When Sarah, a 32-year-old mom in Los Angeles, needs a little pick-me-up, she goes straight for her Williams Sonoma French Lavender Hand Lotion, $12.95. "I apply it all over my body and even in my hair as a de-frizzer and to make it smell good," she says. She's also started stashing lavender sachets all over her house. "The scent soothes me, so when I get sad or mad, I stuff my face in one and take a huge whiff. It fills my whole body with the scent and actually helps me feel less stressed."
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Germ warfare
A recent university study found that new moms wash their hands an average of 27,000 times a day. Carissa Franklin, 35, a Birmingham, Mich., mom of two small boys, has managed to turn the ritual into a little luxury by using Dial Complete Foaming Antibacterial Hand Wash in Soothing White Tea, $3.49. "I'm washing my hands constantly between a potty training toddler and a newborn baby. This hand soap makes me feel like I can still smell good between changing poopy diapers and prepping the family's meals."
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The big cover-up
It's 7:30 a.m., you're rushing to get out of the house and make it to work on time, and your bambino spits up that breast milk you worked so hard on -- all over your blouse. When there's no time to change, Ann, a new mom with a 7-week-old at home, grabs her trusty bottle of Demeter Fragrance Library Cologne in Laundromat, $28.59. "I keep a bottle of it in my diaper bag and take it with me whenever I go out with my daughter. When she inevitably spits up on me -- always at the worst times -- I can spritz a little on and it at least smells like I changed into fresh clothes!" Demeter also makes perfumes with names like "Clean Skin" and "Pure Soap," theoretically allowing you to wear the same outfit all week long.
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.
