This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Leeds chapter.

‘It’d be cool if my kids could make something I actually want, like a bottle of wine, out of macaroni and glue’ stated Stephanie McMaster, a mother and writer, in an iconic tweet. This tweet not only highlights the need for alcohol to remain sane as a mother, but it also shows how useless kids can be when it comes to GOOD presents. I demonstrated this perfectly as a kid. I once tried to take my mum breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day. This consisted of a slice of bread (not toast as that would involve a difficult machine) and a glass of orange juice mixed with apple (my own concoction- genius). The breakfast was presented beautifully on a wooden tray. This beautiful tray majestically fell, just as I had reached the top of the brand new, white and duck egg blue carpeted stairs, and tumbled all the way down to the bottom. Happy Mother’s Day.

So this year I thought I would go with a more therapeutic and stress-free approach. Hopefully it can give you inspiration and my ideas will be as good as a bottle of wine made out of macaroni and glue.

The theme for this Mother’s Day is based on a pamper evening including the essentials for a relaxing night in. As students, we don’t have the income of the Kardashians, so I have supplied some thrift vs. splurge ideas for the ultimate spa without leaving the house.

Bubble Bath

The first step is to set up a bubble bath where your mum can pretend she is Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and reinvent her own bath scene where she can float in soothing, fluffy bubbles.

Thrift

Soap & Glory do a mouth-watering bubble bath called ‘Calm One Calm All Bubble Bath’ which costs £6.50 at 500ml in Boots. The use of ‘calm’, twice in the title really suggests that this stuff will have you conked out. Your mum will be able to escape into the exquisite bergamot, strawberry, mandarin, vanilla, musk and amber fragrances, which is certainly cheaper than a trip to Morocco. The recognisable pink packaging is classy and feminine and, if your mum is anything like mine, she will care about how it fits in with the décor of the bathroom, and whether it will look good on the side of the bath. Soap & Glory also state that it is not tested on animals; ‘only picky people’, which is always reassuring, and mothers fall straight into that category – not the animal category…the picky people one.

Splurge

From what I have discovered in my 20 years, all mothers love The White Company. The ‘White Lavender Bath Foam’ is £18 for 200ml; a gift for the mums who have really behaved this year. Lavender is a renowned relaxing scent which people have used for centuries to help them sleep. This is blended with basil, Sicilian lemon and neroli to whisk you away to the fields of the Côte d’Azur. Presented in a decanter, this bath foam would be sexy enough to display in your dinning room, filled with a sumptuous red wine.

Soap

Soap is a basic for the shower and bath but for a special occasion such as this it is worth looking into the different scents, ingredients and results that some of these necessities can hold.

Thrift

The Body Shop is not always the cheapest place to buy essentials needed in the house, but the ‘Wild Argan Oil Soap’ for £2 caught my eye. The packaging is minimalistic (very hygge) and everything is ethically and naturally made. This soap is described as ‘non-drying’ and, for me, the selling point is the argan oil properties. Argan oil is also known as ‘liquid gold’ and nourishes and moisturises dry and scaly skin… admittedly a huge problem for any woman living in the UK. At an alluring price, this inviting soap will create the joys of the spa without moving from the tub!

Splurge

As we live in Leeds, it is always lovely to bring mum home a gift (and not just dirty washing) from a place close to our hearts. The Yorkshire Soap company is a gorgeous shop in Leeds city centre (next to Trinity) which feels magically Harry Potter-esque inside due to the bubbles they have floating through the air and the dramatic music. These soaps are hand made and like a snowflake, each one is completely unique- aw! The ‘Bath Truffle Gift Box’ consists of 6 little soaps in the shape of cupcakes with real rose buds on the top for £14. The packaging looks like an expensive box of chocolates and they are good enough to devour in one sitting.

Facemasks

Whilst we cannot all be the Victoria’s Secret model, Irina Shayk, buying 24-karat gold face masks for a ‘healthy glow’ there are plenty of other cheaper and more trustworthy face masks on the market which are an essential for a pamper night. Although Paolo, the makeup artist from The Princess Diaries, states ‘the cucumber does nothing’ the facemask and cucumber slices have been a popular choice for girly sleepovers for years. The mystery of what the cucumber does to your eyes will still remain unsolved.

Thrift

L’Oreal Paris’s ‘Pure Clay Detox Mask’ costs £5.99 for 50ml and I can vouch that this stuff works. I leave this mask on for 15 minutes until it’s rock hard and I feel like I’ve had botox. After washing it off, I am left with velvety, soft skin which I cannot help but frequently stroke, just to make sure it is still there. Although I am prone to a few breakouts, and this is not so common later on in life, the ingredients of this mask make the skin appear more luminous after one use. The mask includes kaolin which absorbs the excess sebum, montmorillonite which is the clay said to eliminate imperfections and ghassoul which is packed with minerals. It does exactly what it says on the tin and for a price which will tempt you to buy it in bulk.

Splurge

This product is inspired by my mum’s own fondness for the brand Clinique (your mum will most definitely own something from there). When reading the reviews of this product, if I was given £1 every time I read ‘I borrowed this from my mum’ then I could definitely buy this mask at least 10 times. This mask is called ‘Moisture Surge Overnight Mask’ and costs £30 for 100ml. Although this mask isnt the typical, visible (normally green…) mask that you put on your face and take off 10 minutes later, it is said to plump your skin overnight. The overnight mask has recently become extremely popular amongst beauty bloggers and beauty fanatics. Often it is hard to drink the right amount of water and stay hydrated throughout the day, but this mask gently nourishes the skin and fights the dryness one can be burdened with from air conditioning or central heating.

Nail polish

‘I don’t need another nail polish’- said no woman ever. This is very true. Having neat nails glossed over with a shiny polish can portray you as someone who has your life together, even if you do not. I have found two pale pink, subtle shades of nail polish for a more natural look for mums to wear daily. Maybe now you’re at uni, she will have time to actually paint her nails instead of being your servant… Also they are extremely handy to borrow when visiting home and compulsory for a pamper evening.

Thrift

Rimmel London have created a polish which is one down from an expensive shellac treatment. It is called ‘Super Gel Nail Polish’ in the shade ‘New Romantic’ and costs £5.99. The colour is a baby pink and is said to last up to 14 days with a long-lasting gorgeous shine. The colour was also chosen by Mossy and if Kate can’t tempt you then I don’t know what will. Maybe treat your mum that little bit extra and even suggest painting this on her nails for her! That’d really be pushing the boat out…

Splurge

Another neutral shade is the award winning ‘Mademoiselle’ by Essie at the price of £7.99. This is so seductive it is called nail lacquer, instead of nail polish. Kim K and Victoria’s Secret models on the runway have supported the eternally classic pink/nude nail and this can even be dressed up to replicate a French manicure with a white tip added to the end of the nail.

Atmosphere

After setting up the main ingredients for a spa good enough for the Queen to visit, the ambiance can be improved through one simple but important item. This is the ‘Deep Sleep Pillow Spray’ by the company called ‘This Works’ and does not fall into either ‘splurge’ nor ‘thrift’ as this product is too heavenly for a category. I can reassure you… this really does work. Costing £16 for 75ml it is clinically proven to help you fall asleep faster with stats saying that 89% of users fell asleep faster than normal. The blend of lavender, vetivert and chamomile are infamous for soothing mind and body and the company provides a travel size if your mum needs a weekend away to escape from you. Although there is emphasis on it being used for bedtime, this spray can be used to calm an atmosphere; very handy to bring home and spray around your mum when telling her how far you are into your overdraft.

The rest

Here are a couple of added but special ideas that could be used to spice up your mother’s luxurious day even more. Reminder: Sunday 26th March. Good luck.

M&S – £10

Aldi – £5.99

Puma FENTY – £70

Boohoo £18

True Grace – £35

Bomb Cosmetics – £7.99

This article references:

http://unelibanaiseaparis.com/en/2016/01/12/le-bain-de-jouvence-de-pretty-woman-2/

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=White+Lavender+Bath+Foam+White+Company&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB681GB684&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2l6-n3eLSAhULzGMKHV-PC2gQ_AUICSgC&biw=735&bih=623#imgrc=ei-srNfw6xPrYM:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=face+mask+film+princess+mia&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB681GB684&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwioxOe44eLSAhVS7WMKHdpECqMQ_AUIBigB&biw=735&bih=623#tbm=isch&q=gold+facemasks+celebrities&*&imgrc=SizaFD-Q5OZKTM:

http://www.boots.com/soap-and-glory-calm-one-calm-all-bubble-bath-500ml-10170354

http://www.boots.com/loreal-paris-pure-clay-detox-mask-50ml-10216801