ThisNext Blog

My vacation fantasy at the moment: a week (or two, or three) spent lounging around an impossibly glamorous eco-resort tucked away in some pristine landscape that I’ve never before visited. El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa in Taos, Maho Bay on St. John, and Kamalame Cay off Andros Island in The Bahamas (all featured in DailyCandy’s Go Green Travel Guide) would each do quite splendidly, I’m sure - now I’ve just got to work out the part where I get magically whisked away.

Ever since visiting Tabernash, Colorado’s sustainability-minded Devil’s Thumb Ranch last fall I’ve felt slightly spoiled, hoping to find more and more getaways that pair the luxury of spa life with an eco-consciousness uncommon to far too many so-called sanctuaries. After all, the ultimate stress-melting experience can only become more healing when you know the planet’s being taken care of as kindly as your tension-addled body and mind. To others who wish to keep it green when blissing out, I suggest checking SpaFinder.com (a site that “gives a little mental escape and perhaps motivation to getaway,” according to ThisNexter Sharon Brown) to seek out the best earth-friendly spas around. And if you can’t manage an exquisitely eco escape at the moment, you can still pamper yourself with planet-protecting products at home.

Trillium Organics Organic Body Polish, for instance, makes for a yummy alternative to the spa menu’s head-to-toe scrub. The all-natural, essential-oil-based beautifier comes in synthetic-fragrance-free flavors like Lavender Geranium and Clementine Clove, but Heather Stephenson prefers the Cedar Sage variety. “This smells so good and it’s so natural that it honestly draws ants,” says the Ideal Bite co-founder. “I have to keep it in a cupboard and not on the bath ledge. My skin looks like it belongs to a dewy 16 year old after each use.”

For another self-care line that gets its luscious aromas from oh-so-pure ingredients like organic honey and olive oil, choose Simply Organic. Each and every Simply Organic product is free of synthetic chemicals like sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates, propylene glycol, and parabens, with ThisNexter Kristine most loving the vitamin-rich shampoo and conditioner. Both “contain nasturium extract, a water-loving flower known for healing abilities, and organic honey, a natural moisturizer to seal in shine,” she notes.

To get your skin supersoft, slather on some paraben-free Pacifica Brazilian Mango Grapefruit Body Butter. “Treat your skin to a mini vacation by massaging on some eco-friendly Pacifica Brazilian Mango Grapefruit Body Butter,” urges shefinds. “The exotic scent is enough to take your skin straight to the tropics, and with rich ingredients like shea and mango butters, your skin is moisturized straight to smooth-skin-paradise.”

And if your bathroom needs some assistance in feeling more spa-like, light up an Aveda Shampure Soy Wax Candle. Selected by ruralglamour, Amy V. Cooper, and Stacey G., the candle gets its sumptuous aroma from 25 flower and plant essences and burns bright from a 95-percent-recycled glass holder.