Baths are a great everyday luxury.
Decadent in terms of time and wilful water wastage, they’re a floatation tank for the soul. Showers? They are functional, aren’t they? Masculine. As opposed to the voluptuous femininity of a good, long wallow.
But time is the issue, isn’t it? You can be in and out of the shower in the time it takes a bath to run. Unless, in my experience, you are a man. What do men do in the shower? Sure, they snigger at the time it takes us to get ready, but I’ll tell you this for free: me and my lot can step into the shower at 7am and be out — clean, exfoliated, depilated and hair-washed — by 7.03am. What does the male of the species do in the shower for 20 minutes or more? Actually I don’t want to know.
Anyway, a few clever people have been looking at making showers less utilitarian by way of shower oils. Delightful concoctions that clean, moisturise and scent the body in the most delicious slippery-oil-to-satiny-froth manner. Jo Malone’s rightfully celebrated lime, basil and mandarin shower oil (£32; jomalone.co.uk) is a case in point. Zesty as you like, formulated with jojoba and coconut oils, it’s a deeply optimistic way to start the day. And joining the party is cheeky upstart Glossier, with its Body Hero daily oil wash (pictured, £15; glossier.com). A combination of naturally cleansing and moisturising oils, this stuff is incredibly non-oily for an oil. And I’m mad about the fragrance; a flirtatious blend of orange blossom and neroli.
I found myself compulsively smelling my arm all day. Which made me look even odder than usual. Sigh.