These bathing products will make your soak plenty of fun and bring the spa to you at home
If you’ve made the commitment to take a bath, you might be contemplating products that will transform your soak, mimicking the luxurious atmosphere of a spa or the meditative possibilities of a sauna. Or perhaps you’re nostalgic for the fragrances and bubbles associated with childhood. Here are few suggestions.
Did somebody say, “Swedish spa”? Open a jar of L:A Bruket No. 065 Bath Salt (Mint) and don’t be surprised if you start thinking about the ocean — and seaweed — all fairly appropriate considering the line is based in Sweden, a country known for its saunas, massages and embrace of wellness. L:A Bruket No. 065 Bath Salt (Mint), $35, sportique.com.
For the record:
4:50 p.m. April 30, 2024A previous version of this story said Earth Tu Face is based in San Francisco. The company is based in Oakland.
Why you should pass on jumping in the shower and instead take a nice, hot soak in a tub »
The tonic line is part of the Clarins family, and one product in particular — the Tonic Body Treatment Oil — has inspired some beauty bloggers to write about its usefulness in preventing “the appearance of stretch marks.” One thing we can say with certainty? Its fragrance is phenomenal. Tonic Body Treatment Oil, $60, sephora.com and clarinsusa.com; Tonic Daily Polisher, $41, clarinsusa.com; Tonic Bath & Shower Concentrate, $29, clarinsusa.com.
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics offers a bath box that might inspire memories of grade-school reports on the planets and shooting stars. The Astronomical wrapped gift of bath bombs includes an Intergalactic Bath Bomb, Twilight Bath Bomb, Big Bang Bubble Bar, Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb and the Experimenter Bath Bomb. Let the space exploration begin. Astronomical wrapped gift, $39.95, lushusa.com.
If you haven’t experienced a bubble bath since you were, say, 6, Library of Flowers might lure you into the tub with the Forest Bubble Bath, although its hints of white sage, Arctic moss and oak bark are nothing like the bubble gum or grape fragrances you might associate with bubble baths of yore. Library of Flowers’ the Forest Bubble Bath, $36, libraryofflowers.com.
Sometimes a long soak requires breakfast foods. Barr-Co. Bath Original Scent Bath Soak, produced by St. Louis-based K. Hall Designs, has an ingredient list that includes oatmeal, vanilla and milk. (The only thing missing is, perhaps, a cup of Lucky Charms.) Barr-Co. Bath Original Scent Bath Soak, $32, Khalldesigns.com and anthropologie.com.
For many of us, the post-bath ritual includes lotion. Earth Tu Face, a San Francisco-based company that understands what “made in California” is all about (labels include ingredients and phrases such as “GMO free” and “cruelty free”), offers botanicals to ease dry skin. Rosemary + Salt Lotion, $38, luckyscent.com and earthtuface.com; Jasmine Blossom Lotion, $58, earthtuface.com and otherwild.com.
Sake is an ingredient used in various soaking products and D.I.Y. formulas, touted for its detoxifying properties. Was sake used in beauty rituals observed by Japanese geisha? Perhaps, but at the very least, 21st century users can count on a fragrant experience. Fresh’s Sake Bath is made with ginger root, radish root and peach fruit extracts — in addition to sake. Fresh Sake Bath, $49 and $82, fresh.com.
