Christmas Eve is tomorrow. By this point in the month, most of us are broke and stressed. This is the best time of the year but with all the hustle and bustle, it’s very important that we make time for self care. I thought it might be helpful if I shared what I do to unwind and how I pamper myself on a budget. Put on your fuzzy socks, pour yourself something warm to drink and let’s relax together!

The first step of any relaxing night is a long shower and a body scrub. I have talked about the Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrubs a million times. I love them. They’re affordable at around $8.00 (price varies) and you get a ton of product. I’m currently using Frosted Sugar Cookie and it smells delicious. I tend to use these scrubs in the shower for my feet and body but they would also be fantastic used as the final step after soaking your feet.

Once I’m out of the shower, it’s time for a face mask. I love almost all of the Freeman Feeling Beautiful Masks that I’ve tried. My favorites are pictured above, left to right: Soothing Watermelon+Aloe, Oil Absorbing Mint+Lemon, Deep Clearing Manuka Honey+Tea Tree Oil and Hydrating Cactus+Cloudberry. They’re all good for different skin types and issues. If you have dry skin, you’d probably enjoy the Soothing Watermelon+Aloe or Hydrating Cactus+Cloudberry. Combo and oily skin would probably enjoy the Oil Absorbing Mint+Lemon or Deep Clearing Manuka Honey+Tea Tree Oil.

I have combo skin that is sensitive/acne prone and all of these work well for me. On this particular night, my skin was feeling dry and irritated so I chose to go with the Soothing Watermelon+Aloe Mask. It’s a clear, ten minute mask that helps my skin feel hydrated. These masks are super affordable at around $4.00, price varies.

*Helpful but not necessary for maximum relaxation is a fluffy robe like the one I’m wearing above (:

Once the mask comes off, the skincare goes on. I’m not going to go into my full skincare routine right now but I do plan to talk about it in January. I will mention, however, my last two facial skincare steps, facial spray and lip balm. I’ve been using the Mario Badescu Rosewater Facial Spray for a few years. I love to spray it over my skincare, morning and night. I’m not sure if this spray is actually doing anything beneficial for my skin but it feels soothing. An 8 ounce bottle is $12.00.

My final skincare step is lip balm and I’m currently enjoying the Eco Lips Hemp Lip Balm. It’s super affordable at just $2.00. This time of year my skin is super dry, especially after a shower, so body skincare is important. Body skincare is something I don’t talk about often but it’s something I do daily. One of my best discoveries this year is the Ulta Beauty brand body lotions. Their formula is basically identical to Bath n Body but they’re a little cheaper at $9.50. They also go on sale all the time. My current favorite scent is Winter Vanilla. For more intense hydration, I use the Tree Hut body butters. My absolute favorite is Moroccan Rose and I desperately hope they release a body spray in this scent. It’s $7.69 at Ulta but cheaper at WalMart.

Painting my nails is sometimes more stressful than it is relaxing but I tend to do it on pamper nights. I really like the ShopMissA polishes but only certain shades. Toffee and Bubbly are wonderful but the rest I’ve tried have no pigment. Toffee is a neutral brown and Bubbly is a duochrome with a white base that shifts pink. They’re just $1.00, can’t beat that!

If you want to go a little pricier, I love the Zoya nail polishes. They’re $10.00 a bottle but I did manage to grab a set of four super cheap a few years ago. My favorite shade and what I’m currently wearing is Zanna.

After all that work, it’s time to grab a book and some coffee or…

herbal tea. All of the Yogi Herbal Teas that I’ve tried are delicious and around $4.00 a box.

Final Thoughts:

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my affordable essentials for a relaxing pamper night! It’s been requested that I do more lifestyle type posts so let me know if you enjoy this kind of layout for them and what you think about the post in general. Thank you for reading and have a great day!