When Theresa Polhill, 35, of Chicago, needs an olfactory pick-me-up, she makes a pit stop in her kitchen. "I use pure vanilla extract instead of perfume," says the mom to 19-month-old Olive. "It helps for when I'm crazed with things to do and there's no time to fuss with products. I just swipe some on when I'm in the kitchen making breakfast for my daughter." Polhill likes vanilla's natural, non-synthetic feel. Plus, it's cheap and she always smells like cookies!
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Grease lightening
My scalp is currently occupied by approximately 14 strands of hair, thanks to the joys of post partum hormonal hair-shedding. But when those 14 loyal hairs get oily, I use Bumble and bumble Hair Powder in Blondish, $35. It adds oomph to fine hair and soaks up oil like a member of the Exxon Valdez Recovery Fleet. Plus, it comes in various tints, so I can avoid looking like Anderson Cooper. The scent is rather unobtrusive, so it might not actually make me smell better. But it definitely makes me look cleaner, therefore giving the impression that my hands have touched a shampoo bottle in the past week.
My bathroom beauty routine used to include lathering up with coconut-scented shampoo and conditioner, followed by a luxurious application of body cream, and a few strategic spritzes of Victoria's Secret Rapture.
Then I had a baby.
Now, I walk around with decaying cereal puffs trapped in my bra, I shower with the frequency of James Franco in 127 Hours, and the insides of my wrists occasionally get spritzed with pee. My new signature fragrance? Eau de Breast Milk.
Which is why I've been forced to adopt strategic moves for enhancing -- or at least masking -- the way I smell after being spit up on or, you know, not showering for a few days. And my mommy friends have been a huge inspiration, giving me all kinds of clever advice. Keep clicking for some of our favorite tactics.
