Sauna time! Except without all the other naked people. Or the sauna.
December 19, 2012 1:41 PM Subscribe
Tips, ideas and suggestions for an at-home, DIY couple spa night?
I've decided I'd like to initiate a semi-regular (say monthly) 'spa night' at home with my husband. As we're blissful newlyweds, we're both keen to establish fun bonding rituals, and as we are also both very tactile and love a bit of pampering/grooming, I thought it might be fun to occasionally spend an evening pampering each other!
I guess the easy ideas are manicures, massages, hair shampooing, conditioning, etc. I've got basic ideas of what we could so, but would be curious if any other couples have a similar ritual and what they enjoy, what 'supplies' are recommended, and any other tips for fun spa relaxation we might enjoy sharing together in our teeny city apartment. Basically, I am open to any and all ideas on how to maximize the fun and bonding! I have a pretty flexible budget, so any tips on luxurious products are a bonus.
I've decided I'd like to initiate a semi-regular (say monthly) 'spa night' at home with my husband. As we're blissful newlyweds, we're both keen to establish fun bonding rituals, and as we are also both very tactile and love a bit of pampering/grooming, I thought it might be fun to occasionally spend an evening pampering each other!
I guess the easy ideas are manicures, massages, hair shampooing, conditioning, etc. I've got basic ideas of what we could so, but would be curious if any other couples have a similar ritual and what they enjoy, what 'supplies' are recommended, and any other tips for fun spa relaxation we might enjoy sharing together in our teeny city apartment. Basically, I am open to any and all ideas on how to maximize the fun and bonding! I have a pretty flexible budget, so any tips on luxurious products are a bonus.
Lush makes spiffy massage bars, including ones that are flavored. Good stuff.
posted by rmd1023 at 2:33 PM on December 19, 2012
posted by rmd1023 at 2:33 PM on December 19, 2012
If you have a tub, add bath salts for a decadent bath. I didn't know until I got some as a gift that bath salts make your skin feel silky and smooth, and the more-expensive chichi salts frequently come in fun aromatherapy scents and assorted colors (but plain ol' epsom salts do the skin silkening trick, too.)
YMMV, but I find it incredibly sexy to have a man paint my toenails...
posted by honey badger at 4:54 PM on December 19, 2012
YMMV, but I find it incredibly sexy to have a man paint my toenails...
posted by honey badger at 4:54 PM on December 19, 2012
Lots of places will offer couples' massage classes -- you could take one or two of those together as another special undertaking and then have more skillz to share.
Get good, soothing music that appeals to both of you, to set the mood!
posted by rosa at 4:54 PM on December 19, 2012
Get good, soothing music that appeals to both of you, to set the mood!
posted by rosa at 4:54 PM on December 19, 2012
Lush has tons of stuff that is fun to play with, AND tons of stuff that smells crazy strong and takes forever to clean out of the tub. Hello, glittery oily flower petals! If you go the bath bomb route, put it in some pantyhose to keep all of the bits and pieces under control.
My husband and I used to do a "fingers and toes" routine that let both of us pretty up the other's bad spots. I have terrible heels, so I would soak and buff my heels and then he would massage them with a nice thick cream -- Lush's Lemony Flutter was awesome, but pure shea butter or something like that is also great. He is a nervous thumb-nibbler, so I massaged his hands with the lemony flutter and trimmed his slightly raggedy parts.
On the note about soaking feet: Queen Helene FooTherapy mineral scrub or foot bath or whatever they call it is the best stuff on earth. It sounds like total old-lady scrub, but it gets your feet super soft in less time while lessening the amount of scrubbing you need to do. My husband got me a bubbling foot spa thingy that you plug in, but quite honestly I just prefer a plain old plastic dish tub. It's much easier to stick under the bathtub faucet to clean.
I think the most important thing will be finding smells you can both deal with. There are a lot of nice in-between smells that should satisfy guys and girls alike -- which is good, because you don't want to layer too many crazy smells on top of each other, or you'll smell like my brother going wild with the testers at the TJ Maxx cologne counter. (BAD.)
Get some nice big bath sheets to lay down on your bed so you can be comfy when you do various things. It's nice to not have to do everything in the bathroom ;)
My husband looooved the buckwheat pillow at our friend's house, so I got one. It stays cool and molds to your head. (Our friend ran a spa, actually.) We keep it on the bed, but it's nice all the time.
This is NOT necessarily a "go get kinky" suggestion, but the Liberator shapes seem kinda cool for more than just sex. I would personally love a few nice firm wedge pillows for the couch, or sitting up in bed to read, or keeping my knees propped up during a massage.
Make sure to keep cold water on hand all the time; pretty much anything spa-like can dehydrate you quickly.
Mazel tov, you crazy kids!
posted by Madamina at 8:24 PM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
My husband and I used to do a "fingers and toes" routine that let both of us pretty up the other's bad spots. I have terrible heels, so I would soak and buff my heels and then he would massage them with a nice thick cream -- Lush's Lemony Flutter was awesome, but pure shea butter or something like that is also great. He is a nervous thumb-nibbler, so I massaged his hands with the lemony flutter and trimmed his slightly raggedy parts.
On the note about soaking feet: Queen Helene FooTherapy mineral scrub or foot bath or whatever they call it is the best stuff on earth. It sounds like total old-lady scrub, but it gets your feet super soft in less time while lessening the amount of scrubbing you need to do. My husband got me a bubbling foot spa thingy that you plug in, but quite honestly I just prefer a plain old plastic dish tub. It's much easier to stick under the bathtub faucet to clean.
I think the most important thing will be finding smells you can both deal with. There are a lot of nice in-between smells that should satisfy guys and girls alike -- which is good, because you don't want to layer too many crazy smells on top of each other, or you'll smell like my brother going wild with the testers at the TJ Maxx cologne counter. (BAD.)
Get some nice big bath sheets to lay down on your bed so you can be comfy when you do various things. It's nice to not have to do everything in the bathroom ;)
My husband looooved the buckwheat pillow at our friend's house, so I got one. It stays cool and molds to your head. (Our friend ran a spa, actually.) We keep it on the bed, but it's nice all the time.
This is NOT necessarily a "go get kinky" suggestion, but the Liberator shapes seem kinda cool for more than just sex. I would personally love a few nice firm wedge pillows for the couch, or sitting up in bed to read, or keeping my knees propped up during a massage.
Make sure to keep cold water on hand all the time; pretty much anything spa-like can dehydrate you quickly.
Mazel tov, you crazy kids!
posted by Madamina at 8:24 PM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by amarynth at 2:07 PM on December 19, 2012