Shower Pouf Power

Many of you probably already understand the awesomeness that is the shower pouf. Yes, I'm talking about the fluffy, synthetic kind you can pick up at any drugstore for $3 or so...what a great invention!

See, I wasn't a believer in shower poufs until my recent mini-vacation, when a friend with whom I'd been crashing convinced me that using a pouf is a far more effective method of getting sudsy than using body wash alone. He even has a whole rhythm down as far as how to soap-up (it's his thing), and though I rolled my eyes at first, I eventually figured it couldn't hurt to try it out.

Well, it really did make a difference. With the pouf, the soap gets into a nice lather and is thus much easier to rub all over my body. Of course I'll be replacing my poufs with some frequency or putting it in them dishwasher or something to be disinfected, since these things can start to harbor bacteria. (Yuck.) Still, I can't wait to go home and start using a pouf with my regular arsenal of body washes...

And so, here are things I've liked lately (unfortunately I am not home and couldn't pull ingredients up on-line, so below are just my opinions from using these products on a regular basis):

St. Ives Whipped Silk Ultra Moisturizing Body Wash ($3.99 at CVS online) -- My former roommate from Duluth, Minn., says this is the only thing that keeps her skin moisturized without additional lotion during the cold, dry winter back home. I tried it and liked it. I also like the Swiss Vanilla Moisturizing Body Wash, which is what I borrowed from my friend this week. Whipped Silk doesn't have much of a scent, but Swiss Vanilla does in a very subtle, sweet way. I also like its consistency and can vouch for the fact that it gets quite sudsy with a shower pouf. I might switch to Swiss Vanilla when my Whipped Silk is done, but I think both are worthy choices.

Aveeno Positively Smooth Shower & Shave Cream ($6.49 at Ulta online) -- A creamy, unscented wash that I find quite moisturizing. I can't gauge how well this works in enabling you to shave less. I have used it while shaving my legs though, and it's thick enough to keep me pretty nick-free. I prefer something with a bit of a scent and next time will look for the Aveeno body wash that another friend of mine described as almond-smelling.

Bath and Body Works Creamy Body Wash in Midnight Pomegranate (normally $9.50, I got it on sale for $5 a few weeks ago!) -- Alright, now we're talking when it comes to scent! This wash is the most liquid-y of the bunch, with the consistency of thick hand soap. Don't be confused, it's opaque like creamy soap, not a clear bath gel. I love the scent. To me, it's light, fruity and not super synthetic smelling, and I like that it leaves a soft trace of the scent on my skin. (Like, you can smell it only if you're very close and, well, sniffing my skin, lol.) Smell is a very personal preference though and I'd encourage you -- if you're gutsy enough to handle the barrage of scents -- to go into B&BW and hunt down your own nose's favorite.

I don't have any complaints about the body wash when it comes to cleaning me off too. We'll see how it fares when the weather gets cooler and drier. I have a good feeling that this product's consistency will lend itself very well to sudsing on a shower pouf, so I think it will be the first one I use when I get home Saturday night. :)

Does anyone know the perfect scented + moisturizing body wash? And what do you use to apply your soap?? Are you down with Shower Pouf Power?