Cookie-decorating parties, gift-wrapping gatherings, and dinner dates at holiday-themed restaurants usually fill my December calendar — but not this year. Instead, I'm making the best of my party for one with festive self-care products. My only rule: if it doesn't smell like the holidays and make me as happy as I am on Christmas morning, I don't want it.
If you Zoom me, don't be surprised when I pick up from the tub, wine in hand, with Mariah Carey Christmas music on loop. You won't be able to smell through the screen, but you can bet cedar-, gingerbread-, or peppermint-scented candles, body lotion, and bath bombs are the reason my smile is so wide.
When I drop Lather's Evergreen Fir Bath Bombs ($20) in my tub and close my eyes, I'm no longer in Brooklyn — I'm in a hot tub at an Airbnb set deep in the woods of upstate New York.
I elevate my soak further by lighting a Mrs. Meyer's Snowdrop Soy Candle Large ($10) while dreaming of fresh snow sprinkling around my imaginary forest.
In the case of Native Candy Cane Body Wash ($8), minty doesn't just mean fresh — it's festive, too.
Like the icing on top of a gingerbread house, I like to finish off my bath session with The Body Shop's Warm Vanilla Body Buddy ($21), so my skin is left feeling silky and hydrated and smelling delicious.
Eggnog that promotes antiaging, soothing gingerbread men, and nourishing hot chocolate — SpaLife Holiday Treats Facial Christmas Masks ($20) come in a variety of cheery flavors that smell great and give your face a fresh boost, too.
Who needs a Christmas tree when you can have the Illume Balsam and Cedar Reed Diffuser ($30)? Fill your home with earthy notes of cedar, balsam, oak moss, cinnamon, and eucalyptus without any mess of falling pine needles.
I'm declaring every December day a holiday this year — that's why I habitually drop Revive Christmas Morning Essential Oil ($15) in my diffuser every morning of the month.
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