How to pamper your mom

She carried you for nine months. She endured the unendurable to give birth to you. She fed you, nurtured you, paid all your tuition and allowance. She even tried to turn you into a productive member of society, rather than a liver-eating serial killer like Jeffrey Dahmer (it’s a lot harder than you think).

And you’re giving her a single red rose to tell her you love her? Put down that cheesy mug and store-bought card – your mother deserves some serious pampering. She actually deserves a temple in her name dedicated to pampering, but since we can’t all build the Taj Mahal, it’s your job to spoil her with some indulgent treats. Here’s how:

• Relax her with a spa-cum-skincare treatment at the new Essenses Aesthetics. Back in the day, "getting a massage" had unsavory connotations, but these days the pampering place du jour is the spa.

Rustan’s Essenses, the center of the shopping universe for beauty junkies, has now placed its beyond-hip signature on its very own skincare treatment center, Essenses Aesthetics. Here you can get everything from a facial for mature skin to a hand treatment with upper-body massage. And all products used are by Dermalogica, a top spa brand preferred by skincare therapists and celebrities alike.

For mom, one of the most gratifying treatments is the Optimum Skin Nutrition, two hours of heavy-duty stress-busting designed to restore radiant skin. First she’ll be treated to a detoxifying wrap made of seaweed and mineral mud, infused with aromatic botanicals and fruit enzymes to exfoliate. Next comes a full body scrub to smooth away dulling surface debris, and a full-body massage to relax and ease muscle pains. The treatment winds up with an Aromatherapy Hydro Pack to further condition, moisturize and soothe pollution-irritated skin. Your mom will emerge from all this cocooning looking and feeling like a million bucks.

• Bring the spa home with L’Occitane bath-and-body products. The only problem with spas is that their results are fleeting. Make your mom feel that spa-induced euphoria every day of the year with L’Occitane’s Olive Mediterranean Bath (P2,195), a truly spa-worthy product. Unlike most bath foams, this olive-green confection has the velvety texture of a rich body cream, chockfull of olive oil to nourish the skin. Mom can use it two ways: before getting into the bath, she can massage the cream all over, then slip into the tub and feel it dissolve into the water (it actually enriches and counteracts damaging hard water); the other option is to place a small amount under running water and enjoy its silkening effects.

Moms who are into gourmand scents will adore L’Occitane’s Orange Blossom line. In Provence, it’s tradition for newlywed brides to be presented with orange blossoms on her wedding night. The literature doesn’t explain why, but I would guess its mouthwatering scent has powerful aphrodisiac properties.

Sweet sugar combines with flowery orange in the luxurious Orange Sugar Scrub for Body (P1,845). Mom can use her fingers or the nifty wooden scoop provided to blend the sugar with the almond, apricot and grape-seed oils. Then she can kiss all her rough patches goodbye.

After exfoliating, she can sink into the Orange Blossom foaming bath with calendula extract (P1,045). Trust me, this particular product smells so good your mom’s eyes will roll back into her head with pleasure. Post-bath, she can slather herself with Orange Blossom Perfumed Body Milk, also with calendula to protect the skin.

A little aside: L’Occitane, which put Provence on the beauty map almost single-handedly, is such a caring company they even print all of their product labels in Braille.

• Get her glowing with skincare from Mario Badescu. Let your mom in on every star and supermodel’s beauty secret, from Hollywood to New York, from Ashley Judd to Heidi Klum. Romanian facialist Mario Badescu merged Old World know-how with natural ingredients to come up with an addictive line of products that really work.

Perfect for all skin types, the Cucumber Cream Soap gently removes light makeup and surface debris without drying. This refreshing, pearly green cream rinses off without disturbing the skin’s moisture balance (P595).

Two or three times a week, mom should exfoliate or use a mask to perk up tired skin. In the Almond & Honey Non-Abrasive Face Scrub, real chopped almonds gently buff away dead skin and unclog pores, while honey-and-almond extract helps retain moisture (P945). The Super Collagen Mask tightens pores with kaolin and boosts lifeless skin with smoothing collagen (P1,145).

Follow this with Seaweed Cleansing Lotion, a fragrant, non-alcohol toner that hoovers up any remaining traces of makeup from the face and neck (P945).

The final step of any effective skincare regimen is moisturizer. Choose between Badescu’s delicious Honey Moisturizer, which penetrates the skin’s outer layer to neutralize the free radicals that destroy collagen and elastin (P1,545), or Orange Protective Cream, with alpha-hydroxy acids to prevent breakouts (P1,145). Both creams are light and perfect for our hot weather.

For moms who need anti-aging in addition to moisture, there’s the non-oily Herbal Hydrating Serum (Sarah Jessica Parker is a fan) with ginseng, gingko, ceramides and vitamin C to diminish fine lines and wrinkles.

• Worship her feet (and hands) with Essie nail care. Essie is the brand that put pale pink on every celebrity’s toes with their legendary Ballet Slippers polish. Little did we know that aside from their 200-strong shade range, Essie also specializes in nail strengtheners and foot-spa products. Their Essie Spa Pedicure mini kit makes a thoughtful Mother’s Day present (as well as a chic hostess gift). The kit contains deluxe sample sizes

of marine sea salts for foot-soaking, an exfoliating foot scrub, a hydro-masque that cools the feet with aloe vera and spearmint, and a heavenly ylang-ylang leg-and-foot massage oil with jojoba and coconut. Want to really floor your mom? Offer to give her the Essie foot spa yourself.

If your mom’s addicted to her weekly pedicure, protect her nails with Essie’s three-step system. Millionails Ultimate Nail Strengthener has silk and iron to make weak nails metal-hard. After applying every other day for 90 days, she’ll be ready for Billionails, a maintenance treatment with vegetable proteins, then Trillionails, a daily nutritional cocktail with AHAs and vitamins. Mom’s digits will gain strength and health – kind of like a fitness program for her nails.

• Bestow mom with a flawless face, courtesy of Laura Mercier. French makeup artist Laura Mercier has become synonymous with sleek, poreless skin, with good reason. After a career spent beautifying the likes of Madonna and Julia Roberts, Mercier developed her own makeup line so women everywhere could achieve the flawless cover looks she gave her celebrity clients. Thus, her line is filled with complexion perfectors that have achieved hall-of-fame status in every prestigious fashion magazine. The foundations (in oil-free, moisturizing and stick formulas) are highly pigmented and can be applied lightly for a sheer finish, or layered for full coverage. Mom can brag that her Laura Mercier foundation is the same sunny shade that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Heather Locklear use (P1,850).

After foundation, most women need concealer to cover dark circles or blemishes, and this is where Secret Camouflage comes in. A revolutionary product, it features two tints in one compact so Mom can custom-blend her exact shade. Ever wonder why Angelina Jolie always looks so perfect? She knows the art of Camouflage (P1,650).

Mercier’s color range is exceptional as well. Her eyeshadows, formulated with French cashmere talc, glide on like silk and come in the most flattering colors. And at her age, your mom’s skin tends to be drier, so instead of giving her roses, put roses in her cheeks with Créme Cheek Colour, which blends easily over foundation but dries to a weightless, powdery finish. Shimmery-golden shade Sun Ray will give her a healthy, sun-kissed look, while Bloom provides a pretty pink flush.

Your mom will kiss you if you include Riche Colour Lip Glaces (P995 each), Mercier’s modern alternative to lipstick. Light, frosty glosses like Pink Diamond and Peach Chiffon will give her a plumper pout, while Rose Satin and Bronze Glitz go on light and velvety, not sticky and goopy, and are pretty enough to wear on their own.

Moms on-the-go will love Face Paints, a multi-tasking palette that contains three eyeshadows, three lipsticks, a universally flattering rose blush and an exclusive Goldblush Shimmer pressed powder (P2,750).

• With the push of Clean Perfume’s button, impart a shower-fresh scent. Your mom is hip, young and vital. Don’t give her the lavender scent that your granny wears. Give her Hollywood’s clean little secret. When stars like Demi, Halle, Cameron and Nicole don’t want to smell "perfumey" yet still smell gorgeous, they wear Clean.

Clean perfumes were created in April 2003 by Randi Shinder, who hunted everywhere for a fragrance that would give her that fresh-from-the-shower scent. Unable to find such a fragrance, she developed her own, making small batches out of the freshest, purest ingredients. The resulting potion doesn’t have an Ivory tang but recalls pure, finely milled soap. After test-running her own blend, Shinder’s friends and family started asking, "What are you wearing, darling?," and Shinder knew she was onto something.

First came the original Clean perfume (P4,250 for the 2.14 oz./60 ml. EDP spray), combining litsea cubeba, orange, sweet lime, pink grapefruit, passion lily, rose geranium and white musk. Now the line includes Clean Sweet Layer (perfect for layering on top of the original), Clean Baby Girl (a baby-skin scent), Clean Fun (bubble bath-scented), Clean Ultimate (the essence of freshness, and my personal fave), Clean for Men and now Clean Provence (which smells like expensive French soap). There’s even a Fresh Hair fragrance, for those who like to spritz their tresses like Shinder does.

You’ll also find Clean on the pulse points of Charlize Theron, Friends forever Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox-Arquette, Alicia Silverstone, and a trio of beauties who should know something about what’s sexy in the city: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis.

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Essenses Aesthetics is located on the 5th level of Rustan’s Makati.

L’Occitane, Mario Badescu, Essie, Laura Mercier and Clean are all available at Rustan’s Essenses.