For too long, Mother’s Day has been wrapped in clichés – a rushed breakfast in bed, a quick snap for social media, a novelty gift she didn’t ask for and probably doesn’t need. But what if this year looked different?
What if, instead of celebrating mothers with platitudes, we honoured them with presence – and permission. Permission to rest. To receive. To replenish. In a culture where maternal burnout has become the norm, there’s never been a more urgent time to rethink how we celebrate and support the women who hold so much.
In this rose-inspired manifesto, Michelle Reeve, founder and lead formulator of Waterlily, invites us to trade burnout for beauty rituals and turn this Mother’s Day into a meaningful act of deep nourishment.
A Rose Inspired Mothers Day Manifesto
Let’s be honest, when was the last time you actually stopped to smell a rose? Not metaphorically. But quite literally. Bent your knees, leaned in, closed your eyes, and inhaled deeply? I’ll wait….
If you’re like most mothers, women, leaders or caregivers I know (myself included on my worst days), you probably can’t remember. Or perhaps you started to, then remembered that project deadline or the laundry needed folding, someone needed a permission slip signed, and hell, dinner wasn’t going to cook itself, and oh right, that monstrosity of a marketing budget still needed final touches before tomorrow. And on it goes.
The Maternal Paradox
Let’s talk numbers for a second, shall we? Because nothing says ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ quite like some cold, hard data about just how ridiculous some of the expectations placed on our mothers, women and carers really are:
- Working mothers still do an average of 21 hours of housework weekly compared to fathers’ who ‘help’ with a meagre 10. (Yeah, I did the math and that’s more than a full extra day of work…. Grrrr indeed!)
- 92% of mothers report feeling overwhelmed by work and family responsibilities frequently or all the time. Not occasionally ladies… but FREQUENTLY or ALL THE TIME (apologies for shouting..)
- Let’s talk about the ‘mental load’ study that makes my blood simmer. Get this…86% of women say they’re responsible for maintaining the family calendar and remembering everyone’s schedules, appointments, and deadlines. (Because apparently remembering that Toby needs cupcakes for the class party tomorrow and your spouse’s cousin’s birthday and the dog’s heartworm medication all requires the same brain space as, you know, your actual career and personhood.)
“86% of women say they’re responsible for maintaining the family calendar and remembering everyone’s schedules, appointments and deadlines”
But my personal favourite… Mothers get interrupted significantly more than fathers during work calls when working from home. Even our time isn’t respected equally!
The irony of Mother’s Day has never been lost on me. Those who give the most care often receive the least. And yet, funnily enough, Mother’s Day retail spending hit $32 billion last year. Seems like we’re collectively fine with buying mum a scented candle, but heaven forbid we create social structures that actually support her wellbeing for the other 364 days of the year.
Sorry, was that a little too spicy? As a wellness brand, it’s not enough to think about what we do for ourselves superficially or just skin deep. For me it’s always been a more nourishing approach to a fulfilling and complete lifestyle. One that honours our full potential.
The Science of Selfcare (not actually selfish!)
This is precisely why I became obsessed with formulating products that go beyond cosmetic quick fixes. If society won’t solve the maternal depletion crisis, perhaps we can create micro-solutions that allow women to reclaim small pockets of autonomy and selfcare. This leads directly to our Rose Peptide Spa Facial, a ritual designed specifically to counteract the physiological effects of the constant stress mothers endure. It’s not just skincare. It’s a scientifically formulated reset button for the overwhelmed maternal system. Because when statistics tell us that mothers are running on empty, we need solutions that fill the tank, not just admire how efficiently they function while depleted.
“we need solutions that fill the tank, not just admire how efficiently they function while depleted”
Enter stage left: Waterlily’s Rose Peptide Spa Facial
When I imagined our Rose Peptide Spa Facial, I wasn’t just thinking, ‘let’s whip up something that makes skin pretty’ (though btw, it absolutely does). No, I was thinking about a cellular rebellion. A ritual of restoration that works as deeply on transforming the skin as it does on the emotions. It was about creating a holistic wellness ritual so compelling, so scientifically thorough, and so deeply deliciously indulgent that it might actually convince a mother to close the bathroom door, put her phone on airplane mode (or throw it out the window), and tell everyone that for the next 10 minutes each evening the world will have to manage without her arbitrating all things organisational!
I’m not just slightly obsessed with peptides. I’m peptide-possessed! These tiny chains of amino acids are like little messengers that tell your skin cells what to do. And the Heptapeptide-7 in our Rose Peptide Facial? It’s basically the 3am ride-or-die friend we all need, the one who shows up and says, ‘Oh honey, clear the way! We’re fixing this situation and now!’
At a whopping 5% clinical concentrate this peptide doesn’t ask politely. Like a military response crack team, H7 knows how to get in and get the job done. It binds to epidermal growth factor receptors and essentially says, ‘More collagen… stat! More hyaluronic acid regulation… immediately! Increase elasticity and do not argue with me!’
I find something deeply satisfying about that kind of cellular directness. Probably because as mothers and women, we’re constantly expected to soften our directives with qualifiers and pleasantries. (‘ahem, if it’s not too much trouble, could someone possibly consider taking out the garbage that’s been sitting there for three days? No? Okay, I’ve got it… oh, and sandwiches anyone?)… Sigh, sorry I digress…
The liposomal collagen we’ve incorporated works with similar efficiency. I sometimes joke that it’s like the matriarch of the formula. It delivers exactly what’s needed exactly where it’s needed, without wasting time or resources. If only the humans in our household were as efficient!
The Enduring Ancient Wisdom of Rose
Before I continue let’s clear something up. Rose isn’t passe or old-fashioned. Rose has been the ultimate ‘IT girl’ of precious oils and extracts for literally thousands of years.
Cleopatra (you know, the Egyptian queen who bathed in donkey milk and could supposedly make powerful men dance like monkeys) was obsessed with roses. The floors of her palace were reportedly carpeted with rose petals a foot deep when she was entertaining Marc Antony on a Friday night. Talk about making an impression! (note to self… might try this at the next managers meeting.)
Medieval women created rose waters and infusions during times when, let’s be frank, women were considered barely more than property. Yet somehow, these rose rituals persisted as tiny pockets of feminine autonomy. Even when women couldn’t own land, they could own a moment with their precious rose preparations.
And now today we know why. Rose oil is comprised of over 300 individual chemical constituents. Powerfully transdermal, this oil changes the physiology of our skin cells to firm, tone and tighten while boosting hydration and kick-starting cellular repair. Its potency means we need just a few precious drops to deliver a bouquet of transformational benefits.
When you experience the exquisite pure rose oil in our Performance Spa Facial (or many of our skincare products), you’re participating in this ancient lineage of women who claimed, ‘this moment as being sovereignly mine’. The aromatic compounds trigger responses in your limbic system (the emotional control centre of your brain) instantly inducing a state of calm that even your teenager’s decision to tattoo their face can’t disrupt. (Well, almost… miracle formulations still in progress!)
“Rose has been the ultimate ‘IT girl’ of precious oils and extracts for literally thousands of years”
The Unsung Genius of Red Raspberry
While there are over 50 active ingredients that get dispensed in our Rose Peptide Spa Facial, I have a particular fondness for red raspberry oil, the somewhat unsung hero in our formulation. Rich in ellagic acid, vitamin A, and omega fatty acids (which are the natural building blocks of our skin cells), raspberry oil is essentially nature’s potent multivitamin for your skin.
What I love most about raspberry oil is its resilience. The raspberry plant thrives in harsh and challenging conditions to produce this nutrient dense oil despite (or perhaps because of) these environmental stressors. It doesn’t need a perfect setting to produce something extraordinary. Sound familiar? It’s the mother of botanical oils creating abundance even when circumstances aren’t ideal.
The trans-resveratrol we pair it with (in its highest quality fermented form) amplifies this resilience. This food grade ingredient is a powerful antioxidant with amazing protective properties around oxidative stress, one of the precursors to premature skin ageing. It stimulates new collagen production while simultaneously protecting existing collagen. It’s not just about building new support; it’s about maintaining what you’ve already invested in (much like how we try to preserve our sanity while continuously building resilient families).
The Longevity Connection
Here’s where I think it gets really interesting! All those stress hormones coursing through the average mother’s body? While I hate being the bearer of crappy news, the truth is that they’re literally shortening her life.
The science of longevity has shown that chronic stress accelerates cellular ageing by shortening telomeres (those protective caps on our chromosomes that keep our DNA from unravelling like a cheap cardigan). Practices that activate the parasympathetic nervous system (like the hypnotic guided meditation and sensory aromatherapy elements in our rituals) actually help maintain telomere length.
So when your partner or child asks why you ‘need’ a Waterlily Spa Facial, you can calmly respond, “Because I’m investing in my cellular integrity and telomere maintenance to ensure I’m around long enough to witness the historic moment that someone besides me realises we are out of milk before we sit down to breakfast… and don’t even start me on unloading the dishwasher!” (Please… feel free to use that verbatim… licensing fees don’t apply!)
“Practices that activate the parasympathetic nervous system actually help maintain telomere length”
The Waterlily Difference
One of the many philosophies we take pride in at Waterlily is our ethos of care and connection. It’s how we create, how we formulate and how we consider every detail of our treatment delivery. Our facials are not merely application of product, but a mindful layering where each touchpoint, infusion, aroma and element is a decision. Where your therapists is invested in curating your personally tailored wellness journey before your head even touches the treatment bed pillow. From mindful meditation to the last anointing of botanical elixir each touchpoint transports you to a blissful sanctuary of relaxation entwined with rejuvenation.
Rituals as a Revolution
In a productivity-obsessed culture, taking an hour for a facial isn’t self-indulgent, it’s subversive! Sometimes I think the most revolutionary act in our hyper productive society is to engage in a ritual that has no obvious output.
There’s no spreadsheet showing increased efficiency after a Waterlily Spa Facial. No quarterly report on the ROI of taking time to breathe deeply as an aromatic compress releases tension the tension and stress from your forehead.
And that’s precisely the point.
When you experience our Rose Peptide Spa Facial (or give it as a gift to a mother who desperately needs it), you’re essentially saying, ‘For this hour, I reject the premise that my value lies in what I produce, manage, or organise for others.’
The ritual delivery we’ve carefully curated, a sensory immersion layered with aromatic touch points, is essentially a stress-interruption protocol disguised as luxury. Each layer of botanical actives triggers a cascade of relaxation responses that counteract the cortisol storm that is modern motherhood.
A New Mother’s Day Paradigm
What if (and stay with me here) Mother’s Day wasn’t about that awkward family photoshoot where mum spends an hour wrangling everyone into ‘nice clothes’, only to receive a mug with “World’s Best Mum”(which you know she’ll be washing herself tomorrow).
What if instead, Mother’s Day became the launching point for a new cultural understanding that maternal depletion isn’t inevitable or necessary?
What if we acknowledged that a mother who regularly takes time for rituals of restoration (like our Rose Peptide Facial with its Vitamins B3, B5, stabilised L-ascorbic acid, and liposomal Vitamin D) isn’t being selfish but strategic?
Mothers are experiencing burn out at unprecedented rates. One study found that 86% of mothers reported feeling ‘mentally exhausted’ on a regular basis. We’ve normalised this maternal depletion as the inevitable price of nurturing the next generation.
Instead, what if we celebrated that a mother who regularly stops to ‘smell the roses’ (or make time for rituals like our Rose Peptide Spa Facial) is modelling something essential for her children. A living example for her family that nurturing oneself is non-negotiable. She’s demonstrating that sustainability requires renewal. That receiving care makes one more capable of giving it authentically.
“We’ve normalised this maternal depletion as the inevitable price of nurturing the next generation”
Your Rose Scented Invitation
So here’s my invitation to all Mothers this May (whether you’re a mother or you simply love one).
- Book that Waterlily Spa Facial. I recommend the Rose Peptide one. I formulated it for a reason, and that reason is that it works. The 27% increase in skin firmness isn’t magic, it’s science. (Though watching someone’s face transform after just one treatment feels pretty mystical, I must admit.)
- Schedule regular time for nourishing replenishment. Not as a reward for being productive, not because you earned it (by folding everyone’s socks and spinning plates while coming in under budget on that work project), but because you exist and that existence needs no explanation.
- Stop apologising for taking this time. I mean it, not even a quick “sorry for the splurge” or “I normally wouldn’t but…” Just nope…Don’t!
Because here’s the truth. In a world that consistently depletes women and mothers in particular, maintaining your wellbeing isn’t indulgent, it’s essential.
So this Mother’s Day, I’m not just offering you skincare. I’m offering you permission (though you never actually needed it) to treat your own renewal as the necessity it truly is.
Now go smell some actual roses. That’s an order! 🌹
Michelle Reeve is the Founder and Lead Formulator of Waterlily, an Australian spa collection that combines clinical cosmeceuticals with botanical extracts for results-driven sensory experiences. She has been known to hide in her formulation lab when family members can’t find matching socks.
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