Texture is everything

I am on the countdown now, kids.  In a little over two days, I board a plane to Venice.  From Venice, the moms and I will grab a ship and travel to Split, Croatia; Naples, Italy; Rome, Italy; Florence/Pisa, Italy; Marseilles, France and Barcelona, Spain.  Then, because we are in the neighborhood, we will spend a day in Paris. 

I am beyond stoked.

So waking up these past few mornings has been hell because 1.  The day to leave has not yet arrived and 2.  Work has a tendency to get crazy when one is about to leave the country for 12 glorious days. 

So I have been playing with my soap, so to speak.  I've reached for Lush products these past two mornings and both are only available to me due to my uncanny ability to know what works best frozen.

First up is Snow Showers shower jelly from Lush:



Oh how I love this one.  First of all, the shower jellies are just unadulterated shower time fun.  I drop them constantly (good thing I'm not in prison) and just make a HUGE mess.  And this one smells like oranges and cognac.  It's a Christmas soap.  It doesn't scream Christmas to me but it does scream good times.  Also, googling to find the picture above also took me to a new blog, Rotten Otter's, which seems to be a blog by someone with strangely similar taste to me. 

But seriously, if you haven't tried a Lush shower jelly, you should.  They are a rockin' good time.

And now for the Rest-In-Peace oh favorite soap of mine portion of our program. 

Lush used to make something called Buttercreams and they were barely soap.  15% soap, 85% things that smelled yummy and made your skin feel even yummier.  They barely lathered and they didn't smell like much dry.  But oh it was like rubbing your body with the most luxurious sweet smelling wonderfulness in the shower.  Of these, The Emperor of Ice Cream was my favorite.  Jasmine, vanilla and...Orange honey.  How I coveted the Emperor.  How I loved him.  How I cherished him.

So, of course, Lush discontinued the buttercreams.  I've yet to find anything else that smells like Emporer of Ice Cream.  Luckily, I still have some. 

And, even now, hours after the shower, I can smell it. 

I smell good.

Wednesday

For the past few months, one of my toy poodles (I have two) has been sleeping with me every night. He likes to snuggle really close to me and I must confess that his contributions to my comfy and cozy sleep space have made it super tough to climb out of bed in the morning.

Luckily my phone alarm went off in the living room so I had to hustle to get it.

Anyway, I digress. There is nothing more wonderful when I am bleary eyed and stumbling to the bathroom than a nice chunk of that wonderful spicy white buttercream by Lush known as Skinny Dip.

...Now that I think about it, it would be a nice addition to naked swimming...

Lush seems to call attention to the violet when they describe Skinny Dip but I honestly don't smell it. What I DO smell is the yummy blend of clove, cedar and sage. It just fills the entire shower with its powerful scent. And whenever I rub it on my skin, I am suddenly awake.

What I love most about Lush buttercreams is that there is so little soap in them. I am not someone who needs lather having given up sulfates in my shampoo about a year ago. And Skinny Dip doesn't lather very much at all. I don't find that a problem.

I love Skinny Dip. Not only do I get out of my shower awake and moisturized from head to toe but the bathroom smells a-MAY-zing while I finish getting ready...win/win right?

As one last compliment for the lovely Skinny Dip I will allay the fears of those who think that strongly scented soaps will counteract their perfumes. As with most Lush soaps, I can smell Skinny Dip if I literally press my nose against my skin but not really. It really just wakes me up, sets me on my feet and sends me off to enjoy my day.

You can buy Skinny Dip at a Lush store near you or here