Spa treats from St. Grape

A little while ago I was one of the lucky winners of the five St. Grape gift sets from the giveaway that Miss Budget Beauty held at the beginning of the month and I was really excited to get to try their products. St. Grape is a new brand that launched their products in August this year, and they only sell their products in the UK at the moment. The St. Grape concept is all about natural and organic skin care, based on ancient traditions and rituals to create modern holistic skincare - looking after both the body and the mind.

The gift set I got contains four different products; bath salts, bath scrub, foot scrub and a massage oil - perfect for an indulgent evening of some relaxing pampering. I am all about pampering, and several times a week I ensure that I get some me time to enjoy a nice long soak in the bath with lots of bubbles - ideally both in the bathtub and in a champagne glass. Despite being a bath girl I must admit that I don't often use bath salts, but as soon as I saw the Exotic Pink Bath Salts I was curious to try it.

It's made from Himalayan salt, which is very rich in minerals that not only makes the skin velvet soft, but it also detoxes your body and to have nice long soak in a bath must be the easiest way to detox ever. I poured a generous amount of salt into the bath and by the time I'd finished running the bath the majority of the salts had more or less dissolved. The scent is not so much exotic as it is aromatic and I would say that it's a menthol like subtle lavender smell, so it's relaxing as well as invigorating but not overpowering in any way. The salts were great for softening up my muscles, but the menthol oils are so reviving that I'm not sure this would work for me as a pre-bedtime relaxer, but except for that it's a lovely product.

While I was enjoying my bath I also used the Aqua Bliss Bath Scrub which contains natural mineral sea salt, essential oils and vitamin e. The scrub has an incredible consistency, and I've never tried anything like this before. It's soft and creamy but finely grainy from the salt at the same time, and it feels very light and fluffy on the skin - it's like scrubbing yourself with a granita, it just dissolves beautifully. It's a really lovely exfoliator and it leaves the skin feeling very soft and smooth with a faint smell of jasmine, although for me it is a little bit on the soapy side. According to the description you can use this on your face as well as your body, however I won't be able to comment on that since I've only used it as a body scrub so far. I absolutely love this product - it's great value for money and I would definitely repurchase it.

The next product in the gift set is also a scrub, but for the feet. The Ancient Foot Scrub uses the same ingredients as the Aqua Bliss, and the consistency is wonderful although more than a little bit different. It has a soft but dry, grainy and fluffy texture that reminds me of couscous but it's very relaxing and soothing to use, and even better if you can get somebody to do it for you... Take a a handful of the scrub to massage all over moist feet, and it will easily get rid of any rough or dry skin. I also tried this on my hands during a manicure and it works equally well, and you can follow up with a rich hand cream or even a moisturising wax treatment for silky smooth paws.

Using this is quite messy, so I would recommend that you do it over the bath tub or something similar, so you don't get it everywhere as I did the first time I used it. It's a pleasant product to use, however it is VERY strongly scented. The scent could be from the essential oils; jasmine, rose and lavender, each of them distinct and potent in themselves. As you know fragrance is a very important product aspect for me, and it can sway me either way when I'm testing a product. For me personally this scent is far too strong, even over powering and unfortunately it would keep me from buying the product again - even though I really did enjoy the actual scrub. 

 

To finish the bath routine I used the Invisible Skin Massage Oil to moisturise every part of my body that had been soaked and scrubbed. The oil comes in a lovely apothecary style, heavy glass bottle with a stop which is too chic to be hidden away in a bathroom cabinet. The oil is a blend of Camellia Seed and Extra Virgin Oil with an impressive 9 other kinds of 100% pure essential oils from; lavender, lime, basil, grapefruit, mint, rose geranium, eucalyptus, chamomile and bois de rose. All together, they create an aromatic, soothing and relaxing scent that is still fresh thanks to the zesty citrus fruits. The oil is fairly rich without being heavy and it leaves your skin nicely moisturised. You can use this as a serum on your face as well, but since you should only use a tiny drop of oil, it would have been useful if the bottle came with a pipette, or something to help with the dispensing.

We all have such busy lives that it's important to take some time every now and then to just relax, and what better way to do that than turn your bathroom into a relaxing home spa; light some candles, put on some music, have a lovely bath and finish with some of your favourite products. If you're on the look out for something new to try, why not check out the St. Grape, and make use of the 50% discount code from Miss Budget Beauty - BUDGETBEAUTY5.