things i love #28

Palmer's Cocoa Butter.

Or any thick, yummy smelling moisturiser, really.

But, oh my, this one. This one, I love. It's one I come back to again and again and again, particularly over the summer. It has the most gorgeous smell, like a cocktail of melted chocolate and vanilla ice cream and buttery, fresh-from-the-oven cookies! When you put it on to warm skin, the chocolatey-ness of it intensifies and it reminds me of wandering through Cadbury's in Hobart on a tour of the factory as a child, breathing the warm, heavy scent of cocoa.

When I was a teenager, I used to love reading "celebrity beauty tips" in the trashy weekly gossips that my grandmother used to buy and then pass on to me and my sisters when she was done with them. My mother also had a really cool retro Women's Weekly Beauty Book from 1977 which I used to love looking through too. And in one of these leafing expeditions, I remember reading about one celebrity - I can't remember who it was now - who said that after every shower or bath, she would smother herself in moisturiser, all over. So I, at about age 14, started doing that as well. And, like all things if you do it often enough, it became a habit.

15 years later, I still do it. After every bath or shower, I grab my moisturiser of the moment - currently, it's the above - and don't use very much, but do manage to get moisturiser over every inch of skin possible. And then I delight in the yummy, freshly baked cookie scent of it all :)

And I don't know whether my resulting soft and very supple skin is a coincidence or not, but as most of you know, my body size and shape has fluctuated a great deal over the years, and my skin, while showing a few scars for it, is mostly taut and smooth and betrays very little signs of the body I used to have. I think my moisturising scrupulousness over the years might have something to do with it!

If someone touches my arm or something, one of the first things they say is "oh my, your skin is so soft!" That's always lovely to hear!

I have many favourite body moisturisers - I love the Body Shop's body butters in Brazil Nut, Coconut and Strawberry; Boot's Patchouli and Lavender body butter; and there was a really nice Dove one I used for a while. But Palmer's has been a mainstay in my routine for a while now, and it won't be disappearing any time soon. It's so easy to get hold of too, you can get it in the supermarket in most places around the world, I think, and it's pretty cheap too as I usually score a bottle for less than £4. B for bargain!

Put it on, and you'll smell like a chocolate sundae. That's always a good thing. Be prepared for deliciousness!

What's your favourite moisturiser?