Tried and Tested: Rituals Gift Box

We like to think that Spabreaks.com’s Gift Boxes are a pretty great present to receive - what with the voucher for a spa experience, and a few extra gifts as well, particularly when it comes to our Rituals Gift Box, joining forces with the luxury product brand.  Here, Anushka from Magic Freebies shares her thoughts …

I love a good spa treatment. There’s nothing nicer than booking a spa day, sitting back (then inevitably falling asleep) and letting a professional massage and manicure you to your heart’s content. It is a splurge though, so for me it’s a rare treat.

The rest of the time I go solo; from recreating a mani-pedi, to exfoliating, and giving myself a DIY facial. I’m a firm believer in at-home pampering so when Spabreaks.com asked us to review their gift experience, I jumped at the chance. The gift box is an all-in-one pampering gift that combines a Rituals Luxury Gift Set with a spa day.

I’ve always loved Rituals’ philosophy that ‘happiness can be found in the smallest of things’.  They believe that by taking the time to enjoy simple things like a relaxing bath, you’ll feel better from within. With this in mind they’ve created natural skincare and home ranges designed for pampering.

I was instantly impressed when the Rituals Luxury Gift Set landed on my desk. It came beautifully packaged in a Spabreaks.com Rituals gift box and when I opened it, like a kid at Christmas, I found these four treats:

• Wai Wang Organic White Lotus and Yi Yi Ren Body Scrub (30ml)
• Mei Dao Organic White Lotus and Yi Yi Ren Body Cream (30ml)
• Lao Tze Chinese Mint & Yi Yi Ren Cooling Foot Balm (30ml)
• Sweet Sunrise Home Perfume and Fragrance Sticks

I was to have a pamper sesh at home, but I couldn’t resist trying the Mei Dao Organic White Lotus and Yi Yi Ren Body Lotion. It smelled absolutely amazing; lovely and fresh yet the White Lotus gave it a tropical floral twist.  The combination of flowers and fresh cotton sheets reminded me of a spa I once visited in Thailand.

Once home, I ran a bath and replaced my usual bath candles with the Rituals Home Fragrance. I like fragrance sticks as they give the same warming scent as a candle but without the constant worry of burning the house down. Infused with sweet orange and cedar, this had a heady scent to it with quite a masculine edge. I don’t usually go for strong scents, but combined with a hot bath, I found it surprisingly relaxing. I’ve since kept the fragrance sticks in the bathroom as a stylish alternative to an air freshener.

I exfoliate once a week to keep my incredibly dry, flaky skin in check, so I’m no stranger to a good body scrub. The Wai Wang Organic White Lotus and Yi Yi Ren Exfoliating Body Scrub had the same comforting scent as the lotion. I used it with a shower pouf in circular motions to shift dead skin cells, and immediately my skin felt smoother. Unlike other scrubs the scent lingered long after it was rinsed away too.

I usually apply body cream straight after a hot bath, as I find they work better when the pores are slightly open, so I applied the Mei Dao Rich Nourishing Body Cream. It was a nice creamy consistency, not so thick that it took a lot of effort to rub in, and not too thin that it felt greasy. My skin felt soft and supple. I noticed that all the body products contained Yi Yi Ren which are seeds that come from coix plants and commonly used in Chinese medicine for their nourishing properties.

The last product to try was the Lao Tze Chinese Mint and Yi Yi Ren Cooling Foot Balm, and one I had high hopes for.  As the weather had been heating up, my feet had been feeling hot and sticky so this was refreshing on my tired old soles and my feet felt much softer. The strong toothpaste smell might not be to everyone’s liking though!

As a self-confessed beauty junkie I’ve tried loads of products so it takes a lot to impress, but this gift box was just lovely. Every product was a treat to use and I genuinely felt better after my evening of pampering; I slept like a baby and woke up with really soft skin.