We are almost at the end of 2022, and to be quite honest, it feels difficult to process just what the hell happened all year. Does anyone else feel this way? But I did feel a lot of my changes were for the better, especially for clarifying what was important in life and upgrading my self-care ( a term being seriously overused but still is ever so important so let’s just keep using it anyway).
One thing I just got into after being introduced to luxurious bath oils, is upgrading my self care ritual during the week to include at least one bath. It started as a routine change to address a health concern, but then got immediately turned into an opportunity to add something nice into my life.
The main components were adding bath salts, using really nice smelling cleansing products, including oils in the bath and on the skin, and finishing it all off with a nice lotion to seal in that moisture.
Lucky for me, Brown Sugar by Kesha Janaan exists. Kesha Janaan is the modern day renaissance woman, coming from a background of serving in the Army, singing in the band SOUL ( Sisters of the Unbreakable Soul ), helping musicians with marketing and also creating her own all-natural, handmade skin care product line.
I am a huge fan of homemade skincare products, mostly because you can really feel the love in them. You also will know all the ingredients in the products. Kesha gives us the power of choice too with her Natural Skincare Gift Sets. You can choose from Hawaiian Coffee Set, Assorted Soap Set, Jasmine & Lavender Set which can also come with a lotion bar or body butter.
The Jasmine and Lavender Skincare Set
In my case, I lustfully opted for the Jasmine and Lavender Skincare Set with the lotion bar. All the lavender skin care sets come with:
- 4 oz soap bar
- 6 oz bath salts
- 2 oz oil
I’ll dive a little deeper into the set I had and how you can add it into your bath routine as well.
Jasmine and Lavender Relaxing Bath Salts
The worst parts of a bath are waiting for the water to fill the tub ( which can be an hour with poor water pressure or buildings that strangle your hot water usage ) and then having to get out of the tub into the cooler air that the bath steam hadn’t quite warmed up yet. While they both are terrible things to experience, I have slowly learned that the benefits of the bath are actually kind of worth it. ( Me a few months ago would have never. )
The first step in the bath is putting in bath salts. This immediately improves almost everything in my life. Just kidding. But the Epsom salts ( Also known as Magnesium Sulfate ) are actually extremely beneficial to your health. Epsom salt baths are great for muscle soreness, general body fatigue and stress. They can also promote better sleep by potentially helping the body produce melatonin but also by just de-stressing the body and any alleviating physical ailments you may have.
The Jasmine Lavender Relaxing Bath Salts contain Epsom salts along with Sea Salt, Jasminum odoratissimum ( Jasmine ), and Lavandula angustifolia ( Lavender ). This makes your bath feel just heavenly and look beautiful too. There is something about soaking in flowers that makes you feel pretty. And if you feel pretty, life is really just that much better.
Jasmine Lavender Soap Bar
Sometimes I feel like I could become a soap bar addict. They just feel so much better and look aesthetically pleasing in your bathroom. I feel all one with the earth when using soap bars and bask in that new slightly more sustainable me. The Jasmine Lavender Soap Bar threatens my ever so closer soap bar addiction. It holds a gorgeous blend of clearly recognizable ingredients:
- Coconut Oil
- Soybean Oil
- Glycerine
- Shea Butter
- Goat’s Milk
- Jasmine Flowers and Oil
- Lavender Flowers and Oil
It also contains Sodium Hydroxide, so before you google that on WebMD know here that this ingredient is a pH balancer. It’s used in a wide range of beauty and skin care items in small amounts. It can be seen as an ingredient in cleansers of various types such as soaps, makeup, and lotions.
I found in the bath it produced a very light aroma, with that shea buttery feel being very prevalent on the skin. It produced light suds, which I like for that visual feedback of being clean, but wasn’t overpowering in amount. It felt really smooth, without stripping the skin of its natural oils.
Jasmine Lavender Lotion Bar
I opted for the lotion bar skincare set. After hearing about Lush’s lotion bar being usable in the shower, I right away wanted to jump at the opportunity to try my own lotion bar. I like to reduce effort where I can, and not leaving the warm shower to seal in that moisture was really ideal me.
Did it work?
I tried the Jasmine Lavender Lotion Bar in two ways since the internet seemed split on when to apply your lotion bar. First, I tried it with still damp skin. The shower was turned off and after looking for my misplaced lotion bar, my skin had barely started to air dry. I lightly rubbed the lotion bar between my hands to warm it up and make it softer. Then I ran it along my arm and found to my surprise, the lotion bar glided quite well and created a light sheen while mingling with that still damp skin. So success in sealing in that moisture though it still felt like the oil repelled the water a bit.
The second method was pat drying with a towel and then using the “hand-warmed up” bar over the skin. This method felt more “traditionally successfully” in that I knew for sure it was sealing in the moisture the skin already absorbed and it was the more common internet suggested method. However, it felt a little harder to move it along dry skin. The soap bar also started to disintegrate faster since I pressed harder to move it.
In the end, I feel like I preferred the lotion bar on damp skin but perhaps I can wait for it to air dry just a little bit more next time to see if I can get that middle ground glide without the oil repelling it.
Currently you can only get the lotion bar if you purchase the Jasmine Lavender Skincare Set.
Jasmine and Lavender Infused Oil
The set also came with the Jasmine and Lavender Infused Hair and Body Oil. The abundance is apparent as the 2oz bottle, a size perfect for traveling on the plane, is jam packed with floral goodies. It also contains shea oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, and jojoba oil – all types of oils that the skin loves and absorbs easily. The Jasmine and Lavender Oil is also noted on the website to be free of all chemicals. It contains no parabens, sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances or dyes.
The oil is surprisingly light, and doesn’t leave you feeling greasy or sticky, a problem I’ve noticed in other beauty oils. I used this twice. A small pump that I used in place of a conditioner and on my skin ( yes, even though I was also using a lotion bar as well. I felt like it. So judge me. )
Please note, when using the oil for your hair, use VERY LITTLE, maybe just one pump. The bottle doesn’t seem like a lot but it goes such a long way when all you need is a small amount. Just warm it on your hands and run through the ends of your hair. You can also use it on your scalp pre-shampoo.
Brown Sugar by Kesha Janaan has got your back with all-natural, handmade skincare products. If you are like me and most likely going to spend the winters indoors, try implementing fancy baths in your weekly skincare routine. The Jasmine and Lavender skincare set is a great place to start. Pour in the bath salts and a few drops of oil, wait that 30 minutes to an hour, light some candles and play some relaxing music – it’ll be worth it.
Enjoy your winter season!
Shop all Kesha Janaan Natural Skincare Sets
Shop all of Brown Sugar by Kesha Janaan
