Is there a 12-step program for bath product addiction? There should be. I have a serious problem when it comes to peppermint scented bath products – I spend too much money on them. It’s a love that apparently knows no boundary. I’ve tried to control it, but I can’t. I’m weak and I know it, but I smell good.
A Peek Into My Minty Addiction - Peppermint Bath Products
I was in San Francisco when I stumbled into an Origins store with bloody swollen feet crying for help or for someone to put me out of my misery. That’s what happens when you wear the wrong shoes to sightsee in San Francisco. (Travel hint: don’t wear brand new leather wedges if you’re walking the streets of San Francisco. Wear running shoes and put a pair of bunny slippers in your purse. Wear the running shoes when you’re in motion and the bunny slippers when you give up and stop for a margarita.) Origins saved my feet and my trip. I bought the 4-piece leg & foot rejuvenation package. I love their clever product names: Foot Rest, Sole Searcher, Leg Lifts and Reinventing the Heel. Don’t let their humor fool you. These beauties are seriously fabulous and effective. Thank you, Origins. Because of you, I was able to leave my heart in San Francisco instead of pieces of my wrecked feet.
My longest lasting peppermint crush (by far) has been the Oatmeal Peppermint bath bar from Garden Botanika. Oh, my…I have loved it for so long. If I had a dollar for every six dollar bar I’ve bought, I’d still be in the hole, but I’d be a happy camper. I love this soap more than life itself. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I do love it fiercely. The oatmeal chunks set in a creamy peppermint bar will cleanse and exfoliate you like Helga the Baltic spa technician. I’ll warn you – you will look like you lost a cat fight when you first step out of the shower, but your skin will feel as soft as a baby’s backside.
J.R. Watkins Apothecary Peppermint Rejuvenating Foot Cream is my new lotion obsession. It’s labeled as a foot cream but it’s much, much more than that. Because it’s gentle and absorbs very quickly, I use it everywhere – even on my face. That’s saying a lot, because I have sensitive skin and mild rosacea. I can use this product without any fear of breakouts or that greasy feeling you get from some lotions. I put it on and a minute later, my skin feels smooth and dry. I am in love with this lotion. I will even go so far as to say that it has helped reduce the wrinkles on my face and neck over the past year. I put it on every morning before I apply my make-up and every evening before I go to bed. About the only place I don’t use it is on my feet. Go figure.
You’re probably thinking right now “geez…how many peppermint products can one woman use?” But wait! There’s more! My daughter introduced me to the most amazing liquid soap on a shopping trip to Austin’s SoCo district. We were snooping around the Farm to Market Organic Grocery on South Congress when she handed me a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap (certified organic and fair trade). She said it would blow my mind, and it did. For serious peppermint junkies, this is the hard stuff. It is a peppermint explosion in a bottle. Combined with a nice bath scrubbing poof, this will make your heart sing and your body parts tingle. I like to use it first thing in the morning when I need a shower to wake me up, or after an hour in the garage wrestling with my jiggly parts on the elliptical machine. Imagine jumping into a frozen pond. That’s how refreshing I find this soap. And it makes my entire bathroom and bedroom smell pepperminty fresh for half an hour after I shower. Here’s another secret: I use their almond scented soap at night when I want to unwind and smell good. And believe me, it smells really, really good.
Last but not least, I love the Savannah Bee Company’s Mint Julep Beeswax Lip Balm. You can buy it in a tube or in a little metal tin. While I usually favor lip balm tubes, my daughter found a great deal on E-Bay and we split the cost of a 12-pack of the cute little metal tins. I’ll be honest. She had me at beeswax. When they added Mint Julep, I was sunk. This all-natural lip balm is everything you want in a lip balm. It’s creamy, it’s long-lasting, and its peppermint oil content leaves your lips feeling quenched and refreshed. The Complete Package will testify that I am a lip balm addict. I carry 3-4 brands (a quick nod to Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm here – watermelon is my color). I carry it at all times. I use it every 15 minutes. I can’t stop. On the up side, my lips are always lush and kissable at a moment’s notice (the better to kiss you with, my dear!). I know my excessive use of peppermint lip balm is a problem because my 3 ½ year old grandson, Jonah, will now turn to me in the car and say, “can I get some of that?” I’m sorry, Jonah Bear. Nana didn’t mean to start you down the road to peppermint product addiction at such an early age. She should know better. But now that I have your attention, have you seen this peppermint lotion I got? AARRGHHH! Somebody stop me!
Inside NanaBread's Head 