Recipe for Relaxation

No matter what obstacles the day may throw at us, no matter what hurdles we may have to jump to reach our front door, there is a single prize available at the finish line for anyone who chooses to accept it: the bubble bath.

Sure, it may seem tame and perhaps slightly lackluster when compared to, say, a quick change of shoes and back out on the tiles but it’s dependable, it does what it sets out to do and it never disappoints.

It’s true that we all find our own style when it comes to preparation, the key questions being those of temperature, lighting, aroma and products. For me, there is a simple rule – the more indulgent, the better.

I try to create an environment in which I can sink clandestinely into luxury and wallow unashamedly in femininity. If it is done right then, one by one, each sense ought to be awakened and slowly put to sleep until I am condensed to a truly pacified form, fetal in my porcelain cocoon.

I take my bath with a side order of red wine, preferably in a big round goblet with room for swilling – nothing quite excites and soothes the taste buds like it. My eyes are filled with the flickering of candlelight and my ears with the lapping of water at my sides. When it comes to aromatic oils, as in life, I find it hard to commit and my cabinet is brimming with a medley of fragrant infusions. Be it lavender or lemongrass, moss or myrrh the odour will always be intense, consuming and fill my head with its luscious potency. The suds form soupy mountains on the glassy surface of the water. And so with all but one sense already stirred, I sink slowly into this hot, silky, liquid blanket and, with exquisite relish, wash away the day.