10 Ideas for an Intimate Night In

Valentine’s Day tradition may call for a grand romantic gesture—but that doesn’t mean you have to brave cross-town traffic and over-crowded bistros for the perfect evening with your special someone. With a little help from Beauty Collection, you can turn your own home into the perfect romantic retreat.

This year, skip the reservations, and make a date with your Valentine for an intimate evening at home. Here are 10 great ways to prepare for your romantic “escape”:

  1. Set the mood. The perfect fragrance can transform your boudoir into an exotic locale. Use an oil diffuser to permeate the room with the sweet, spicy, floral, or fruity scent of your choosing without any fuss or mess. Voluspa offers a variety of romantic options such as Santiago Huckleberry to get your evening off to the right start.
  2. Turn up the heat. What is a night of passion without smoldering looks? To get yours, look no further than the four-pan Stila Smokey Eye Palette, complete with audio instructions on how to get the sexy eyes you desire in either sapphire or emerald hues.

[Hot Tip! For the dramatic smokey eyes favored by Kirsten Dunst and Heidi Klum, use the Stila Smudge Pot in black, which gives you the benefits of both an eyeliner and an eyeshadow in one. Remember: To bring out those sultry eyes, go with a neutral shade for your lips.]

  1. Dim the lights. Nothing says romantic like the flicker of firelight. Scented candles are the perfect mood lighting for an intimate dinner or a long, luxurious bath. As you feast on wine, cheese, and chocolate, breathe in the sensual aroma of fresh flowers with Bob’s Flower Shoppe candle from Trapp .
  2. Pucker up. Prepare to be kissed with the Kissaholics Kissing Kit from Booty Parlor. These aphrodisiac-infused lip glosses are available in three delicious shades scented with pear, vanilla, and blackberry. For the perfect kiss, finish with a spritz of Kissaholics Breath Mist, which has a sweet cinnamon kick sure to spice things up.
  3. Work that body. For a soft, sexy look, keep your hair loose, natural, and full. For those long, flowing locks, pump up the volume with J.F. Lazartigue’s Body-Giving Shampoo, a gentle wash that revitalizes your hair and makes it easy to run your brush—or his fingers—through it without a hitch.
  4. Get silky smooth. Don’t let stubble get between you and your man. The Art of Shaving for Women Shaving Cream soothes and protects your skin, giving you perfectly smooth legs bathed in the delicate fragrance of roses.
  5. Go red. For some holiday flair, choose an irresistible shade of scarlet for your fingers and toes. Try My Funny Valentine from Lippmann for a playful, shimmery hue, or go with a sophisticated burgundy such as Essie’s Bordeaux.
  6. Relax and enjoy. Turn your bathroom into an intimate spa by running a frothy bubble bath for two. Thymes offers a variety of sensual bath gel fragrances such as lavender, wild ginger, and eucalyptus that will leave you begging for more. For a romantic touch, add fresh rose petals to the mix.
  7. Freshen up. Give your Valentine the complete resort treatment by placing clean, fluffy towels by the tub and fresh sheets on the bed. Let The Laundress’s line of fabric detergents and conditioners do the dirty work, so that you can concentrate on more important things—like what type of chocolate to leave on the pillows.
  8. Rub it in. After the bath, indulge your partner with a sensual full-body massage with a scented oil. Massage à Trois from Booty Parlor offers three sexy options, including the Don’t Stop massage oil, the All Fired Up warming massage oil, and the Thrill-Me two-in-one massage gel and lubricant.

[Hot tip! Feeling playful? Drizzle on Booty Parlor’s Skin Honey, a water-based, non-sticky body topping, massage gel, and personal lubricant designed to drive your partner wild. Skin Honey is available in three edible flavors: chocolate honey, pomegranate honey, and vanilla honey chai.]

Sweets for Your Sweet

Chocolate. The word alone is enough to make your mouth water. Rich, decadent chocolate indulges your cravings, lifts your mood, and can even make you feel a little naughty. It’s no wonder, then, that this beloved aphrodisiac has become an essential element of St. Valentine’s Day tradition.

But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a boring box of candy to satisfy your sweet tooth. Beauty Collection offers plenty of creative ways to indulge your chocolate fantasy without the calories!

1. Take a dip. There is nothing more luxurious than soaking in a rich, chocolaty infusion. Start with 100% Pure Shower Gel in either Chocolate Mocha or White Chocolate, then nourish your skin with the coordinating Body Cream. Don’t forget the chocolate-based Body Scrub to leave your skin looking radiant and healthy—all while tantalizing your senses.

2. Lick your lips. For tasteful lip shades that taste good, too, Jane Iredale offers the Chocoholicks collection of hydrating lip glosses. Made from natural ingredients, this whimsical quartet is packaged like a box of chocolates and offers four irresistible flavors: Truffle, Chocolate Orange, Strawberry Cream, and Caramel.

[Hot tip! Before you apply that yummy lip gloss, make your lips buttery smooth with cocoa Lip Scrub from Sara Happ. (Fans of the brand include Reece Witherspoon and Ashlee Simpson.) Exfoliating your lips not only promotes healthy skin, but it also helps you hold that decadent lip color longer.]

3. Drizzle it on. Satisfy your creative spirit—and your lust for chocolate—with saucy body art. Let your imagination run wild with Booty Parlor’s edible Melt Chocolate Body Fondue, or brush on flavorful fantasies with KamaSutra’s Lover’s Body Paint in milk chocolate and dark raspberry chocolate.

4. Lather up. Enrich your hair with Klunie’s Chocolate Shampoo from Circle of Friends, a moisturizing shampoo that cleans, conditions, and detangles hair—all while permeating it with the delightful aromas of cocoa, lavender, and chamomile.

5. Drink it in. Can’t get enough of that warm, chocolaty aroma? Spritz on Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Coco Eau de Toilette, a gentle, breezy fragrance that marries Tahitian vanilla, coco milk, and heliotrope.

6. Heat it up. Enhance the mood of any room with the Island Romance scented candle from Isola Luce. Keep your love light burning bright with this delicious infusion of white and dark chocolates, sweet berries, vanilla, red roses, and a splash of champagne.

Five Products That Make Any Valentine’s Day Beautiful

While there are many different views on Valentine’s Day – you either love it, you hate it, you just don’t care – there is something we can all look forward to: the abundance of holiday-induced beauty products.

The beauty industry rarely teams up with holidays for beauty-inspired looks. Suddenly there are chocolate beauty products and red and pink packaging lining every beauty aisle. And we couldn’t be more thrilled.

We’ve sifted through all of the decadent items and have given you five Valentine’s Day beauty products that will make your day a little more lovely – whether you’re looking forward to this holiday or not.

Jane Iredale Chocoholicks

These delicious-looking mini lip glosses are the perfect Valentine’s Day treat. Whether you’re expecting a gift from your significant other or not, these adorable lip glosses will surely make your day!

Booty Parlor Melt Chocolate Body Fondue

The Booty Parlor execs who created this product know me too well. Beauty products and chocolate are a few of my favorite guilty pleasures in life. Both combined in this amazing product to create a deliciously beautiful body fondue that is actually edible. Thank you, Booty Parlor!

Sarah Happ Lip Scrub in Cocoa

I’m always searching for a reason to talk about Sarah Happ’s ingenious lip exfoliator. This cocoa-infused lip scrub will leave lips clean and smooth. That’s perfect for a busy Valentine’s Day evening!

Circle of Friends Kunies Chocolate Shampoo

Mmmm, there’s nothing better than having the scent of chocolate around. I’m dying to get my hands on this delectable shampoo that not only makes hair shiny and smooth, but also leaves a hint of a sweet scent behind.

Essie Nail Enamel in Lady Godiva

Before you switch to corals and pinks this spring, paint on one last dark color of the season with Essie’s Lady Godiva. Careful not to bite your fingers!

To view more Valentine’s Day beauty products please visit: http://www.beautycollection.com/Collections/Chocolate_2