It goes without saying that self-care is important. But between planning a wedding, being a beauty editor with an unpredictable schedule, and trying to spend quality time with my loved ones (especially my best friends, who don’t live in the same city as me), carving out time for self-care felt impossible. That’s where the Bath & Body Works Aroma Breathe Deep Eucalyptus and Spearmint Shower Steamers. (Hey, I have to shower every day, right?)
Open the jar to reveal six individually wrapped discs that are about two inches in diameter and half an inch thick. They sort of look and feel like dishwasher pods, that, according to the directions on the packaging, are meant to be placed on the floor of the shower, one at a time. (“Breathe deeply for the best results,” the directions go on to say.)
The first time I used one of the shower steamers, I placed it near the drain, but away from the water coming from the jets of my ReFa Fine Bubble S shower head. As water slipped down the bathtub toward the drain and hit the disc, it started to dissolve and release a scent of eucalyptus and mint.
The fragrance wasn’t intense, but it was enough to help ground someone who might be extremely stressed like me. “Aromatherapy can be beneficial in the management of certain symptoms such as anxiety, pain, nausea, and insomnia,” Megan E. Voss, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, previously told Allure. Whenever I bent over to grab something — like a bottle of shampoo that might be situated near my feet — I was hit with a wave of calm.
This dreamy experience was only five minutes and 46 seconds long because of where I placed it. (The capsule quickly dissolved because it was it started to move closer and closer to the drain, where the water from my shower was moving the quickest.) I found that placing it behind me (so that I was between it and my shower head) made it last 3 minutes and 21 seconds longer. OK, you might need two pods if you’re indulging in an “everything shower.”