Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Alba Bath & Shower Gel

Fickle as I am, I don't like to use the same shower gel for very long before I switch to a different scent and texture. So I'm guessing the bargain lover in me took over when I bought a couple of Alba shower gels in industrial-sized bottles, complete with pump for easy use. (They came from TJ Maxx, where I find so many wonderful products for next to nothing, and cost $9.99 per gigantic container.)

Here's some hippie stuff some of you will probably like, but which matters not a jot to me:

• Hypo-allergenic
• pH balanced
• No sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate
• No synthetic colors
• Paraben and phthalate free
• 100% vegetarian ingredients and no animal testing

I bought these back in April and have barely made a dent in them. One is the Honey Mango variety, the other Sparkling Mint. They are both, as the labels claim, very emollient. But they do not, as the labels claim, make for very good bubble baths. These are strictly for shower time. Still, I'm a fan, even after all these months. For me, that's saying something.

Rubber ducky, joy of joys

Yeah, that title is a Sesame Street shout-out. And, heaven help me, I don't even have kids.

As my boyfriend and I prepare to move out of the flat where we currently live, I'm taking as many opportunities as possible to enjoy our delightfully retro (now that I've stopped thinking of it as shamefully dated) bathroom and its avocado green sink and bath. I've spent hours on end in that bathroom - most of them in the bath itself.

I know full well that taking baths in scalding hot water depletes skin's moisture and is just an all around bad idea. But as with tanning and wearing 28-year-old eye shadow, sometimes one feels the risk is worth taking. I get more pleasure out of a boiling bath on a frigid winter's evening than I could ever get out of having skin that didn't need moisturiser. Indeed, a life without hot baths is no life at all.