I recently asked my sisters to share with me their “unique, strange beauty routines.” Somehow, they all came back with information specific to baths – which is so timely given the recent Marie-Claire article about the return of baths (September issue). Apparently, baths are on our minds.
I was fascinated how they all independently went to the topic of the bath, and how unique and varied their (our!) routines are.
Roxane, the youngest, is a fan of baths. Long baths, in particular during exam time (she is in medical school). Candles in the bathroom; iPad in the bathtub; various oils or bubble baths depending on her mood. Did I mention long baths? Sometimes she will spend three hours in the bathtub reviewing her class materials. It’s her version of “me time.” When she comes out, she mixes a bit of Alchimie Forever’s Kantic+ intensely nourishing cream with her body lotion to keep her skin feeling soft, and looking young.
Rachel doesn’t really take baths. But when she does, it is because “it’s an emergency.” Meaning she is at the end of her rope and needs some quiet relaxation time. She will also keep her baths to the evening, and will also light a dozen or more candles. She will pour herself a glass of wine, and make herself some pasta – and enjoy dinner in the bath. This reminds her of when we were little and Mom would bathe and feed us simultaneously, because it was faster and easier than trying to have us bathe and then have us sit at the dinner table to eat.
Cyrille, on the other hand, never, ever, ever takes a bath. She hates how it makes her legs and feet feel swollen and tired. She is a shower girl all the way, and ends each shower with a frigid cold water on her legs, moving up from the feet towards the heart. “It’s good for blood flow, makes me feel as light as a feather, and prevents cellulite,” she promises. Like Rachel and Roxane, however, she showers in the evening. And similarly to Roxane, she uses an Alchimie Forever face product as her body lotion – the Kantic calming cream.
And me – well, I love baths. I take baths almost exclusively on the road. It is a wonderful reward after a long day of travel, and hotel bathrooms usually have a larger bathtub than the one in my tiny Georgetown bathroom. I love Kneipp bath oils and Aveda stress fix bath salts. No candles for me (I don’t travel with them), but yes to a glass of wine or champagne in the bath. And my post-bath product routine focuses on our body products! (Firming gel for neck and bust, Optimizing body contour gel, Dry skin balm, and Aveda stress fix lotion).
Now all we need is a photo of us in the bathtub looking as glamorous as these super models!!
