Relax (The Sanctuary Bath Relaxer)

Member Name: chrisandmark

Product:	The Sanctuary Bath Relaxer
Date:	31/12/05 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious smell, feels like a 'posh' product

Disadvantages: Makes the bath very slippery

I’ve just tried out one of my Christmas pressies, a little gem my mum picked in the form of a bottle of Sanctuary Bath Relaxer.

The Sanctuary Covent Garden is an ultra posh ladies only day spa in London which exists, it seems, simply to add a little bit of luxury into our lives. Now they’ve made a deal with Boots allowing them exclusive sale of their gorgeous beauty products, we can all pamper ourselves (even those of us not brave enough to drive into London!).

The Relaxer is basically an upmarket bath oil, coming in an attractive understated plastic bottle emblazoned with The Sanctuary name and logo. It looks great in the bathroom and you can be smug in the knowledge that everybody, repeat EVERYBODY, knows you’ve got a luscious bottle of *something* Sanctuary.

The oil itself has the very distinctive Sanctuary aroma. It smells sugary sweet with a hint of bitterness in the undertones. There’s neither a fruity or floral fragrance to it, the Relaxer has that kind of smell which tells me it’s there for a purpose rather than to make me smell nice. I can smell the sweet essential oils which Sanctuary have used, and there’s a definite oily aroma to it which my fella hates but I love.

As per the instructions, I pour a small amount (around 2 capfuls) under warm running water and jump in the bath. Well, I wouldn’t advise you to jump as the first thing I noticed about the Bath Relaxer is how damned slippery it makes the bottom of the bath. I very nearly went *** over *** stepped onto our non-slip bathmat – never put your trust in manufacturers claims, the bathmat was definitely not non-slip when used in conjunction with the Relaxer!

When I do eventually slide myself into a comfortable position I lie back and do as it says on the bottle, relax. As with any other bath oil, the Relaxer doesn’t produce any bubbles but the indulgent sensation of the water itself more than makes up for this. It leaves a film of oil spots on top of the water but not those huge oil patches which occur with cheaper bath oils, the Relaxer has penetrated the water making the whole tub feel moisturising and oily rather than just adding an oil and watching it rise to the top. I know I’ve got a good bath oil when I can rub my legs together under the water (steady…) and I can feel my skin sliding rather than pulling. A wonderful sensation whichever part of your body you decide to rub!

The aroma of the Relaxer when I’m lying back in the warm water is delicious, the sweetness of the oil really comes though and this (I think) is what makes this such a soothing bath. I actually felt more relaxed when I got out of the bath and I’m sure I fell asleep quicker when I went to bed. My skin felt smooth and beautifully cleansed, while the slight greasiness the Relaxer left on my body was soon absorbed as a kind of extra moisturising bonus. I didn’t need to use a body lotion after I’d dried myself, which is unusual for me as I tend to have dry skin and I get terrible itchiness if I don’t moisturise after a bath. The Sanctuary smell was still vaguely evident on my skin when I got up the next morning, and as I love the scent I simply topped it up by applying The Sanctuary Body Lotion which compliments the Relaxer’s smell perfectly.

I also found the Relaxer is great when I shave my legs in the bath. The oiliness of it helps the razor to glide smoothly over my skin with no pulling or burning afterwards, make sure not to get the handle wet though or you'll never keep hold of the razor!

The only downside with the Relaxer is the mess of the bath afterwards, if (like me) you have a fag in the bath you'll inevitably drop a bit of ash into the water which can't be helped. In a bubble bath you're not actually aware that you're sitting in the equivalent of a diluted ashtray but the Relaxer shows up every tiny bit of ash by making it float on top of the oil - as well as glueing it to the sides of the bath when you drain the water... Nice...

The Relaxer isn’t as expensive as you might think compared with other The Sanctuary products, it costs £4.50 for a 250ml bottle and from this you’ll get 8 -10 luxurious baths.

Go on, treat yourself – but get hubby to clean the greasy bath afterwards!

Summary: A pampering experience without travelling all the way to Covent Garden.