For those of us on the East Coast, it has been a cold winter, no doubt about it. I'm entirely ready for spring, but meantime my skin is showing every sign of a mid-winter crisis — it feels taut, itchy and generally uncomfortable. So for the past few weeks, I've been grumbling and rummaging around for various solutions that would fit into my new 'returning student' budget!
I decided to take a chance on an Alba Botanica body cream since I've been pleased with their body washes (see my review of Honey Mango Bath & Shower Gel, and Bois de Jasmin has a review of their Midnight Tuberose Shower Gel). Their Kukui Nut Body Cream seemed like a good bet — chock full of rich nut oils plus shea and cocoa butter, hypo-allergenic, 100% vegetarian and it comes in a jar which always makes me feel that tad more luxurious…
Remember those television commercials for Clairol Herbal Essences, the ones showing women having 
Ah yes, the last-minute impulse purchase. I’m still not immune to it, especially at Sephora: when I’m waiting on the inevitable line to pay, I can’t help browsing through the items that the beauty superstore has so thoughtfully placed in bins leading up to its cash register. Hershey’s Almond Lip Balm was my most recent such purchase. 
Shower gels named after famous warriors? Well…okay, but why can’t we use another type of person to promote products, a type that didn’t thrive on warfare, a type that doesn’t make me feel so “adolescent” as I buy a WARRIOR shower gel? I’d even risk appearing pretentious over appearing adolescent, so maybe I’ll develop a Poet Series of scented products myself: Haiku (Bashō) bath gel fragranced with pine needles, lotus, green tea leaf, kyara wood, smoke and bamboo, or a Leaves of Grass candle (Whitman) with sap, lilac, birch, cumin and musk. What about a fragrance honoring a poetess: Marianne Moore; she liked apricots and baseball, so osmanthus and ‘baseball glove leather’ would do the trick for Tricorne Eau de Parfum.