We all know baths are great. You can't knock the soul-soothing effect of a locked bathroom door and mandatory stillness with optional books, podcasts, scrubs and masks.
Still, there's loving the idea of a bath and then there's managing to have one. I've entered many weekends mentally committed to fitting in a soak with my best bubble bath and an all-Bon Iver playlist. Then suddenly - pouf! - it's 7pm Sunday, the dog needs taking out, the dishwasher's ejecting unwashed bowls again and my ambitions fizzle away like Epsom salts.
I don't know if you over-promise and under-deliver on yourself this way, or if you're even a 'bath person' (many do not love to wallow) But I will say with confidence that our collective perception seems to be bathing = luxury, showering = necessity and we prioritise them as such. So this week's Sunday Service is not about finding a 25th hour in the day for 'self-care', it's about approaching what you do manage to squeeze in with a fresh perspective.
Why indulgent shower products are my beauty buy of the week
I'll admit that a quick blast may never be as gratifying as a long soak. Winston Churchill rightly advised; "Never stand up when you can sit down, and never sit down when you can lie down." Baths certainly have the edge in that respect. Plus, shower products have historically been a problem - luridly-dyed fruity gels and intensely-perfumed designer foams lobbed into gift sets with our best perfume.
In contrast, for bathing we get skin-softening oils, mineral-charged salts, and thoughtfully blended aromatics to restore, revive, or find inner strength (shout out Aromatherapy Associates, the OG baths-as-therapy brand) Our shower kit saw us as cells to be sanitised, our bath products addressed our humanity.
Thankfully, in 2025, the market has caught up with the modern mood - which is time-poor, a smidge frazzled, but up for little luxuries and bursts of joy in the bits of our day that are all our own - even if it's not the 'perfect' ritual. So here are three such luxuries, from my shower caddy to yours. These are the low-commitment, high-satisfaction products I've been getting a lot from this month:
RRP: £38
The most delicious, grown-up take on invigorating fragrance - herby-sweet fennel meets tart grapefruit. This also taps into the skincare for body trend by including two skin-exfoliating acids in a silky texture, which is a far more civilised (and less messy) approach than your average grainy scrub. Wildsmith also has a spa, The Bothy in knockout country hotel Heckfield Place - if you can't spring for a night there, five minutes in the morning with this is a solid alternative.
RRP: £22
I've been using this pretty much every day through January. I find the rose and ylang-ylang blend sits in the aromatic sweet spot for a 6am shower on a cold workday - somwehere between uplifting and calming. It also creates an unusually rich lather that feels generous on the skin. It's no coincidence that this is the second spa brand here - these guys don't just develop products they create vibes.
RRP: £34
I have a friend who claims she's in the 'silent majority' because she showers before bed rather than in the morning (I'm unconvinced) She also bemoans the lack of snooze-inducing shower gels for her type, as opposed to the usual energising aromas. To that, I say, here you go, Sophie! A really delicious-smelling lavender and vetiver wash with magnesium and skin-hydrating plant oils. The bottle looks great and I'd defy anyone to lather this up and not drop their shoulders by an inch or two.
It hasn't escaped me that all of my picks this week are on the pricy side - or at least the pricier side of what we expect to pay for this type of product. I would say this is down to priorities. I often think we spend too much on the wrong things (eg face creams, when even the best face moisturisers can only do so much and some of the best are very simple, budget buys) Then we choose to go bottom-of-the-budget on things like body wash, which I honestly feel is a smarter spend in the long-term.
Whether any luxury product is an option is between you and your banking app, of course. But if it is, buying one of these shower treats and using a tiny bit of it every day is like giving yourself a gift - one that keeps on giving for months, delivering a daily pleasure bump that you carry through into your day (or night). Sound good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
