♪ ♫ Let's Get It On... Love Soak Bath Ritual Recipe Kit [REVIEW]

Soak Yourself - a Chilterns-based company creating handmade, hand-packed, luxurious bath sets - has very kindly sent me one of their Love Soak Bath Ritual Recipe kits (£40) to review ahead of Valentine's Day.

The Love Soak kit is filled with items created with aromatic frankincense, sandalwood, patchouli, cedar and vetiver oils, and is designed to...

"...give couples an uninterrupted stretch of intimate time together, away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life that can so easily get in the way of spending meaningful moments with each other."

Without getting too personal, I've been experiencing plenty of 'trouble in paradise' lately, and so I have not tested this kit with a significant other. I have however comforted myself with a couple of Love Soak, post-heartache baths* using this kit, and so I can tell you what I think of its contents.

* Soak Yourself also sells a kit specifically designed for aiding heartache; Broken Heart Soak (£40). I've listed the other Soak Yourself kits available at the end of this post too.

Anyway, back to Love Soak...

The unwrapping...

The Soak Yourself Love Soak Bath Ritual Recipe Kit: boxed up.

The sleeve comes off... The box arrived beautifully wrapped in aubergine-coloured tissue paper, on which it sits in this pic.

The lid lifted to reveal yet more tissue paper, sealed with purple ribbon and a Soak Yourself sticker. Note the box is hinged - it's really very durable! I'm going to keep it when the contents are used up :]

On top of the abundance of red, shredded paper covering the contents was a Love Soak instruction book and a little token, promising the receiver at least one hour of bath relaxation.

A closer look at the token.

Oooh, what's all this then? 

The contents...

Handmade patchouli & vetiver soap: How gorgeous does this soap look? You probably won't be surprised to hear it smells absolutely divine too! If you read this blog regularly, you likely already know I love handmade bathing products, so I was delighted to find this inside! Beautiful.

Silk & Spice fizzing and foaming bath crystals, inside a Soak Yourself branded cotton bag: These salts have been blended to be detoxifying, sooth muscles, and clear the mind. It really is hard to get out the bath when you've added a relaxing dose to your water - soaking in these salts is really very pleasurable! 

Yes, that is the before-mentioned Silk & Spice bath crystals you're looking at... Conveniently packed into two individual, resealable bags to prevent the user from making a great big mess! I've been using half-doses in my baths, as I want as many fizzy, foamy baths as possible from my Love Soak kit. I find half doses to be adequate :] 

Chocolate flake teabags from teapigs.co.uk: These smell sooo yummy! I love that fact the bags are not typical; they're made of a luxurious, shimmery white netting made from (biodegradable) cornstarch. You can see little chunks of dark chocolate within too - nom! When boiled up, the tea produced is more vanilla-flavoured than chocolate IMO. While the taste is subtle, it's also very delicious!

'Love Blend' essential oils: A wonderful mixture of essential oils including sandalwood, frankincense, patchouli & cedar. Adding 15 drops of this to the tub while the hot water is running makes my (well, my Mum's) small bathroom smell divine! A very sensual fragrance - mmmmm!

'Love Blend' massage oil: While I have not massaged anyone with this oil, I have used a little on my pulse points before bed on more than a few occasions, to help me unwind. After sniffing myself for a long while (sandalwood & frankincense has that effect on me), I finally fall asleep feeling content. 

'Flame of Love' candle & holder: This candle is made with the same essential oils found in the other Love Soak products. It smells wonderful when it's lit and positioned by the bathtub - dimming the lights a little makes the experience even nicer!

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Love Soak: Final thoughts

The Love Soak Bath Ritual Kit contains everything a person needs to experience four indulgent, sensationally fragrant baths. At £40 (i.e. £10 a bath) this kit is pretty good value, especially if you and/or your loved one is able to exercise control and use it on special occasions only - it's so nice, that it's easier said than done!

My only criticism is that only two chocolate flake teabags were included in the kit - that's enough for one couple's bath only! I wouldn't expect eight, but four would have been a little less stingy since this is a kit intended for two people to use together (the other kits in the range are intended for solo use).

Still, that's a very small criticism - I really like the packaging, presentation and scent of this kit, which I can tell Jackie - the owner of Soak Yourself - put a lot of thought behind. I must admit, if a man-friend presented this kit to me I would definitely be wooed! 

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Love Soak charity donations, and other bath kits

Soak Yourself is not just beneficial for YOUR body and mind - every box purchased helps someone else too.

50p from the sale of each box kit is generously donated to the South-African children's charity The Love of Christ Ministries; a body which works to find loving families for abandoned and/or orphaned babies. Many of these babies are infected with the HIV virus, and are in desperate need of specialist treatment and care.

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If you don't feel like getting romantic with a loved one any time soon, perhaps you'd prefer to try one of the other Bath Ritual Kits from the Soak Yourself range:

Remedy - beat that run-down feeling caused by colds and flu.

Full Moon - prepare yourself for the hard month ahead.

Muscle Soak -  rejuvenate aching, sore limbs.

Broken Heart - soothe your boy-scarred heart.

Feeling Groovy - relax, release and let go.

Blanch the Blues - lift your mood, and help yourself tackle daily depression. 

Here's the two kits from the selection above I would most like to try:

Soak Yourself Remedy Bath Ritual Recipe Kit: 'Relief from the symptoms of colds and flu, to help ease you back to better health.'

Soak Yourself Blanche the Blues Bath Recipe Kit: 'Banish a down day, revitalise your senses, and boost your mood.'

Which Soak Yourself kit would you most like to treat yourself to?

/KatSick.