I used to do pamper nights quite frequently, but over the years I stopped prioritizing them. At the beginning of 2020, I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I had done a pamper night. So, I decided to try and dedicate at least one evening a week to it. It doesn’t always happen, because sometimes other things come up, or some weeks it’s not as in-depth as others. But I think it’s important to prioritize a pamper evening – whatever that means to you – at least once a week. It’s important to prioritize your happiness and well-being, and make sure you take care of yourself!
So, this is what an ideal pamper night looks like for me…
Part one: The Face
- Pluck stray eyebrow hairs. I really mean just getting those stray ones – this isn’t the time to attempt to completely reshape your eyebrows!
- Seek out and pluck any other stray hairs on the face. I’m talking those pesky random hairs that you don’t notice until they’ve had a chance to grow out, and then you’re stuck wondering how long has it been there? How many people have seen it? Take this time to seek them out and remove them before they get a chance to sneak up on you!
- Wash your face. Exfoliate too, if you have a good exfoliator. To see what products I like to use, check out my skincare routine here!
- Apply a face mask. If you’re a bath person, I’d recommend heading over to part two after this step. If you’re not, continue to this next bit.
- Rinse/Remove your face mask. After I use a face mask, I like to apply a thicker layer of a really hydrating moisturizer. I find my skin really appreciates it, and it helps it look so glowy and healthy.
Part 2: The Body
- Run a nice, warm bath. Treat yourself here – use some bubble bath, epsom salts, a bath bomb, etc. Make this bath as relaxing as possible. My mom recently gave me this bath soak, and I highly recommend it if you want to leave the bath with your skin feeling so smooth and hydrated.
- Create ambience. Light some candles if that helps you relax, pop on some chill music, light some incense. What I like to do is put a favourite show or YouTuber on my laptop to watch while I’m in the bath.
- Hydrate! If you’re like me, you like your baths hot. The downside to that is, you’ll probably end up having to leave the bath prematurely because the heat is making you feel so parched! Prepare for this by having a tall glass of ice-cold water with you, or treat yourself to your favourite drink (maybe a Coke? A glass of wine? An ice cold beer?)
- Shave your legs if you’re into that. If you do choose to shave your legs, I’d recommend having a freshly washed set of sheets on your bed that night. The combination of freshly shaved legs + freshly washed sheets, ooh! It does not get better than that.
- Exfoliate. Exfoliate your whole body if you’ve got a good body scrub, and if you happen to have a pumice stone handy then you can also scrub any dead skin off your feet after they’ve had a chance to soak.
- Lay back and relax. Whether you choose to shave and exfoliate in the bath or not, don’t forget to lay back and relax!
- Moisturize. When you get out of the bath, make sure to apply a thick, deliciously scented body lotion to your skin. This is a step I tend to forget on the daily, so I like to make sure to do it on my pamper nights. I personally really like the coconut body butter from The Body Shop – it smells amazing, and it keeps my skin moisturized for a long time! Their hemp lotion also does miracles for the feet.
- Get cozy. While I let my body lotion soak in, I like to wrap myself up in my housecoat. This way, the lotion doesn’t rub off onto any clothing, and I feel super cozy!
- Don’t forget your lips! I like to also apply a nice lip oil at this point. I recommend the Clarins Lip Oil – don’t worry about the colour, it applies clear!
Part 3: Just Relax!
Some people might find relaxation through more active hobbies, such a yoga, drawing, playing an instrument, etc. While I find these activities to be quite relaxing as well, I like to reserve my pamper nights for activities that can be viewed as “time-wasters”. So, while I find drawing to be quite a relaxing activity, I find it also makes me feel productive as well, so I don’t feel bad if I dedicate a couple hours to it. But there are other activities that I also enjoy doing, and find to be relaxing, that I tend to feel guilty spending too much time on. During this pamper evening, I can do these things 100% guilt-free because I’ve specifically carved this time out for it! Some of the things I like to do are…
- Watch a movie/binge-watch a TV series (and sometimes paint my nails during it!)
- Play Animal Crossing
- Read a book I’m hooked on
- Enjoy my favourite snacks (popcorn, chocolates, Miss. Vickie’s, Hawkins Cheezies, freshly baked cookies…I could go on and on.)
There’s a lot more you could do in a pamper night, but for me it’s all about having an evening to rest, relax, and invest time in taking care of myself. If I have too many things on my list to do, it starts to feel like work and I’ll start viewing it as a chore, as opposed to something to look forward to. Plus, it’s not meant to take a lot of your energy! So just do whatever you need to do to feel rested and restored.
Happy pampering!
Until next time,
Nadine
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