Now For Some Me Time: Gifts to Pamper Yourself and Your Loved Ones
By Jolene Miklas Schneider
Hi! How are you? Climate crisis, global inflation, nail-biting election season, and lingering pandemic aside, you good?
Listen: sh*t’s stressful right now! We get it. But here’s something good you can do. Support small businesses and independent makers with gifts that comfort you and your loved ones.
Pamper yourself or someone you care about with …
A shower steamer. Put one of Wren & Rita’s bad boys at the bottom of your shower and bliss out in a eucalyptus, mint, and menthol-scented escape. When life gets hard, soften back up with a luxurious lip balm or lotion bar. This line of handmade bath and body items uses the highest quality oils and butters and skin-loving additives, such as goat’s milk, aloe vera juice, oats, clays, and activated charcoal. (Or, for when you’re feeling adventurous, indulge in ingredients like wine, coffee, and beer!)
A peppermint salt scrub. Come see Lovett Sundries for a glow-inducing salt scrub that’s like giving a fancy spa treatment in a jar. Their careful blend of mineral-rich sea salt and luxurious essential oils makes this scrub the perfect way to nourish and soften stressed-out skin. Browse their extra-gentle items for the face, hair, and body, and know you’re supporting real people making real things.
Muscle & Joint Salve. Visit Trail Botanica for adventure skin care, including a muscle-penetrating salve that warms the tissues with stimulating essential oils. This gift is perfect for athletes or anyone experiencing everyday aches and pains. Organic St. Johns Wort, Arnica, and Comfrey solar-infuse plant-based oils to help soothe and protect joints and ligaments while reducing tissue inflammation from overuse, bruising, and blunt impact. Plus, we love how Trail Botanica is committed to sustainability initiatives in and around the outdoor community.
A handcrafted wooden shave set. Elevate someone special’s shaving routine with a kit lovingly crafted by JP & Son Woodcraft. This family business hand-turns wood and acrylic into a wide variety of items, including high-quality shaving sets, pens, pepper grinders, kaleidoscopes, bottle stoppers, keychains, and more.
Cinnamon & Violet perfume. 837 North brings candles and perfumes in unexpected fragrances inspired by greenhouses, conservatories, and farmer’s markets. Sniff gender-neutral scent combinations like Coffee Bean + Coconut, Blue Lotus + Neroli, Pineapple + Paprika, and more. The guiding principle for 837 North is to create products that don’t leave anyone feeling boxed in by what they’re “supposed to” like, so they can express their true selves.
The D’Or Detoxing Facial Clay Mask. Pamper your pores with a vibrant clay sourced from the Provence region in France. Chez Lapin created this detoxifying mask from all-natural minerals high in iron oxide that give it a gorgeous, golden hue. It’s paired with exfoliating crushed almond for powerfully restorative care. Chez Lapin believes in slow beauty or nurturing the skin’s microbiome and health versus corrective skin care. We love their perfectly giftable candles and highly sniff-able line.
