Beauty Witch: The Perfect (Prettiest) Bath

Baths are one of those activities that appear to be a seemingly easy pleasure—you fill up your tub with water and then climb in—but in reality, it’s not just about taking a bath, it’s about making one. In fact, there’s an entire community of bath-obsessed super soakers out there (seriously, search #bathgoals on Instagram and see for yourself) who post endless photos of decadent clawfoot tubs filled with lavish and obsessive amounts of flower petals and crystals inside multi-colored water. So, if your hobby also includes taking a bath like a fairytale princess on acid, then listen up: Here are 10 cult-worthy bath products that make up the perfect recipe for taking and making the prettiest bath ever.

Let’s start with the fun part: Throwing a bunch of yummy-smelling stuff into your tub! I also lovingly refer to this part as, “How much money can I dump into water?” (Kidding, kind of.) Everyone knows that Lush is famous for its Bath Bombs, but did you know that the brand also makes Bath Oils? Put the Flower’s Barrow Bath Oil on your radar, because it’s formulated with organic Shea and cocoa butters, rose absolute, extra virgin coconut oil, and pink delphinium petals—so like Bath Bombs, you simply toss one into your tub, but instead of it fizzing out with various colors, this one melts flower petals and oils into the water. Not only will these natural oils and butters make your skin feel baby-soft while you’re in the tub, but you’ll still feel moisturized after you get out, too. Next up, I love pouring some of RAD Soap’s Dreamy Bath Juice into water, because it’s made with a unique blend of rosemary, mint, lavender, chamomile, and melatonin for ultimate relaxation. If you’re like me and prone to anxiety (and sadly, who isn’t these days?), this herbal soak is wonderful for unwinding thanks to its aromatherapeutic properties—and yes, it’s also nourishing, so it’s great for those with dry or sensitive skin as well. And because I’m extra, I also like taking one of the Fresh Sugar Lemon Sugarbath cubes and dropping one under running water since the cubes contain brown sugar, lemon, and bergamot, which make a great mixture for healing and removing dead skin cells.

Now, I’m sure for many that at this point you might be done building your bath—but we’re just getting started. Goop recently launched five brand-new Bath Soaks developed by the queen of baths herself, Gwyneth Paltrow, for physical, mental, and spiritual transformation. It was nearly impossible to pick a favorite since they’re all made with wonderful brews and the highest intentions, but I can’t stop thinking about the G.Nite Bedtime Bath Soak: Inside you’ll find holistic ingredients like celtic sea salt, dead sea salt, magnesium citrate, valerian root, passion flower, hops, Australian sandalwood, lavender, and spikenard (to name a few)—so all you have to do is add a cup of it to your bath, sit back, and soak it all in.

If you’re sore from yoga and need even more love to calm your muscles and eliminate toxins, I also endorse adding a sprinkle of the French Girl Organics Rose Ylang Sea Soak, because it has a melody of different sea salts, as well as Himalayan pink salt and plant essential oils of rose and ylang ylang mixed inside.

In regards to putting more things into your tub water, last but certainly not least are the Aquarian Soul Full Moon Bathing Flowers! There are two ways you can use them: One, you can put them in the muslin bag provided and let them steep into water like tea for a mess-free floral soak—or two, you can dust them over your bath water and sit with them (this makes for a better #bathgoals Instagram photo, but make sure you strain them out of your water when you’re done!). And although they are best used before/during/after a Full Moon phase, you can use them anytime you need some plant medicine since the hibiscus will help keep skin moisturized, the rose petals and rose buds will promote a healthy complexion, and the lavender buds will help you to chill out.

When you’re finally ready to emerge from your mini-pool of heaven, feel free to slather some of the Herbivore Botanicals Rose Quartz Illuminating Body Oil along your arms and legs. Since it’s inspired by the gemstone, the oils and aromatic blend of Moroccan rose and jasmine grandiflorum will leave you looking, feeling, and smelling luminous AF. And since rose quartz harmonizes with the Heart Chakra, consider it the ultimate self-love ritual. Lastly, you can coat the rest of your body in the Sangre de Fruta Chamomile & Anise Botanical Body Cream which, quite literally, melts into skin like butter—if, you know, butter smelled like Egyptian blue chamomile, anise, and rose otto. This will ensure that all the goodness you just absorbed in your bath stays absorbed on your skin for even longer, plus the chamomile has healing properties and will help aid any skin woes.

And now that you smell like a million different types of flowers and posted your very own #bathgoals, take a moment to disconnect from your electronics and decompress with a nap—because there’s really no point of winding down in the bath only to get out and stress yourself out again, right? It’s also important to note that you don’t have to use every one of these products in a single bath if you’re sensitive to certain ingredients or smells, I recommend mixing and matching depending on what your mind, body, soul, and spirit needs that day. Happy bathing!