The Best Soaks, Scrubs, and Soaps for Your Bath-Obsessed Best Friend

There are water babies, and then there are bath babies. The friends who incredulously find time for regular soaks when the rest of us zip through the shower. Who prioritize space in their suitcase for fancy bath salts because the hotel tub is that swank. Who have somehow managed to retain a childlike love of bathtime while elevating it into a dreamy escape: floral infusions in lieu of bubbles, natural sea sponges instead of Rubber Duckies.

At a moment when everything in the wellness world is being upsold as a “ritual”—from coffee-making to face-masking—the act of bathing needs no glorification. Is anything as timelessly chic as anointing and purifying the body in the milk-bath manner of Cleopatra? For these friends, the perfect gift is not the most stressfully original. It’s all about propping out her underwater chaise longue in the most sumptuous way possible.

Consider this collection of accoutrements—in a mix-and-match palette of marigold, pale pink, and holographic pop—to be a handsome starting point. There is a Mediterranean Sea salt soak studded with calendula, lavender, and rose petals; a hand-forged brass scoop makes for particularly elegant dispensing. Bath oil by Susanne Kaufmann, the cultish Austrian organic line, nods to winter’s aromatics with a blend of clove, cinnamon, and orange (along with an apropos evergreen sprig). Tools like a dry brush and a Japanese exfoliating mitt help rev up microcirculation and encourage gentle exfoliation, while a shimmery coffee scrub by the Australian brand Frank lends a celebratory air.

Relaxing in a bath can also be as much about multitasking, which is where a pack of brightening sheet masks comes in (pair with the turban-style Shhhowercap for those not doing a full dunk). And to rightfully earn the designation of ritual, light up the new holographic Nudesse candle—inspired, appropriately enough, by dew-soaked roses and named for the goddess your friend truly is.