Love yourself: 8 self-care tips for a solo Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day is such a weird time of year—on a logical level, we know it’s one big Hallmark holiday designed to convince us that we have to spend buckets of money to show someone our love.

But on the other hand, no matter how happily single you are, it can feel incredibly isolating and lonely when all you’re seeing is outlandish displays of love and affection everywhere you look.

It can suck, especially if you’ve gone through a recent break up or have been feeling particularly unlucky in love. The good news is it’s also a golden opportunity to show yourself some love.

Buy yourself flowers

Miley Cyrus said it best — I can buy myself flowers. You know that florist stall that catches your eye every time you walk past it? Stop in and treat yourself to your favourite bunch. Display them proudly in your living room and remind yourself of how worthy you are every time you see them.

Treat yourself to a barista coffee/chai/matcha/hot chocolate

Whatever your favourite drink is, start your day with a trip to your favourite cafe. Whether you pop in quickly on your way to work, or have time to sit down and people watch, starting your day with a quality hot drink is never a bad idea. For extra treat points, add on the best looking pastry in the cabinet.

Cook a delicious meal for yourself

You don’t need to be Nigella Lawson to whip up a worthy solo Valentine’s meal. Take this as an opportunity to try out that new recipe you saw on TikTok. You can go as fancy as you like, or stick to your tried and true comfort meals. The only rule is it has to be something that you’d cook for someone you love. The best part about this is you have nobody’s expectations to live up to. If you mess up too badly, no one needs to know! Slide it into the bin and call for a pizza instead.

Dim the lights, light a candle or two and pour yourself a glass of wine and listen to your favourite playlist while you eat. P.S. Don’t forget something for dessert!

Order your favourite takeout

If the kitchen isn’t your happy place, treat yourself to your fave takeaway meal instead. Indian, Chinese, Japanese—it doesn’t matter as long as you’re excited for it. Pop on your fave binge-worthy show, get cosy under a blanket and lose yourself in your favourite universe. As above, don’t forget to have a tasty dessert on hand!

Have a DIY spa night

Grab some face masks, a bubble bar and your favourite refreshment—it’s time to treat yourself!

Firstly, make sure your pamper space is clean. That means doing a quick tidy up in your bathroom and/or bedroom so you can fully relax. Hit play on your chosen Spotify playlist, pour yourself a glass of your choice and get ready to feel pampered.

Start running your warm bath and mix in your bubbles. Cleanse your face while you wait. For an extra touch, add in a couple of drops of an essential oil (I use the Nikura range). Check out these tips for how to safely bathe with essential oils. If you’re planning on a face mask, now’s a great time to pop that on. Don’t have a bath? Try an Everything Shower instead.

Once you’ve soaked or showered to your heart’s content, it’s time to throw on a fluffy bathrobe and continue your pamper evening. Start layering on your skin care, allowing time between each layer to absorb and prevent pilling. Feeling hydrated and moisturised? Great. You can either stop here, or move on to our mani/pedi session.

Grab your nail supplies (I use Mylee products and LOVE them) and start giving your cuticles some love. Using a drop of cuticle oil on each nail, gently push your cuticles back with a cuticle stick. The goal is to be able to see your white crescent moon, but if your cuticles haven’t seen love in a while this might not happen on the first day.

Then, shape your nails using a nail file to smooth out any jagged edges and buff your nails with a buffer block or emery board. I personally use this 3 Way Buffer Block and love it as I can use it to make my nails shiny and polished if I want a healthy, natural look. If you’re looking to add some polish, do this when your nails are rough and skip the smoothing step.

Pop on your nicest PJs and admire how good you feel!

Dive into your journal

Journalling comes with SO many benefits, and it’s so easy to do. If you’re feeling down, try some gratitude journalling. List out everything you’re thankful for in your life—it can be as small as a good cup of coffee, or having a bed to sleep in. Feeling gratitude is an easy way to level up your vibe, and reframe your mindset to abundance.

If you’re looking to manifest some changes in your life, try scripting! This is where you write down exactly what your dream life looks like in the present tense, as if it’s happening to you right now (because it is in some reality!). Get really deep into detail – no detail is too small or too outrageous to include! The more delulu your dreams, the better.

Really lean into the feelings of what you’re scripting – how do you feel living in your dream home? Are you in a relationship? How do you feel in that dream relationship? The goal of this is to convince your brain that your dream life is real and achievable.

Have some special solo time

Just because you don’t have a partner it doesn’t mean you can’t have some bedroom fun! Dim the lights, light a candle and get your favourite toys out. Plenty of adult stores run Valentine’s Day sales so why not take the opportunity to treat yourself to something new? Lock the doors, get comfortable and enjoy the vibes—pun intended.

Invite your pals over for a fun night in

Being single on Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you have to be alone! Invite your other single friends over and party together. Make it a Pal-entines or Gal-entines event, or just ignore what day it is all together.

Bake some cookies, watch some movies, do some painting by numbers, or just dig into some snacks, drinks and banter. Make it whatever your idea of a good time is.

Make it your own

You can pick and mix any of these ideas and adjust as needed to fit your budget or time constraints. This day is all about YOU and how incredible you are so lean into it and love yourself—like our girl Miley says in Flowers, “I can love me better than you can”.

Have the best self-love day <3

I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned so let me know in the comments below!