With the countless times that I've been to spa for massages, it now became a need more than a pleasure. Living here in Mumbai doesn't give me many options with beauty and wellness centers. It seems that one good spa house is hard to find. Considering the limited options and NOT so affordable prices (more expensive than Singapore and Manila rates), I decided to limit myself. The usual routine of almost every week massages will be just once a month. I chose to bring the Spa to my home. How?
1. Cozy ambience. Choose one part of your house that you would like to transform into a sanctuary. It can be the unused place in your home, a part of your living room, or one vacant room where you can have your "me time". For me, I chose the master's bedroom.
Play up with the colors, I used earth colors to give it a natural and spa-like ambience. You can use it for the pillows and cushions, the curtains and the sheets. Solid or printed everything should match but not overly done. The fabric doesn't need to be so expensive. Knowing the right colors will do the trick.When you go to a spa, look around you. What colors do you see? Golds, browns, whites, red, etc. Get some idea.
2. Dim Lights. Lighting is also important. Dim lights makes the room cozier. You can use a few elegant hanging lanterns which you bought in one of your trips to Bali or HongKong. A few lamps will do, Christmas lights nicely decorated around a plant or the installed dim light on your ceiling.Another trick is to use big white candles. Place different sizes beside each other. It creates the dim effect but not too heavy on the pocket. Just make sure that the candles will be put off if everyone in your house will be sleeping.
3. Oil burner and essential oils. Oil burner and essential oils will always be a part of our home. We also carry one whenever we are traveling overseas. Our vacation becomes more relaxing when we burn essential oils in our hotel room. I remember Mr.K asking me if I can make our house smells like a Spa house. I said 'Yes'. My favorite is the signature oil scent of The Spa. A famous spa in my country. They are selling the oil for Php500 but I don't know if it is worth it. So I asked the receptionist about the scent. It was a mixture of Sweet Orange and Peppermint. I bought the separate bottles of Orange and Peppermint in our local store and successfully re-created it, saving a few bucks. Scented candles can also be an alternative.
4. Bathrobes and hot towels. Two of the things I enjoyed during spa are the bathrobes and hot towels. I don't know what is so special about it. Maybe for me, wearing a bathrobe while reading a magazine and sipping some tea puts me in a relax, no-pressure, take-your-time mode . I love the white thick cotton bathrobes. It simply hugs my body after a warm shower. Hot towels are also nice to use after shower. It eases the muscles and gives you a more refreshing feeling. The trick is to place the towels in a drier to make it warm. We don't have a drier so sometimes I use the spinner or I use the iron to make it warm. I once gave Mr.K a warm towel after his shower one night and he enjoyed it. He said it was a relaxing feeling and he promised to also make my towel warm and ready after I shower.
5. Enjoy a jacuzzi or bubble baths. If you are lucky enough to have a jacuzzi or bathtub in your house, use it. Use it as much as you can. Not all people has the luxury to laze in a tub. Fill it with roses, flowers, light some candles, and put a few drops of scented oils in the water. Then ask your partner to give you a shampoo while massaging your scalp.We don't have a tub in our house so whenever we book a hotel in our travels, we always make sure that there is one in the room. Below image is taken from Mandarin Oriental hotel in Singapore when we stayed there.
6. Aromatheraphy in the shower and body scrub.Two of the bath essentials that I love to have during my shower are a good body scrub and a deliciously scented body wash. My favorite body scrub so far are The Bodyshop's African Salt Scrub and St. Ive's Apricot Scrub. My favorite scent or variant for my body wash is of course, Lavender. I don't like to burn a hole in my pocket buying high end products when you can have the same relaxing shower using the cheaper ones. Unless it is Elemis, a luxury British spa and skincare brand. Oh gosh I really love how the shampoo and body wash smell on my skin. I fell in love with it when we stayed in Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore. The toiletries provided in each room are Elemis. If you want to have a more relaxing night before bed or maybe a massage, grab these essentials, take your time and just enjoy your shower.
7. Learn a few massage strokes. Learning a few massage strokes will come in handy when a part of your body is aching. Maybe you can also use it for your partner or someone else who needs to ease that muscle pain. The easiest way to learn is to pay attention to your masseuse when you are in the spa. When I am in the spa and still not dosing off, I try to focus on the strokes that my therapist is doing and then I copy it for my aching legs and sides (I can't reach my back to massage myself in that area.. hahaha). I always get a good compliment from my hubby that I am giving him a good massage. No need to splurge on $120 massages and he will just pay me $10. Huh??!! I think I deserve atleast $20.. hahaha..
8. Download a Spa music. Get those free apps from iTunes or Play Store which plays a continuous Spa music. There are several apps available. For me I like the one which plays Nature sounds together with a flute or a piano. What will make your Spa experience at home more realistic than having a nice soothing music playing on the background. Turn it on while you take a shower, while having a massage or simply reading a book in your cozy spot while sipping your favorite tea. If you have an mp3 in your laptop, it is better because you can play it for hours without draining your phone battery. Hmmm you have to get rid of your phone anyway once in a while. You wouldn't want your boss or a friend calling you in the middle of your "me-time".
9. Massage oils. What is a good massage without a good aromatheraphy oil. Grab one and practice the new massage strokes that you've just learned. I love love lavender oil, it is the best for relaxation. The one we have is from Body Shop. Sometimes when someone has a colds in the house I use eucalyptus oil. It helps relieve cough and colds. You can experiment on the scents and choose which one you like the most. If you don't want to splurge you can use a simple baby oil in lavender scent. Important thing is it will help your hands to glide easily when you are giving massages.
10. Brew your own tea. Why spend your money for a tea when you can make your own. My favorite is a simple yet healthy and refreshing tea. It is honey ginger tea. Here's the recipe. A hot tea is a must for me. They say it will help to remove toxins from your body after a massage. Oh dear, I drink tea before and after massage. Got addicted to it when I'm at The Spa. I drink before steam bath, after shower and after massage.. weeehh!!
There you have it. Enjoy your Spa at Home.
=====================================
Update on this post (30 May 2013): We just bought a massage chair. yey! Additional element for our Spa at home. Thanks to Mr. K now daddy K. Oh well, I know nothing beats the real hands gliding on your body but for immediate relief, that transformer sofa will come in handy especially now that I am taking care of my little heavy weight baby. Arrghhh! everyday I have back pain. :(
1. Cozy ambience. Choose one part of your house that you would like to transform into a sanctuary. It can be the unused place in your home, a part of your living room, or one vacant room where you can have your "me time". For me, I chose the master's bedroom.
Play up with the colors, I used earth colors to give it a natural and spa-like ambience. You can use it for the pillows and cushions, the curtains and the sheets. Solid or printed everything should match but not overly done. The fabric doesn't need to be so expensive. Knowing the right colors will do the trick.When you go to a spa, look around you. What colors do you see? Golds, browns, whites, red, etc. Get some idea.
2. Dim Lights. Lighting is also important. Dim lights makes the room cozier. You can use a few elegant hanging lanterns which you bought in one of your trips to Bali or HongKong. A few lamps will do, Christmas lights nicely decorated around a plant or the installed dim light on your ceiling.Another trick is to use big white candles. Place different sizes beside each other. It creates the dim effect but not too heavy on the pocket. Just make sure that the candles will be put off if everyone in your house will be sleeping.
3. Oil burner and essential oils. Oil burner and essential oils will always be a part of our home. We also carry one whenever we are traveling overseas. Our vacation becomes more relaxing when we burn essential oils in our hotel room. I remember Mr.K asking me if I can make our house smells like a Spa house. I said 'Yes'. My favorite is the signature oil scent of The Spa. A famous spa in my country. They are selling the oil for Php500 but I don't know if it is worth it. So I asked the receptionist about the scent. It was a mixture of Sweet Orange and Peppermint. I bought the separate bottles of Orange and Peppermint in our local store and successfully re-created it, saving a few bucks. Scented candles can also be an alternative.
5. Enjoy a jacuzzi or bubble baths. If you are lucky enough to have a jacuzzi or bathtub in your house, use it. Use it as much as you can. Not all people has the luxury to laze in a tub. Fill it with roses, flowers, light some candles, and put a few drops of scented oils in the water. Then ask your partner to give you a shampoo while massaging your scalp.We don't have a tub in our house so whenever we book a hotel in our travels, we always make sure that there is one in the room. Below image is taken from Mandarin Oriental hotel in Singapore when we stayed there.
6. Aromatheraphy in the shower and body scrub.Two of the bath essentials that I love to have during my shower are a good body scrub and a deliciously scented body wash. My favorite body scrub so far are The Bodyshop's African Salt Scrub and St. Ive's Apricot Scrub. My favorite scent or variant for my body wash is of course, Lavender. I don't like to burn a hole in my pocket buying high end products when you can have the same relaxing shower using the cheaper ones. Unless it is Elemis, a luxury British spa and skincare brand. Oh gosh I really love how the shampoo and body wash smell on my skin. I fell in love with it when we stayed in Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore. The toiletries provided in each room are Elemis. If you want to have a more relaxing night before bed or maybe a massage, grab these essentials, take your time and just enjoy your shower.
7. Learn a few massage strokes. Learning a few massage strokes will come in handy when a part of your body is aching. Maybe you can also use it for your partner or someone else who needs to ease that muscle pain. The easiest way to learn is to pay attention to your masseuse when you are in the spa. When I am in the spa and still not dosing off, I try to focus on the strokes that my therapist is doing and then I copy it for my aching legs and sides (I can't reach my back to massage myself in that area.. hahaha). I always get a good compliment from my hubby that I am giving him a good massage. No need to splurge on $120 massages and he will just pay me $10. Huh??!! I think I deserve atleast $20.. hahaha..
8. Download a Spa music. Get those free apps from iTunes or Play Store which plays a continuous Spa music. There are several apps available. For me I like the one which plays Nature sounds together with a flute or a piano. What will make your Spa experience at home more realistic than having a nice soothing music playing on the background. Turn it on while you take a shower, while having a massage or simply reading a book in your cozy spot while sipping your favorite tea. If you have an mp3 in your laptop, it is better because you can play it for hours without draining your phone battery. Hmmm you have to get rid of your phone anyway once in a while. You wouldn't want your boss or a friend calling you in the middle of your "me-time".
9. Massage oils. What is a good massage without a good aromatheraphy oil. Grab one and practice the new massage strokes that you've just learned. I love love lavender oil, it is the best for relaxation. The one we have is from Body Shop. Sometimes when someone has a colds in the house I use eucalyptus oil. It helps relieve cough and colds. You can experiment on the scents and choose which one you like the most. If you don't want to splurge you can use a simple baby oil in lavender scent. Important thing is it will help your hands to glide easily when you are giving massages.
10. Brew your own tea. Why spend your money for a tea when you can make your own. My favorite is a simple yet healthy and refreshing tea. It is honey ginger tea. Here's the recipe. A hot tea is a must for me. They say it will help to remove toxins from your body after a massage. Oh dear, I drink tea before and after massage. Got addicted to it when I'm at The Spa. I drink before steam bath, after shower and after massage.. weeehh!!
There you have it. Enjoy your Spa at Home.
=====================================
Update on this post (30 May 2013): We just bought a massage chair. yey! Additional element for our Spa at home. Thanks to Mr. K now daddy K. Oh well, I know nothing beats the real hands gliding on your body but for immediate relief, that transformer sofa will come in handy especially now that I am taking care of my little heavy weight baby. Arrghhh! everyday I have back pain. :(
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