Aromatherapy fix

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day lavender scented hand soap is like heaven in a bottle.

I'd seen it several times but never smelled or used it until last weekend at my friend Kile's house. Wow. I wanted to attach my nose to the bottle.

But it's really not just the scent. My hands tend to crack and bleed from dryness, and not just in the winter. In fact, more than one doctor has recommended medication in an effort to reduce my obsessive cleansing - especially after seeing my deeply cracked and chapped hands. I'm plenty medicated, but I'm not willing to take a pill to curb hand washing.

Anyway, back to the soap. It is cruelty- free, biodegradable, and scented with naturally occurring essential oils. It cleanses thoroughly without drying and in case I didn't emphasize it enough earlier, it smells like heaven.

I bought a bottle last night at Harris Teeter for $3.75 for 12.5 ounces. It's also available at World Market, but those stores seem to be dropping like flies these days.

There are definitely cheaper and most likely equally effective hand soaps on the market, but do those soaps smell like heaven? I recommend indulging in some Mrs. Meyer's soap every now and again.