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I wouldn’t suggest you experience some fabulous bath product the way I’ve been doing it, but I don’t actually have a bath. I tried SheaMoisture’s Organic Red Bush & Sage Congestion Relief Bath as a scrub, and it felt cool and invigorating, until I got to my face. Burn notice! But the unlikely combo of healing shea butter and detoxifying, mineral-rich dead sea salts is a hit with peppermint, rosemary, thyme and eucalyptus. Please, use as directed, and you’ll probably love it as much as I do. Egyptian Musk goes into the actual body scrub, and I wonder if Cleopatra had product so luxurious. I’m also finding a big bar of this line’s sage soap to look very Biblical resting on the shower ledge.



Aromatherapy

Aura Cacia’s Soothing Organic Milk & Oat Bath with relaxing essential oil is a packet of luxury designed for the bath. I have a shower only, so I just rub it into the skin and breathe. It’s like inviting spring into the bath.





Bag of summer

Unlike women of leisure who can’t get enough designer handbags, my bag love is for the everyday functional, like Reisenthel’s sturdy polyester and aluminum foil loop shopper that lets you pack up 26 pounds of food, beach staples, Bible school prep or craft work in ultimate style. Oval handles padded with something akin to garden hose are the star, because they make the bag stay propped open, without pesky loops to flop over and get in the way. Even my husband was impressed with the “nubbins” underneath to keep your shopper elevated from the germy ground. Sling it over the shoulder or carry it by hand. Go for classic colors or patterns of colordots, marigold, I.love and birds. Reisenthel Accessories of Germany has a catalogue full of colorful totes for every haul. They’re new to me, but have been bagging it for 40 years.



Give ‘em 16 weeks

The paperwork talks a good game of science, but I love that it comes from nature. A foamy wash of aloe, rose, chamomile, rosemary and cucumber has been beginning and ending my day. Exuviance Age Reverse asks for  16 weeks to let its Bio-active wash, day and night lifts and eye contour deal with uneven pigment, deep lines and crow’s feet and produce firmer, younger looking skin and lighter age spots. I wish I’d had this wash, said to stimulate cell renewal, in high school. I’ve been waiting for it ever since. I admit it, I feel firmer, too.



Taking a shine

Microsponge technology comes in a tube from Paula’s Choice, with shine Stopper Instant Matte Finish you can take a shine to. This is how I plan to go from a YMCA workout or walking the seawall to some important news-breaking meeting while looking as good as I can in my fast-paced  life of journalism. Doesn’t that sound exciting. Now on “slow” days in my real life, I can still keep the oil slick down on my face while I flit from laundry basket to weeding the back yard on my days off.

ddoiron@panews.com