Aromatherapy Associates Perfect Partners Bath and Shower Oils (and more festive goodies)

Following my review of the Aromatherapy Associates Revive Evening Bath and Shower Oil, which I loved, I recently had the opportunity to try two more of the Bath and Shower Oils, found in the Perfect Partners set.

The set contains 7.5ml each of the Revive Morning Bath and Shower Oil, and the Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil. It costs £14 to buy, but on the Aromatherapy Associates website it is currently being offered as a (quite generous I think) gift with purchase when you spend £50 or more - the perfect excuse to stock up on Christmas presents!

Of the two, my favourite is Deep Relax. It contains extracts of vetivert, camomile and sandalwood,  apparently calming ingredients. I'm not very good at describing scents so I'll just have to describe their effects  and say that I actually felt a kind of calmness descend and tension leaving my body. I even managed to stay in the bath for a whole 20 minutes, something of a record for a prior bathphobe such as myself. The name couldn't be more appropriate.

Containing a blend of rosemary, juniper berry and pink grapefruit (which AA describes as detoxifying and energising ingredients), the Revive Morning oil is a bit more.. zingy. Personally I prefer the Revive Evening oil, as I find the Morning version just a tiny bit strong for my fragile composition first thing - rather than use this in the bath therefore I think I'll reserve the remainder of this one for a quick splash in the shower, or perhaps adding to a basin of hot water for bit of steam inhalation therapy. However on those days when you're feeling a bit groggy, sniffly or generally would much rather be in bed, I think this would be just the thing you need to clear the senses and kick-start your day.


Although the Aromatherapy Associates line is expensive, I really feel like I'm doing myself some good using these products - I certainly haven't tried any other aromatherapy products that promote such a sense of wellbeing. I am definitely going to buy the Deep Relax oil as a Christmas present for my brother's girlfriend, a very hardworking nurse who I think is the perfect candidate for a bit of pampering of this nature. And if your budget doesn't stretch to full size, there is also another set of miniatures, the Heavenly Oils, which come in lovely Christmassy purple packaging and again would make lovely stocking fillers.

One major plus though of the miniature bottles is that once you've used up the contents, you can refill them with one of your full size AA bath oils which is hopefully residing in your bathroom cabinet! They're the perfect size to take away for a weekend or overnight stay - with the added bonus that they'll make even the stalest hotel bathroom smell beautiful. That said you should get a few baths out of each one - if you use two capfuls per bath as directed and not four like me! 

Finally I just wanted to make a quick mention of the Comfort Candle (£24), another Christmas offering. Frankly I'm sold on the name alone, though the promise of damask rose and ginger helps too. Lovely and festive and just the thing for this weather!

Anything from AA on your Christmas wishlist?

Images courtesy of Aromatherapy Associates

Disclaimer: The Perfect Partners set was a PR sample

Molton Brown Seamoss Stress Relieving Hydrosoak

In the past, I had for some reason an irrational dislike of Molton Brown. To my eyes, it seemed to be kind of an 'artificial' brand, invented purely to bring out bland toiletry gift sets every Christmas for frazzled shoppers on a last minute dash to get something for the mother in law, or to furnish bathrooms of luxury hotels.

I think this strange view was in part due to the fact that little seems to be known about the brand itself, and its history, and perhaps too the marketing. You don't seem to see it advertised much anywhere. Doing a bit of research into the brand for the purposes of this post, i was surprised to discover that it has a long history, dating back to 1973, when Molton Brown opened a hair salon in London's Mayfair, before branching out into toiletries based on ingredients from nature (one major plus of this brand is that it does not carry out animal testing on it's products or ingredients).

My somewhat unfair view of Molton Brown has in the past year or so been challenged by the few Molton Brown products I have tried (thanks to my mother being one of the recipients of the aforementioned gift sets!). I was surprised by the utter deliciousness of the scents - one of them a ginger shower gel, and also a green shower gel whose name I forget but which smelled divine, like nature bottled.

So when I was browsing Beauty Expert for a new bath product recently, I thought I'd treat myself to the delightful sounding Seamoss Stress Relieving Hydrosoak.

I have to confess that the gorgeous aqua-marine packaging and the fact that it had 'seamoss' in the title first drew me to this product - I am a sucker for anything marine-themed. However I was pleased to discover that it provided a suitably aquatic bathtime experience.

The scent is gorgeous - kind of hard to explain, but it is uplifting and relaxing, and definitely transports you to somewhere decidedly more appealing than your bathroom. The product contains dead sea salts, seaweeds and horse chestnut extracts which apparently help exfoliate the skin as well as soothe the senses.

The soak gets good reviews on Beauty Expert, but none of them mention the best thing about this in my opinion - that it turns your bath green! A gorgeous, sea green, as if you are bathing in a tropical lagoon.

enticing!

At £18 for 300gm, it is expensive, but being much more of a shower person anyway I figured this would last me a while. The seamoss soak has definitely opened my eyes to the Molton Brown brand and I shall be exploring more products in future. I am considering buying the complementary shower gel, and I also like the sound of the Warming Eucalyptus Bath and Shower Gel. As well as toiletries, there is also a small selection of make up, and scented candles, on the Molton Brown website.


Does anyone have any Molton Brown products they would recommend? Who knows, between this and the Aromatherapy Associates Evening Bath and Shower Oil, which I've also been using (and loving) recently and will be reviewing shortly, I may just become a 'bath person'.