Anyone who wants to celebrate Mother’s Day faces a buffet of gift options – a jazz brunch, breakfast in bed, a family picnic or a solo spa day. Personal care products are another nice idea for pampering, although some can have potentially harmful ingredients.
If you choose cosmetics and similar items to honor your mom or one of the other special women in your life, look for products made without questionable chemicals.
With that in mind, EWG scoured our free, searchable Skin Deep® database of personal care products for options in especially pamper-friendly categories.
If you like products that include so-called botanicals, make sure they’re free from harmful ingredients. Most though not all of the products we suggest bear the EWG Verified® mark, which means you can be sure they meet our strictest standards for your health.
Get a good night’s sleep
It can be hard to face the day when you’re cranky from a poor night’s sleep.
A sleep mask can work wonders to improve sleep quality, not to mention help you cope with bright lights on a plane or discourage overly chatty seatmates during long flights. The best sleep masks are silky smooth, made with sustainable materials. This organic silk sleep mask is the perfect, luxurious yet affordable option.
Time in the tub
For some moms, an uninterrupted bath is the height of luxury. How about amping up the pleasure with carefully chosen products?
Bath goodies are one way to elevate your soak. Consider Qet’s evocatively named Blooming Tea Bath – An Afternoon in Paris, with rose, lavender and jasmine, among other plants.
Unwind Bath and Body Bath Seltzer contains wild yam and grapefruit and bergamot, which some people say are associated with relief from stress and depression, although these beliefs are not backed by substantive scientific research.
You’ll likely want to give yourself a good scrub while you soak, and this Sistain Agave Exfoliating Cloth is a decent extra.
A good sheet mask can be a nice addition during a luxurious time in the tub or as a treat any day. Choose one without toxic ingredients, such Inna Organic Face Mask, with frankincense or rose geranium.
Finish up with a face oil or serum. One option is the Lunalis Gold Extreme Face Oil. Or consider the Qet Restoring Day Serum, which contains chamomile, immortelle, carrot, and wild raspberry, together with rosehip and argan.
Soothing and smoothing
What could be more soothing than slathering on a body lotion or cream? Not much. Especially appealing is anything called “body butter,” like Argie Essential’s Calm Body Butter, with lavender and vanilla, or Ease Body Butter, with vanilla and ylang-ylang. Or try the Henry Rose Torn Body Cream, with its notes of sandalwood and rose.
For parts of the body that need even more TLC, consider Sally B’s Skin Yummies B Soothed balm, with evening primrose oil, or a super-rich intensive product with ylang-ylang, such as Makes 3 Organics Organic Ylang Ylang Vanilla Ultra Softening Balm. Or try Babo Botanicals Calming Lavender Plant-Based Lotion, which also contains chamomile.
Mother’s Day takes place just before the unofficial start of summer, and you can’t go wrong with a cooling toning mist. Consider the Oxalis Apothecary Hydrating Mist with aloe and blue tansy, or Scentuals Calming Lavender Ambiance and Body Mist, which boasts ylang-ylang, lavender, jasmine, sandalwood and sage – a whole lineup of herbs and flowers and other plants.
Fragrance
The ultimate in pampering may be fragrance, since it serves no purpose other than to delight our sense of smell. But beware “undisclosed fragrance” – a blend of chemicals that make up a fragrance but fail to list ingredients on the pack. And some of those mystery substances might have potential health risks.
For a safer scent, EWG is here to help. The Henry Rose body spray Boys of Summer contains notes of lavender. Henry Rose is the OG clean fragrance, the first to be EWG Verified. Henry Rose’s Last Light has notes of bergamot. Other products, such as Torn, bring notes of sandalwood.
And don’t forget …
Don’t lose sight of the extras that can elevate all of mom’s relaxation.
A cozy robe could be just the thing after that bubble bath – or any time mom wants to chill out. This waffle robe is unisex, made of organic cotton and comes in several attractive colors.
However you choose to celebrate your mom, give their special day an uplifiting (and relaxing) soundtrack like one of the many available Mother’s Day playlists. A bouquet of flowers that won’t wilt will be the cherry on top.