If like me you have found it hard to sleep or relax in a world full of ever more gloomy news, have a look at some of the products I have been using to de-stress and help me to nod off.
Aromatherapy Associates
I have always been a fan of Aromatherapy Associates and love that they do ranges for de-stressing and relaxing depending on your goals. I have used the Deep Relax range for a long time and it’s good to see new products gradually being added to the range. Here are the products I have tried and what I think of them.
Deep Relax Bath & Shower Oil
This is my favourite bath oil of all time. It’s expensive at £49 for 55ml, but you only need the tiniest amount to fragrance the entire bathroom with its deliciously potent spa-like scent. The oil contains Vetivert, soothing Camomile, and comforting Sandalwood. As you only need a couple of drops, it doesn’t make the bath too greasy either but still adds moisture to your skin.
You can find it on Space NK here
Deep Relax Sleep Mist
This is one of the latest additions and despite the fact that it gets good reviews online I was disappointed. I’m guessing it’s because all the other products I have tried are oil-based, but this just doesn’t smell the same to me. As well as the actual smell, I just don’t find it lasts as long as using the body products. But if you are a fan of the smell you may want to give it a try. The Deep Relax Roller Ball may be a better way to get the fragrance for bedtime if you don’t fancy the body cream and it’s reasonable at £22.
You can buy them from Space NK here.
Deep Relax Nourishing Body Treatment
I prefer to use this rather than the mist as the scent lingers for such a long time and I find it very moisturising too. It has a relatively light texture and sinks into the skin well, leaving it silky soft. A pot lasts a long time as you don’t need to slather it on to get the effect.
You can buy them from Space NK here.
Relax Candle
It’s slightly more effort than the spray, but the relaxing candle not only infuses your room with the soothing essential oils of West Indian bay and woody Myrrh, but I also find a flickering candle in a dimly lit room, relaxing in its self.
You can buy the candle for £48 here.
This Works
This Works take sleep seriously and their natural sleep solutions are put through independent user trials and clinical studies. They now have two ranges depending on your sleep issues.
Deep Sleep pillow spray
The Deep Sleep range is for those that have trouble falling asleep and it’s the range I use. I prefer the smell of this pillow spray so I mix and match with the Aromatherapy Asscoiates products. The mix of essential oils is similar to the Deep Relax ones but they smell very different. This smell feels a little lighter to me and the lavender definitely comes through albeit in a very subtle way.
The spray has Lavender, Camomile & Vetivert essential oils and is a reasonable £19.50
for 75ml. Again, I find a little goes a long way. According to This Works research, 97% of panel users slept better after using the spray. It does not leave any marks on white pillows but you can also spray it on your nightware.
They also do mini versions of the spray which are great for travelling.
Deep sleep bath oil
This is a similar price to the Aromatherapy Associates one at £48 for 50ml. I find the scent is not quite as pronounced so you end up using a bit more making it more oily on your skin. But if you prefer the Deep sleep scent, then this is a good option for a relaxing bath.
You can buy the bath oil with 20% off from Feel Unique here.
Deep sleep bath soak
I am not a fan of bath salts generally and this product did not convert me. Although it was less drying than some bath salts, I still found it left my skin a bit parched and the fragrance seemed to dissipate quicker than with the bath oil.
You can buy the bath salts from Space NK here for £22.
Other This Works sleep ranges
There are two other fragrance options in This Works sleep ranges. If you are a restless sleeper they also have Sleep+ which comes in a wide range of products including a pillow spray. I haven’t tried them yet but the Sleep+ Dream Body is calling my name thanks to its mix of Amino Acids, Retinol & Lavender. This promises to give you a more youthful body as well as restful sleep. Can’t ask for more than that in a sleep product! I have been getting great results with retinol face creams, so I am keen to try a body version.
The other sleep fragrance is ‘Love Sleep’ which is aimed at couples. It contains Ylang Ylang, Patchouli & Frankincense which This Works claim “relax and calm, helping to pave the way for sleep and intimacy.” It is available in a pillow spray, candle, rollerball, and bedroom blend oil for diffusers.
You can find the extended range of This Works products on Feel Unique.
M&S Ragdale Hall Spa Sleep
The best value range has to be the Ragdale Hall collaboration with M&S. Ragdale Hall is my favourite prupose built spa in the UK, and I have been using this range for a while. The products contain lavender oil and chamomile extract. However, the overall effect is very strongly lavender, so if you are not a fan, then I would not recommend it.
I like that they have a wide range of products in the collection. These include a Pillow & Body Mist 150ml for £7.50, a bath foam at £8 and sleep oil diffuser for £15. I am currently using the hand cream which costs £5. It is a fairly light cream that is easily absorbed, so if your hands have been ravaged by sanitiser and washing, this may not be strong enough.
The White Company
If you have flown British Airways in business class, you will have tried some of the White Company spa products in their amenity kit. I really liked the smell which is indeed reminiscent of a spa. The blend contains pink pepper, petitgrain, and cedarwood, combined with geranium and calming lavender. I have been using the Spa Retreat Diffuser which is rather pricey at £35, although you can often get money off discounts if you time it well. The scent is pretty strong and will fragrance your entire bedroom with its calming scent.
The Spa ranges have a wide selection of matching products including a mist, body oil and shower gel.
The Spa range can be found here on The White Company page.
Thanks for this review. I’m going to try some of your recommendations.