A Beauty Editor’s Love Letter To Laura Mercier’s Honey Bath (It’s Coming Back!)

PSA: Laura Mercier's Honey Bath is back by popular demand and it's about to transform my favourite bathroom ritual. Because nothing says decadence quite like a bath. And not just any bath. A real bath, you know the kind. We're not talking about a routine dip-and-go here, this sort of bath is more adjacent to a religious experience, the kind of almost cinematic affair that you rarely allow yourself adequate time for - aromatic oils, bubbles, your very best scented candle. Close your eyes and you could be soaking in a free-standing tub in any five star hotel you please. Claridge's? The Rosewood? Pick your player. In my book, a bath with no time limit is an indulgence of the highest order and my next one is about to be elevated to otherworldly degrees thanks to the return of Laura Mercier's bona fide cult classic. Yes people, Honey Bath is back.

I’ve been a bather since I was a little girl. I remember my Granny taking the time to run me ‘beauty baths’ - she’d pour in an elaborate concoction of salts, petals and oils. Predestined to be a beauty editor? I think so. For her, trips to Space NK were as routine as the weekly grocery shop - an expensive habit she quickly passed on to me. Sitting among her curation of products was Laura Mercier’s Honey Bath, £47. Always. Housed in a glass vessel that resembled a golden jar of honey, I remember how she’d twist the rich, amber formula around a wooden dipper before drizzling it into the tub. I used to watch the water transform from pale and milky to frothing with layers of rich, velvety bubbles. It was mesmerising - a core memory.

For many years Laura Mercier's Honey Bath was my most requested birthday present - I used to try my hardest to make it last for the whole year, only using it for those occasions I deemed truly special. The blend of shea butter, provitamin B5, and red algae left my skin feeling beautifully soft and supple. Ahead of graduations, weddings and parties, it helped me feel my most confident and beautiful. So when it was discontinued several years ago, my heart broke. Laura Mercier's Honey Bath was so wrapped up in many of my most wholesome, feel-good memories that it felt like losing a friend.

Image credit: Instagram @mollymaison

And it turns out I’m not the only one who was left bereft. Everyone from Molly-Mae to Cindy Crawford reportedly adore Laura Mercier's famous soak. Perhaps this widespread - and influential - outpouring of love for Honey Bath was the catalyst behind its revival this month. After a much anticipated announcement, the waiting list hit a hefty 4,000 people strong - clearly I’m far from alone in my devotion to Honey Bath.

And for those worried that the iconic Laura Mercier Honey Bath is set to return in a new revamped guise, I am delighted to report that its iconic scent remains. There are two to choose from, Ambre Vanillé and Almond Coconut. It's Almond Coconut that had me at hello. The warming blend of coconut, almond, vanilla, heliotrope and musk takes me back. It's comforting and nostalgic and still as sophisticated and fresh as I remember it being when I was a teen. It perfumes the air while I bathe and lingers beautifully on my skin for hours afterwards - it's a cashmere robe made liquid. And I couldn't be happier that it's back.

All these years later, Honey Bath still manages to bring the bliss.

Shop: Laura Mercier Honey Bath

Main image credit: Instagram @mollymaison

Rachael Martin is Grazia’s Beauty Editor. Originally from Northern Ireland, she studied English Literature at Queen’s University Belfast, before moving to London to pursue a career in magazine journalism. After interning at Stylist and Harper’s Bazaar she dipped her toes into the world of beauty writing and never looked back. Follow her on Instagram @rachael.alice.martin