, this then reveals baby-soft feet, available from Boots and Superdrug. 

Follow up by applying CCS Foot Care Cream (£7.99) which provides protective and preventive everyday skincare for your feet. This keeps your skin soft after the use of Footner to ensure that the cracks/dead skin do not reappear. It contains a moisturiser which naturally occurs in the human body, available from Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy, Superdrug and Tesco. 

This is a good time to treat your toe nails too to keep them in top condition, a clinically proven treatment to effectively combat fungal nail conditions as well as helping your nails move with the seasons is sensible option. Try Excilor Nail Fungus Treatment Ultra (£24.99) available at Boots, Superdrug, Lloyds and Amazon UK

For face ensure your skin is dry and then it’s time to really think about getting results. To make that difference it is definitely worth trying No7 ADVANCED Retinol 1.5% Complex Night Concentrate (£34.00), Boot’s latest wonder product and officially their No1 selling beauty product since it’s launch in May. This eagerly anticipated skincare game changer had a waiting list of over 100k people when the brand took the retinol market by storm. It claims outstanding skin results with 81% saying it visibly transformed their skin and 89% agreeing it gave great results, whilst being gentle on their skin, visit www.boots.com 

For eyes CACI Eye Revive Serum (£36.00) is the perfect lightweight serum to soothe tired and puffy eyes, combat dark circles, reduce fine lines and help lift hooded eyes. It contains hyaluronic acid and soothing seaweed extract, along with clinically-tested REGU-AGE, which after 8 weeks of use is seen to improve skin texture, reduce puffiness and dark circles. It instantly smoothes and brightens to give skin around the eyes a youthful radiance, visit www.caci-microlift.co.uk/shop/

Now don’t forget your hands and nails. Massage in cuticle oil such as Naio Nails Vitamin E and Blueberry Cuticle Oil (£4.99) to soften skin around the nails and strengthen the nails, from www.naio-nails.uk. Follow by working in a hand cream paying particular attention to in-between your fingers. Seams Couturiers Hand Cream (£14.00) contains shea butter, rosehip oil and oat beta glucan to mend, moisturise and soften dry, distressed hands, available at www.seamsbeauty.co.uk Always apply your hand cream again last thing before you go to bed every night to get the most from those moisturising benefits.

Finish your luxury home spa experience with a detoxing drink such as Natur Boutique’s Organic Moringa Tea (£4.45) from www.planetorganic.com and a health supplement such as Sun Chlorella ‘Sunshine in a Glass’ tablets (from £22.95) with Iron, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D and Folic Acid at www.sunchlorella.co.uk