valentine's schmalentine's! there's absolutely no rule that says valentine's day can only be celebrated by cute couples and long-time lovers, and it doesn't seem fair to exclude us single gals from all the pink-hearted promotion and consumer-driven deals floating around at the moment. with that in mind, i decided to well and truly spoil myself this valentine's weekend, because ain't no-one treat me nicer than me!
with a whole weekend at my disposal too, i really went for it. so, here's a quick guide to spoil yourself and take advantage of the most romantic consumer holiday of them all if you're flying solo like me:
pamper yourself
the good thing about valentine's day is that no matter your relationship status, there are loads of discounts and deals available to help you get the most pampering for your pound. my go-to site for everything from a last-minute hair cut, a much-needed summer pedicure, or my regular, once-a-month deep tissue massage is treatwell. i have my favourite salons for certain treatments, but i do have one salon that i will travel to regardless because of the service, experience, and value for money: le crisadore in catford. i headed down at the weekend for my monthly muscle maintenance and walked out 45 minutes later with jelly legs and floating on air. truly, one hot stone session on their tables is so incredibly therapeutic that i often nearly fall asleep - despite the pressure and heat, it's such a relaxing and rejuvenating experience; it sets me right up for the month ahead.
and because of how bloody fab treatwell is, you get rewarded for leaving reviews of your treatments. every time. plus, the often have specials running on site (like their valentine's ones!) too, and those two factors combined means that every single time i book through them, i am saving money. sounds too good to be true, but it's actually not... sexy stuff!
slap on some pink lipstick
nothing makes me feel sassier than a pink lip. and sure, i have a lot of pink lippies, but that's not to say you can never have too many, right? so while i was in the area, i popped into the lewisham shopping centre and treated myself to a few new beauty goodies from boots, because, i'm susceptible to obvious marketing tactics, naturally. mwah!
update your undies
nothing is less sexy than drooping drawers, and - even if you're flying solo, it's important to feel comfortable in your underwear at the very least. i've been meaning to update mine for some time (i go up and down cup sizes depending on diet, how often i train, what day of the week it is, which way the wind is blowing, etc), so while in lewisham i popped into m&s and sorted myself out right nice with not one but two comfortable, flattering (as flattering as bras can be on someone who's squidgey all over), and pseudo-sexy bras that will probably do me now for... well, for a while. don't judge, i know all you ladies reading are as gross as i am when i comes to updating this part of your wardrobes.
buy fresh flowers
nothing says "adult who cares about pretty stuff" more than fresh flowers, so while on my way out of the shopping centre, i wandered through the market and picked myself up some gorgeous fresh blooms to really validate my love for myself. there is absolutely nothing more satisfying that pouring out a two-week old jar of mouldy water and replenishing it with fresh, clean, clear, and stench-free liquid, ready to rinse and repeat the whole process in another few weeks. am i right? i am. long live fresh flowers! (actually - long-life fresh flowers is a great idea! someone write that down)
let someone else take care of cooking
i cook for myself a lot, so it's nice to have a night off every now and then. i'm lucky that my flatmate is a cook and i - on occasion, get a special slap up meal prepared for me, but it happens less often than i'd like. so, valentine's weekend seemed the perfect time to treat myself to something a little fancy, but totally inexpensive. not wanting to head out to a restaurant full of soppy twats that has been booked out for weeks by unoriginal men planning to propose to their new girlfriends over the set menu of oysters, champagne and chocolate truffles, i stayed in.
thanks to charlie bighams' aweeeesome range of "twosomes" ready meals, you can now get incredible-tasting, restaurant-quality food in the comfort of your own home (when your flatmate is otherwise occupied/doesn't want to make you dinner); this basically means that after a very hard day of pampering myself to death, i was able to simply climb into my pjs and relax on the sofa with a tasty red thai curry (for two, ahem), and zero stress about last tubes or happy people or novelty engagements - hurrah!
aaaand, congratulations! you are now well and truly spoiled. and you deserve it! because remember: if you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else?
*post written in collaboration with brands mentioned; all views are mine*
