I deliberately chose the words “feel-good gifts” rather than “self-care gifts” for this little guide. Why? Because I feel like self-care has been thrown around a little too easily as of late, especially when there’s something to sell. Putting on lipstick? Self-care. Slathering a detoxifying clay mask on your face? Self-care. Covering yourself in quartz while reciting Rupi Kaur’s poems? Self-care.
And yes, all of those can be acts of self-care! It’s all about intention. But the trendy marketing connotation associated to self-care is starting to make my eyes roll out of their sockets. So that’s why I went for “feel-good gifts” instead.
“Feel-good” can take many shapes and forms depending on who you ask. For some, it may be meditating on Harry Styles’ beautiful voice. For others, it might be painting their nails and having the luxury to wait for them to dry COMPLETELY. It can also be reading a magazine from cover to finish in one sitting, or listening to a sexy podcast, or moisturizing your whole body, including the cracks between your toes. Everything has the potential to feel good if you embrace it that way.
So that’s how I put together this list of feel-good gifts, perfect for the people dear to you, including yourself. Because after the year we’ve been through, we all deserve a little something special.
1. Scent pebble and NORD essential oil blend made with balsam fir, black spruce, cedar leaf, pine needle, and fennel essential oils, LOHN, $19 et $24
2. Body Butter made with bergamot, pink grapefruit, black pepper, and Japanese peppermint essential oils, AM, $52
3. Tencel bralette made ethically, Organic Basics, $78 (get a 10% discount site wide with my promo code —> VJOELLEOBC)
4. Classic nail polish set, BKIND, $40
5. DIY blanket knitting kit, Calm Club, $75
6. Hydrating Forma Rosea Facial Polish, Eluo, $45
7. Organic cotton washable cloths, Idoine, $25 (set of 5)
8. Annual subscription to erotic fiction podcast Dipsea Stories, $63
9. The Infinite Oil, multi-usage, Alper Oils, $41
10. Sustainable brass safety razor with disposable metal blades, Well Kept, $82
11. Eau de Toilette Otis & Me (notes: black pepper, cardamom, rose absolute, incense resinoid, coffee grains, ambrox), Jazmin Saraï, $133
12. Dinette Magazine, issue 019 Lumière, $17
13. Impossible Hand Cream made with shea butter, bergamot and cedar wood, Detox Mode, $35
14. Bakuchiol (known as the “botanical retinol”) and Cannabis Sativa Serum, Étymologie, $83
15. Moon Ritual Bath Salts, Selv, $28
16. Period underwear worth four tampons, Thinx, $51
17. Subscription to Calm app (sleep, meditation, and relaxation), $77 per year
18. Zero waste kit including bamboo toothbrush with charcoal bristles, 124 Toothpaste Tablets, and a Solid Shampoo of Your Choice, Tanit, $50
19. Pure Nilotica Melt (multi-usage balm), LXMI, $41
20. Matcha and Coffee Eye Balm, Deux Cosmétiques, $26
21. The Tennis Coach Vibrator, Smile Makers, $75
22. G. Tox Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub, Goop Beauty, $58
23. Porcelain gua sha made in Quebec, Minéra, $60
Let me know in the comments if you think of any other feel-good gifts! We can never have too many ideas :)
Joëlle Paquette is a sutainable fashion and clean beauty blogger and copywriter based in Montreal, Canada. After 10 years of working as a journalist for different magazines, she now specializes in writing conscious content for brands built on strong environmentally and socially responsible values. She also pet a corgi once—a very special day she will never forget.
Follow her on Instagram to make sure you don’t miss out on anything @veryjoelle 🌼
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