Even though it requires some upclose-and-personal time with the weird fungus creeping around our drain, a bath — augmented with a few candles, a glass of wine, and a good book, of course — is one of our favorite ways to decompress. A great addition? A couple of effervescent, smell-like-our-favoritemartini SugarBath Lychee Bath Cubes ($34), available at Fresh (121 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.421.1212). The cubes contain real brown sugar, purported to heal cuts and soothe skin.
Sometimes stressed skin just needs a no-frills, back-to-basics moisturizer. We found just what we were looking for in the super-pure Shea & Organic Cotton Ultra Comforting Cream ($38) from L’Occitane, formulated especially for sensitive types. Shea butter gives the cream its moisturizing qualities, while organic cotton extract keeps skin soft and licorice extract soothes irritated skin and reduces redness practically on contact. L’Occitane’s strict limitations on the number of ingredients used in its products keep prospective irritants to a minimum; even the lotion’s fragrance is barely there. Find it at L’Occitane (Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.536.4289).
No matter how great-looking your ’do is post-cut, -color, and -blow-dry, that full foil can seriously stress out your locks in the long run. Keep hair strong, shiny, and wellconditioned with De-Stressing Pandano Hairwash ($18) and Haircondition ($18) by Molton Brown. Made with pandano, a vitamin-rich fruit from the Australian rainforest, and a blend of Amazonian oils, the products also protect hair from the sun and other environmental stressors — key even when beach season is but a memory. Get them at Neiman Marcus (5 Copley Place, Boston, 617.536.3660).
Things that stress us out: cranky boyfriends, tax returns. Things that stress our lips: weather conditions, spicy foods. Don’t be turned off by the sky-blue tint of GoSMILE Smileceuticals’ Good-For-You Lip Treatment ($18); formulated by a dentist, the balm contains retinol to help slough off signs of aging (GoSMILE calls it a “facial for your lips”), plus shea and cocoa butters, vitamin E, and chamomile to soothe dry, irritated lips. Stock up at www.gosmile.com.
You’ve been out every night this week, dragged yourself to the office for 10-hour days, and eaten almost exclusively from drive-through windows. Our prescription: detox. Get it in a totable plastic pouch with Skyn Iceland’s Detox Kit for Stressed Skin ($45), on shelves at Sephora (Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.4200). The Glacial Face Wash, cooling Arctic Face Mist, Antidote Quenching Daily Lotion, and Oxygen Fusion Night Cream contain enough vitamins, minerals, and moisture to get skin glowing again in five days.
