Shower yourself with treats

THE post-holiday period has to be one of the worst times of the year. The two weeks of bliss are over, work begins again.

I’m just back from a fortnight in West Cork where I pretty much ate my own body weight in crab salads, fish and chips, and artisan cheeses.

There were no blue skies or warm sparkling waters, so I consoled myself with mind-blowing scenery and exceptional lunches.

First day back, and all I have to look forward to is 400 emails and a waistline that has expanded to Henry VIII proportions.

It doesn’t help that there is Olympics coverage everywhere I look, with the requisite svelte athletes making me feel like a proper portly old sod.

Solution? A few runs here and there. A bit of swimming. A cycle. And some gym-related vigour.

I’ve never been one to bring a host of beauty products to the gym, but as I get older I realise that there are a few gym bag essentials that I can’t live without.

I hate the gym so it’s only fair to pack a few products that are going to make me feel mighty good.

The shower is something I really look forward to after exercise. Because it means the exercise is over and I can be pious about my endeavours for a few hours.

This is why it’s a smart idea to have a great shower gel on hand.

In the summer, it’s got to be a citrus scent. There’s nothing that will quite give you the refreshing boost you need after you’ve worked up a sweat.

Korres Citrus Fresh Tones Shower Gel, €10.25, hits the mark here, with antioxidants, vitamins C and E, zinc and aloe. If you’re looking for a kick, then my fave zingy wakeup call is Arran Aromatics’ Just Grapefruit Shower Gel, €16.34.

Of course it doesn’t have to be fancy. Try Original Source’s Tea Tree and Lemon Shower Gel, €1.59, for a budget pick-me-up.

If you want to take the treat aspect one step further, then go for the utterly gorgeous REN Guerande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm, €24 — it feels exceptionally refreshing with peppermint, basil oil, sea salt and olive oil.

Post workout, it takes my body so long to return to a normal temperature that the last thing I want is something that makes my skin feel sticky.

I prefer to stick to very light body lotions, or gels such as L’Occitane’s Sorbet Verbena Body Ice Gel, €26.50. And if you’ve got some extra after-sun kicking about, then post-gym is a great place to use it.

The emphasis on cooling things down means I’m a big fan of anything that makes my skin feel revived and refreshed rather than pumping hot (yes, a freezing shower is the answer here, but I just can’t take the leap).

The Body Shop’s Cooling Leg Gel, €10.25, is a fave, particularly if I’ve been pounding the treadmill.

I couldn’t cope with applying make-up after the gym. But a roll-on eye lotion is something that I definitely would use.

And for the face? I go minimal with just a hint of Origins new VitaZing Energy Boosting Moisturiser, €35.50.