Last month at the Bendel’s Beauty Breakfast at Henri Bendel in New York, we were treated to an amazing hand/arm massage with the new Ted Gibson Body Shampoo & Conditioner.

We have to admit, even though the treatment left our hands incredibly soft and hydrated, we haven’t been able to duplicate the effect on our entire body here at home. After using our samples on and off for the last month, we noticed today that our bottle of Affirmation (our favorite scent of the three offered) Body Conditioner is nearly full while the Affirmation Body Shampoo is almost gone. The reason? We’re too impatient to let the Body Conditioner sit on our skin in the shower for 2-3 minutes. (Hey, 2-3 minutes is a long time. Just now, while a cup of tea was in the microwave for two minutes, we changed a load of laundry, fed the dogs and clipped a stray hangnail on our thumb with cuticle nippers—three very important chores that took less time to complete than our Ted Gibson Body Conditioner takes to soak in.)

We haven’t had any issues using up the Body Shampoo, though—it lathers nicely and leaves our skin squeaky clean. In addition to Affirmation (geranium and dandelion) there’s also Transformation (grapefruit and honey) and Prosperity (rose and ginger) in this series. If you don’t mind an extra step in the shower, go for the Ted Gibson Body 6-Piece Travel Set and try all three scents.

Just don’t fall behind on your chores.

We can’t get enough of this Energising Shower Gel by our new favorite apothecary, Space.NK.

Packed with fragrant essential oils, this body wash works up a nice lather and leaves our skin soft, supple and beyond hydrated. We’re pretty sure this will replace our favorite wintertime shower oil because of the lathering quality and the travel-friendly container. (We’ve dropped and broken our L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil container TWICE while travelling.)

We have not yet tried the Relaxing Shower Gel or the De-Stress Shower Gel, but we’re headed back to New York this month and we won’t be returning home without ridiculous amounts of this stuff.

Spending thirty minutes alone, relaxing in the bathtub is a rare luxury for us. There’s always one person or another knocking on the door asking if we know where they left their iPod, wanting help with figuring out the settings on the toaster oven, or the real emergency—WHERE IS THE TIVO REMOTE? QUICK! House is going to record over Hannah Montana!

When we do have a moment of peace in the tub, we like to make it the best experience possible with candles, music, and every luxury bath product we can get our hands on. Lately, our favorite bath-time treat is Thymes Wild Ginger Foaming Bath Powder Envelope. The milky powder foams into bubbles with an incredible ginger, cucumber, and Tahitian lime scent.

There’s also the Wild Ginger Body Wash which hydrates with honey and soothes with organic red clover, while enveloping us in the same great scent.

With the Foaming Bath Powder Envelope priced at $6 and the Wild Ginger Body Wash at $19, these are bath items we can’t do withoout.

Smelling good is high up on my list of Things that Matter , right up there with my cell phone, cute accessories and my baby sister. (Really, she’s not a baby—she’s 5—but she rocks my world.)

I like to smell fresh and clean without being too "perfume-y" if you know what I mean.

Recently I discovered Body by Maurices , a bath and body line exclusive to one of my favorite places to shop: Maurices . There’s three fruity flavors (Cool Citrus , Sweet Sage , and Berry Blush ) available in a body scrub, cleansing gel, body butter, lotion, and body spray.

I love the Cool Citrus scent of the body spray—so refreshing! I can smell super yummy without being overwhelming.

Stop by your local Maurices and check these out!

Until next week,

Bree