Stress is part of life, it is something we all have to deal with at some point in time and for some, it is a daily occurrence, for others it is an every now and again. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be motivating to someone else. For me, stress heads right to my shoulders and sits there like really painfully and if it is on-going my sleep pattern is disrupted more than it currently is and I am known to suffer from stress-eczema, so I try and do absolutely anything and everything I can.
I love hot baths, bubbles, essential oils, candles, masks for everything and of course a gin & tonic whilst shutting myself away from the world for at least an hour a week. That means no phone bleeping every two seconds, no-one ringing me... the occasional meow at the door because the kitty wants to see what I am doing and where I am, but we will forgive that for now. What I have absolutely loved trying for a few months now comes from Bath and Body Works, a brand we don't have a store for in the UK right now, though we did use to have them many moons ago, from the Stress Relief Collection.
I have the Stress Relief Candles, Body Wash & Bath form as well as the Body Lotion. The whole range also comprises of a body scrub, a pillow mist, a bath soak, a bath bomb and so much more. They come as part of the aromatherapy range which has 4-5 different collections such as - Relax, Focus, Comfort and Sleep but it was Stress Relief which stood out to me with its Eucalyptus and Spearmint fragrance.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil clears the mind. Spearmint Essential Oil soothes & uplifts.
For me, when I am stressed, I want products that are soothing, that help me relax and wind down and often that isn't something citrusy and uplifting if anything it can make me feel worse, so I opt for soothing scents and oils and this is partly why I am so interested in ingredients and essentials, I want to know what they do, why they do it and then work out which works best for me.
I am a huge fan of candles and as soon as I saw there was a Stress Relief Candle, I stocked up and now have four of them. Bath and Body Works state that this is the Perfect 3-Wick Candle! It is made using the highest concentration of fragrance oils, an exclusive blend of soy-based wax and wicks that won't burn out. What I love about BBW candles is that the wax melts evenly and as it does so, it allows the fragrance to travel the entirety of my flat and fill every room.
All BBW candles come with a decorative lid, which because they are made of metal, double up as a coaster to ensure your worktop or sideboards are not burnt. This candle burns for approximately 25 - 45 hours, depending on how often you use it.
The second product within my collection is the Stress Relief Body Wash and Bath Foam. I love that this doubles up to be used in a bath or a shower. Described as being a fast-foaming body wash it is infused with soothing skin conditioners aloe & bamboo extract as well as an aromatherapy blend of essential oils & natural ingredients. When it is used as a body wash the scent comes to life whilst you are under the shower and if like me you prefer the water to be on the warmer side of things, it literally helps clear any cobwebs from the mind. In the bath, you only need one or two pumps and you have bubbles a-plenty and the same incredible scent.
One product I rarely use is a body lotion, I am lazy if it comes with a spray I use it, if I have to stick my hands in it, the chances are I won't. However, I really wanted to try the Stress Relief Body Lotion which is described as being an ultra-creamy, fast-absorbing body lotion with nourishing shea butter & Vitamin E. It is formulated to give your skin long-lasting moisture. As with the Body Wash and Bath Foam, this too uses an aromatherapy blend of natural ingredients and essential oils which benefits body, mind and most definitely your mood.
Sleep for me comes and goes, if you follow me on Instagram or every watch my stories, you will probably notice that I am awake in the dead of the night, so anything I can do to aid sleep, I am doing it.
The Stress Relief Pillow Mist is a product I absolutely love, it not only makes your bed linen smell absolutely amazing but it is a wonderful product for bringing about calmness, especially if you are agitated or as my Nan would say "got ants in your pants" and you just cannot relax.
Sleep for me comes and goes, if you follow me on Instagram or every watch my stories, you will probably notice that I am awake in the dead of the night, so anything I can do to aid sleep, I am doing it.
A fairly new product for me to try is the Pocketbac Hand Sanitiser, but as it is the season of colds, flu and general illnesses, I thought now would be a good time to give it a try and as luck would have it, they had one within the Stress Relief range.
Said to kill 99% of germs, this hand sanitiser is incredibly pocket-friendly and again, the scent is exactly the same as every other product mentioned so far, but for me, the spearmint is just slightly more potent within this gel than it has been in anything else and it is really refreshing to use. Whether or not it protects against germs remains to be seen, but I am using it!
I go through tube upon tube of hand cream and until now, I had never tried one from Bath and Body Works, so I have the Stress Relief Hand Cream sitting on my desk.
Alongside the Eucalyptus and Spearmint Essential Oils, this hand cream also uses shea butter and vitamin E which not only absorb quickly into the skin, but they also leave your hands feeling soft, smooth and nourished plus that minty scent is again quite noticeable and really uplifting.
The final item within my little Stress Relief collection is the Bath Salts. Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know that I am a huge fan of bath salts and think they are totally underrated and people should use more of them.
From Bath and Body Works these slats are said to help relieve stress after a long day and honestly, they do just that. I am yet to find a bath salt that does absolutely nothing for me and I have tried a lot. With these salts, the advice is to lie back and soak in the healing properties of these therapeutic bath salts which use purifying sea salt and a blend of essential oils, those oils being Eucalyptus Essential Oil which helps to clear the mind and Spearmint Essential Oil which soothes and uplifts.
Where can you get Bath and Body Works Products in the UK?
As you can see, this is quite an incredible aromatherapy range from Bath and Body Works and it is one I am just absolutely loving. Having tried quite a lot of the range, I really do want to try the Sugar Scrub, Bath Milk and the Bath Fizzer to pretty much complete the collection!
A few people have already asked where I get my Bath and Body Works products from and the answer is Facebook groups. There are two groups that I use to be on the lookout for products from Bath and Body Works and the people within them are amazing and so helpful. If you want to know the name of the groups, please do ask me and I will share them with you.
*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.