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You can call me high maintenance for this if you want to, but I simply LOVE going to spas. You’ll have probably noticed I write quite a lot about Lifehouse Spa as this is my favourite one in the UK. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus situation has put a hold on the spa weekends recently, so I have had to manage by creating “home” spa days for myself, so I thought I would share my tips on how to do this with you.

Pick the right facemask for your skin type

I’m going to level with you. I have used face masks that cost less than £1 each, and I have used expensive Ted Baker face masks from my advent calendar last year, and I am here to tell you the price of the product means absolutely nothing if you do not consider your skin type before you do the face mask. My skin has always been usually combination but sometimes oily, and all using an intensive moisturising Ted Baker mask did was make my skin worse. A couple of weeks after this, I used a 7th Heaven Charcoal mask that was all of £1, and it cleared my skin right up. The best thing to do when choosing a face mask is to write down your top three skin complaints and find masks that say they can resolve them.

Put more effort into making your bath relaxing

As you’ll know from all of my recent posts about what we are doing to our garden currently, we recently got a hot tub for the garden. I appreciate how pricey this is for most people, and also appreciate the fact that a huge majority of people do not have gardens or room in their garden for a Lay Z Spa. So I am about to introduce you to a little product I came across a while back. You can buy a bath spa that you put in your normal bath to make bubbles and massage you. A great way to level up your bath without having to spend out TOO much.

Get a foot spa

If you are not keen on the idea of spending out on a bath spa, then a foot spa could be an inexpensive way to create yourself a little at-home spa situation. If I am having a pamper day, my feet are the absolute most important thing I like to treat. I walk a lot, and despite numerous advertising campaigns claiming that “this shoe is best for walking/running”, whichever ones I buy, I still end up with not-so-attractive feet because of how much/how far I walk. Foot spas are ESPECIALLY a treat for those who work on their feet all day!

Go beyond just PAINTING your nails

I am a very lucky lady. As well as getting free products here and there through this very Essex lifestyle blog that you are reading, I also get some nice things like having my nails done and makeup was done through my day job. A little while back, because we couldn’t go “out” to have our nails done, one of the sales reps sent all of the girls a ]set, and you cannot begin to imagine how much this changed my life. There are SO MANY more things you can do than simply painting your nails. You can get overnight nail masks, you can get cuticle oil, and you can even get nail strengthening treatments.

Treat yourself to a tan

Self-tanning is a funny little beast and something that quite a few people are scared of. I’m lucky as I am from Essex, and in year 11 your form tutor takes you aside before you leave and says “remember to exfoliate before you tan and you will never go wrong in life”. It’s time to stop being scared of tan. I mean, we live in the UK, so you can’t expect a natural tan any time soon. My exfoliator of choice is the good old St Moritz one made especially for tanning. Alas, I am a bit of a traitor, because the actual fake tan I use is the Isle of Paradise Tanning Water. Even if you do not necessarily buy this one, I am telling you guys, tanning water is the way forward. It’s so much easier to apply than heavy creams or mousses.

Get the candles in

I love the spa atmosphere. Nothing is more relaxing than going into a room and laying on a little bed surrounded by candles and with relaxing music playing. If you are going to try and create yourself a nice little home pamper day, then candles are a must. I know there are a lot of people that are quite into their candles and are willing to make quite the investment on them, but I’m more of a “get them for £1 at B&M” girl myself. As long as they smell nice, they still do the trick.

Find some good spa music

Confession time; I enjoy relaxing panpipe music. It all started when I worked in care and we had this CD set called “tranquillity” we used to play in the relaxation sessions. And I am telling you now, once you hear the panpipe version of “My Heart Will Go On” by Celly D, it’s hard to go back to finding normal music in any way relaxing.