Valentine's Day? Bah Humbug!

I hate Valentine's Day.

No, seriously, I'm not saying that to be edgy or cool or grunge era bleak. I just really, honestly don't like it. I still remember my very first proper Valentine's Day, way back when I was just a wee fledgeling Cassie. I celebrated by dumping my very first boyfriend. Well, rather, I asked my best friend to dump him for me. You see, we'd been dating for a few weeks, and I got word through the grapevine that he was planning on trying to get me to kiss him for the first time by showering me in teddies and hearts and general smooshiness. I was NOT down for any part of this plan, so I dumped him without explaination.

Teenage girls can be AWFUL.

Fast forward to now, and while I'm slightly less vicious to my boyfriend, I'm still not a big fan of Valentine's Day. Every year, we have the same stupid conversation. He asks what I want to do for Valentine's Day, I flail around and whine and complain that I hate it, and it's stupid, and do we have to. Then he does this damn puppy dog face at me that just KILLS me, and says he really wants to do something, so I relent and say I'll go along with whatever, so long as he plans it.

Middle aged girls can be pretty awful as well.

There's just something about the sense of obligation and pressure and normalcy around Valentine's Day that I find really icky. I'm rolling along, having a perfectly happy, perfectly weird relationship, then all of a sudden there's all this pressure to be all excited over hearts and roses and sickly sweet perfumes. Considering I don't actually like any of these things at the best of times (especially roses), the expectation that for one day I year I'll just drop all the interesting, cool parts of my relationship to be totally normal and heteronormative and like I'm off the back of an inflight magazine annoys the crap out of me.

Traditional romance is always so impractical. I look at this and think, "Who's going to clean all that up?"

But enough griping. I might not like Valentine's Day, but you know what I DO like?

PRESENTS.



While I love ALL kinds of presents, I especially love presents that have no particular function other than to make me happy. And even more than presents for me, I love presents FROM me. There's something delightfully decadent and delicious about getting yourself something lovely, just because you want it. Perhaps that's part of what I hate about Valentine's Day - there's so much focus put on getting and giving presents to others that the delight of treating yourself seems overshadowed, and I think that's rubbish. The idea that a present is only worth something if someone else gives it to you annoys the crap out of me. No one knows what I like better than me, so why not treat myself?

Donna from Parks and Recreation is my hero in so many ways.

Some people have a hard time overcoming this idea that presents for yourself are somehow less than presents from someone else, and that makes me sad. Lucky for you guys I have a TON of presents to give out, that are specifically intended for you all to pamper yourselves - whether someone else wants to pamper you as well or not. 

The good people at Palmolive have given me 15 prize packs, which are unfortunately pink themed, but that are also jam packed full of delicious self pampering supplies.

Each pack has a bottle of Ayurituel Shower Gel and Strawberry Smoother Body Butter, both of which smell AMAZING. The Strawberry Smoother smells just like strawberry lollies, as you would expect, whereas the shower gel is a little bit more grown up with Indian Mulberry and Lotus Flower fragrances.

You'll ALSO get a matching set of Palmolive Naturals Intensive Moisture shampoo and conditioner, to make sure every little bit of you gets lathered up with luscious bubbles.

To get your grubby paws on one of these delightful packs, all you have to do is use the Rafflecopter thingamabob below and put your name in the hat!


a Rafflecopter giveaway