Help me throw money at the problem of unmotivated mornings

November 14, 2018 2:45 PM

I don't strictly need a shower first thing in the morning since I work from home, but I want to so I'm not feeling gross and desperate for one at 3pm. Solution: I love having new products and everyday luxuries to look forward to. Help suggest more products that I can buy this winter to give me a little consumerist thrill to propel me into taking a shower when I wake up.

I'm open to ideas on the latest and greatest items to make my morning more exciting (ideally things in the shower to get me excited):
Bath sheets (MUST be bath sheets, I am too fat for regular towels. My hair is very short and dries quickly so I don't need a fancy hair towel.)
Bath mats
Loofah/sponges/exfoliating cloths
Exciting bath soaps/shower gel (not really into shampoo/conditioner recommendations because I already found my holy grail but if you simply must tell me about yours, go for it)
Any of those new weird in-shower products that I see more of, like body lotions or tanning lotions or hair masks or face masks (but keep in mind I don't have a ton of time in the morning)
Whatever else you love that makes a shower exciting, open to showerhead suggestions but I have seen previous questions about those so don't go wild with those unless it's a newer product.

BONUS QUESTION: I have rosacea so I wear foundation or tinted moisturizer all the time and putting it on in the morning makes me feel so productive. If you have the absolute quickest product to apply for some coverage, let me know!

Don't tell me about: Showering at night, because I wake up too oily and smelly for that, I really feel happy after a shower first thing in the morning. Clarisonic Mia face brush or toothbrushes (have them already!), or razors, because I love my Billie razor so, so much.

posted by the thorn bushes have roses to Shopping (23 answers total)

Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo smells and feels other worldly. It is stupid expensive so it an occasional splurge.
posted by mmascolino at 3:03 PM on November 14, 2018

Schmidt’s Jasmine Green Tea body wash smells AMAZING, it very much smells like a fresh cup of jasmine green tea. I find it a touch drying in the winter (but I do have super dry skin) so I sometimes mix it in my palm with a more moisturizing body wash. Worth it for the scent!

If you live near a Trader Joe’s, the Grapefruit Ginger scrub is excellent - it’s a very invigorating scent, perfect for mornings. I really like the consistency too - scrubby enough but not too harsh, and it rinses clean so it doesn’t leave your shower oily.
posted by insectosaurus at 3:12 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

What you need is Shower Oil, especially the ones that are grape seed oil because that’s especially good for broken capillaries and just general winter moisturizer.
posted by jbenben at 3:31 PM on November 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

Diverting a little bit, my shower is way more tolerable when I can listen to the radio or podcasts, which I do using a shower radio (weekdays) and outdoor-grade bluetooth speaker (weekends).

There's also shower beer, but maybe that's more of an evening-shower activity.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:31 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

A Japanese wash cloth. Exfoliating and refreshing. (Just don't use on your face).
posted by onecircleaday at 3:43 PM on November 14, 2018 [3 favorites]

In the winter, when my skin gets so parched and needs extra TLC, I like Josie Maran’s tinted argan oil moisturizer/sunscreen. I don’t usually wear foundation and appreciate the light coverage this gives me while making my skin feel so much better. It’s spendy, I know, but it’s very rare that I find skincare products that don’t make me break out so I just convince myself I’m worth it.

I’ve also occasionally used itcosmetics CC cream. I find that half a a pump is enough to give my skin just enough coverage to even out red areas and because I use so little, it’s so easy to apply. This does have some silicone in it, though, so I find I need to blot some oil after a few hours.
posted by theappleonatree at 3:54 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

I am really scent-motivated and for me having soaps with just the right smell is magic. I also suggest getting a japanese wash cloth. My fave go-to soap lately is turmeric scented, something like this. For me another thing is HEATED TOWELS if you have an option to put in a towel warmer, it can make the bathroom warmer and it's nice to get into one especially if you are somewhere where there is winter.
posted by jessamyn at 4:00 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

A dry brush, L’Occitane almond shower oil, luxurious cotton robe.
posted by kapers at 4:11 PM on November 14, 2018

Coffee. Coffee in the shower has been livening up my weekend morning showers since I figured out my soap dish can support a mug and is out of the way enough to not get water in it. If that doesn’t work in your shower setup, a travel mug may serve the same function.

Coffee. Coffee IN THE SHOWER. Mind-blowing the first groggy time I tried it.
posted by deludingmyself at 4:39 PM on November 14, 2018 [3 favorites]

I love this bb cream for ease of application, buildable coverage, and how I don't even have to look in the mirror to use it.

I would also suggest investing in a nice bamboo shower bench, getting a little bamboo shelf to hold rolled bath sheets, to invite a spa experience.
posted by crunchy potato at 4:47 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

ooohh the soaps from Crate 61 are so the best. My favourite is the lemongrass, which makes the whole bathroom smell good. Right now I'm using a sweet almond on and it is divine.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:02 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

I bought a whole new set of washcloths that are just for putting on the shower floor so I don't get cruddy brown stains on there. They also feel nice to stand on. These are separate from my shower washcloths which I recently discovered I can use to dry my face off after washing it. At first I was like, why would I dry my face off in the shower? It's just going to get wet again?? But then I found out that it feels amazing.
posted by bleep at 5:11 PM on November 14, 2018

I loves shower melts. They are just little discs with essential oils in them which you toss on the shower floor and then they make the whole space smell amazing.
posted by Saminal at 5:34 PM on November 14, 2018 [6 favorites]

It's the perfect time of year for little gift packs of shower gels (i.e. Molton Brown) which will give you a nice variety and you're not stuck getting bored of the same fragrance.

You can also get quick 2 minute face packs which makes me feel like I'm doing something special for myself in the shower.
posted by Youremyworld at 6:06 PM on November 14, 2018

I got a random assortment of soaps from Paintbox Soapworke, and they are all just beautiful and smell great. You might want to check out my previous Askme on fancy soaps.
posted by Fig at 7:22 PM on November 14, 2018

Regarding Aveda's Rosemary Mint Shampoo: Suave has a knock-off that's quite lovely and of course cheaper by an order of magnitude.

I also love Dr. Bronner's Hemp Lavender bar soap.
posted by mannyfeefees at 8:15 PM on November 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

Rosacea? Are you using pure rosehip oil? It smells herbaceous and natural. It has a composition similar to our own natural oils, so it sinks into skin without feeling greasy. I am a continuous surveyor of skincare products, and cold-pressed rosehip oil is one of the few things that’s made it into my regular routine.
I apply it post-shower, after giving my face a quick pat with a towel so it’s still a little wet. It feels so lux and makes mornings feel extra pampered.
posted by missmary6 at 8:39 PM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

Definitely Molton Brown Shower Gel (Pink Peppercorn is my absolute favorite, and the matching body lotion is divine!). Nordstrom should be having their Black Friday sale for two gel bottles at around $45 soon. Blue Mercury also sells travel sized ones if you want to try different scents.

Then check out Chanel CC Cream. My daughter has rosacea and this has been a total game changer for her. Added benefit: 50SPF built in! Have a trial done at Nordstrom or Bloomingdales and wear it for a day before buying it.
posted by dancinglamb at 12:40 AM on November 15, 2018

It's the perfect time of year for little gift packs of shower gels (i.e. Molton Brown) which will give you a nice variety and you're not stuck getting bored of the same fragrance.

Seconding this, this is the exact reason why I have about 786 different little bottles of shower gels and soaps and stuff crammed into my bathroom and I need to go through them.

If there is a Lush store near you, drop by there one day and see what they have - they have gels and soaps and something called "shower jelly" which is a more solid form of shower gel, sort of like you're soaping up with Jello, and they're all in amazing scents and basically you will lose your mind.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:47 AM on November 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

I recently replaced my bath towel with the Frontgate Resort Cotton recommended by Wirecutter, and it's super soft even after washing (maybe even moreso after washing). I have the regular bath towel size but I linked to the bath sheet size.
posted by serelliya at 7:26 PM on November 15, 2018

I love Mary Kay's CC Cream. (I am a consultant, I am not your consultant, I do not want to sell you anything. I am only providing information.) It moisturizes, reduces redness, and does all the other CC Cream things. If you are in the USA, you can find a consultant near you to give it a try. (If you're in one of the other 30+ countries Mary Kay exists in, you should be able to go to marykay.com and have your country's site appear.)

I'm also going to go oddball on you and suggest bath crayons. You can write motivational or inspirational notes to yourself all over your shower walls. Anything from your favorite quote, to "You got this!" to "Damn, you look good!" would work.
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 11:48 PM on November 15, 2018

I am a LUSH fan too (so many fun things) and also Etsy has a lot of amazing bath things and shower melts and so on. I'll also mention Haus of Gloi - small indie bath and skin stuff with a different range of scents than a lot of things. (I adore one of their summer scents, Zazz, but enjoy a number of others. The hair oil works on the body, too, and a few drops go a very long way.)

On scents: a lot of the indie or semi-indie bath stores do a lot of limited release scents (as well as some general stuff that's available all the time.) If you get into that side of things, figuring out if you are a 'buy lots of what you love while you can' or 'embrace the seasonal nature' and try different stuff as you get around to buying it is probably useful.

On the towel, I use a Turkish bath towel for swimming (because no way the gym towels fit around me.) I got mine from Amazon, and they are surprising absorbent for being woven cotton (and get more so the more you wash them.) Not plush, but I like how they make me feel.
posted by jenettsilver at 10:52 AM on November 16, 2018 [2 favorites]

I switched from a bath towel to a terrycloth robe. Not having to dry myself is basically amazing and the terrycloth is thick and absorbent enough that it’s like instant dryness as soon as I put it on.
posted by pintapicasso at 8:57 AM on November 17, 2018