Recently, “the paper of record” interviewed a woman who was disfigured after a non-surgical procedure, the same happened to supermodel Linda Evangelista. The woman bemoaned, “I just wanted to treat myself.” How many moms out there or us as moms just want to treat ourselves? On Mother’s Day, have her stay safe in the privacy of her home or vacay hotel room, treating herself right. Fragrance.com has spa-quality items, to get down to the serious business of luxuriating and pampering. I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
Yankee Candle Cherry Blossom Medium – I’m in Baltimore, so I get to enjoy the same cherry blossoms as they do 35 miles to the south in DC. If you ever go the Cherry Blossom Festival, keep this in mind: It’s not about seeing the flowers or even drinking Cherry Blossom flavored cocktails. It’s all about the selfies! People come from around the world by the thousands to take very carefully posed selfies for the ‘gram or Tik Tok.
How about letting Mom stay at home all comfy, not having to be selfie-ready, with the soft pink color and floral-fruity scent of a Yankee Candle Cherry Blossom candle? Yankee Candle is known for its cornucopia of scents and – except for the votives – their cute apothecary-style glass jars. Mom doesn’t have to go searching through the house for something to put it in.
Yankee Candle Fresh Cut Roses Medium – Florist flowers have kinda sucked for a few years, no? Not only are the prices sky high, but also, it’s clear that the outer petals come picked off to almost look like buds in the store. They’re sickly and don’t last. Get Mom a candle, instead! Fresh Cut Roses smells natural, not like air freshener. It has the subtle, almost berry-like fragrance of real flowers.
Gal Pal The Original Essential Treatment Socks – Sleep better and beautify your feet effortlessly with these super-soft, fluffy socks infused with lavender and jojoba oil. Somebody called “The Sleep Doctor” says this: “Research suggests that wearing socks to bed can help people not only fall asleep faster, but sleep longer and wake up fewer times throughout the night. One study found that young men wearing socks fell asleep 7.5 minutes faster, slept 32 minutes longer, and woke up 7.5 times less often than those not wearing socks. In another study, adults fell asleep faster when wearing socks, either on their own or after a warm foot bath.”
These socks have non-slip bottoms, like when you’re somewhere recuperating. They do suggest also adding your own good cream for extra pampering. Something I didn’t know, but I do now, is that you should wash these socks by hand. Tumble drying is fine.
Whether you get your pedicures professionally done or do them yourself, this is a fine final touch when your nails are perfectly dry.
Did you know that Fragrance.com has its own beautifying products? What? Yes!
All in One Makeup Brush and Blender is a game changer! If you ever do your makeup outside the house – after work, at the gym, traveling – you will love it. In one wand, it combines a slanted brush that I like for eyebrows, but you can also use for eye-lining, a pointed end blender sponge on a professional type wand that you can use for foundation, concealer, smoothing out makeup, as well as fluffy kabuki style brush for powder, blush and blending eyeshadow.
This is an important tool to have on hand if you happen to be having a day where you have to wear a lot of concealer/corrector/foundation. You need to make sure it stays in place and doesn’t crease.
With the brush’s knobbed acrylic handle, I had an idea. I put it in the fridge for a while and you can use it for a refreshing gua sha-style tool!
They have a set of 8 Face Masks that are individually wrapped sheet masks! You could stick one in a card or arrange them in a gift basket. They tackle a number of skin issues with rose, charcoal, aloe, cucumber, green tea, collagen, Vitamin C, tea tree. With sheet masks, you’re not getting dirty, you’re not staining your towels or fancy white spa robe (sigh). You just massage the remaining lotion in after leaving the sheet mask in place for about 20 minutes. Even if Mom doesn’t have the mobility that she once did, she can still enjoy this!
They also have Avocado Oil Eye Mask. They are gelee little crescent shaped masks that you scoop out with an included spatula. You stick them up on your cheekbones and let them sit, say, 20 minutes. They have 100% avocado extract. They say that they encourage collagen production and facial muscle nourishment. Avocado oil is a rich oil, so this mask soothes out those dry, crinkly lines.
Ahava Facial Mud Exfoliator – (not pictured) This is available in a trial size packet, which you could stick in a card or a gift bag. It’s a gentle white mud from Israel with non-irritating exfoliating beads. You apply on wet skin, massage a bit, rinse. Simple magic. It’s gentle enough to use on your lips and if you do have any left over, apply to the backs of your hands!
I really like to use an exfoliator while traveling and I’ll tell you why. If you’ve been in the air or on the road for several hours, it’s almost like your makeup has stained your skin. Plus, sitting still for so long and jet lag sucks the life out of your complexion. This gives you a fresh start.
L’Oreal Revitalift Laser x 3 Day– Sure, this is a traditionally drugstore brand, but have you been to a drugstore lately? It’s a nasty experience, with the scanty, old merchandise and everything’s behind security-locked cases. Depressing! I don’t even get my prescriptions from these kind of places anymore, I go to a mom-and-pop medicine-only shop. Even if you go to the drugstores, you generally won’t find the newest, most R&D packed products. Think of Fragrance.com as being like the old-school famous department stores in Europe, where you can get everything, even the drugstore brands. No need to shop anywhere else.
As you get older, you find you have vestiges of the old skin problems on the scene, along with new ones. It’s hard to know what to use! Revitalift Laser x 3 Day is packed full of useful ingredients, such as pro-retinol, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C. It’s been tested to:
Immediately – replump the skin with moisture, skin texture is improved for 87% of women.
In 1 week – fine lines are visibly reduced, gaballar line: 18.5%, under eye: 16.8%. crow’s feet 16.3%
In 4 weeks: skin feels firmer and looks brighter. Visible continuous improvement in appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
It’s a rich consistency cream, so give it plenty of time to become one with your skin before applying makeup. If you aren’t using makeup, so much the better. I like those improvement numbers, so I’m willing to give it the time!
If you’re a mom, after having kids or even just living life, you can start to see hair thinning, which is terrible for your self-confidence. Nioxin is a company devoted to just that: hair loss and hair thinning. One of their newest products is Nioxin Night Density Rescue, a leave-in liquid that you just apply a couple to a few droppers full to your scalp at night. It doesn’t have a scent and isn’t drippy or anything like that. This is another product that shows great clinical results, but you have to give it a couple of months. Even after a few nights, I noticed thicker roots. That makes for easy styling!
Here’s what they say: “Night Density Rescue is an overnight leave-in treatment, clinically proven to boost hair density in 2 months**. This hair density serum is formulated with a powerful blend of antioxidants known to neutralize free radicals on the scalp surface. This antioxidant hair serum leaves the scalp feeling refreshed and is suitable for all hair types.
90% of consumers noticed their hair looking healthy* after using Nioxin Night Density Rescue.
*Based on clinical study of 60 Italian panelists conducted for 4 months by Eurofins Consumer Product Testing Italy 2018/ 2019.
** through a powerful blend of antioxidants known to neutralize free radicals on the scalp surface”
Aromafloria Essentials Stress Less nasal pouch is a clean and neat idea for relaxation: lavender, chamomile and sage are combined in a zip pouch that you inhale 3-4 times as needed. It lasts two weeks and you can take it anywhere. They even seem to help with the Sunday night blues!
Wanna treat Mom to something she swears she’d never do for herself? Chi Royal Treatment White Truffle and Pearl Complex has luxurious ingredients in a finishing serum for both hair and skin! It helps seals those raw and rough looking ends. A few drops are all you need.
Keeping to the upscale, top level of haircare for mom is Kenra Platinum Blow Dry Spray, available in regular and travel size. This is what they say about it:
“ADVANCED DRY THERMAL PROTECTANT
- Dramatically decreases blow-dry time up to 50%
- Provides intense heat protection from damage and breakage
- Lightweight formula detangles, smooths, and softens
- Eliminates frizz and resists humidity
- Provides long-lasting, healthy-looking results”
It adds a ton of shine. You don’t need much of this light spray, less is more.
Aroma Naturals Hope travel tin is a conveniently packaged metal tin with soy vanilla-rose candle. It’s intensely perfumed, spicy and sweet. All the facets of love and hope! The approximate burn time is 15 hours.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 