So it may not exactly be swimsuit season yet, but the days are getting longer and I’m starting to daydream about warmer weather and, consequently, showing more skin. I don’t know about you, but my skin is not ready to be displayed in its current condition. In fact, it’s downright scary.

Or, should I say, scaly.

In addition to shielding me from the elements, my winter wardrobe has been hiding my unsightly frost-dried hide. Last week I decided it was time to do something about my lackluster skin. I remembered a sample I had received of a body scrub, and set off to my shower with high hopes and low self-esteem.

The sample was Bliss Vanilla & Bergamot Body Buff. It smelled like a dessert. After stepping under the shower’s spray just long enough to dampen my skin, I stepped out of the water and rubbed the scrub all over, head to toe. As far as body scrubs go, this one is fantastic – the granules are big enough so you actual feel like it’s exfoliating you, but are small enough so they don’t hurt you. After a thorough scrubbing, I rinsed off and felt absolutely amazing. My skin was soft and glowy, and those unattractive little bumps that form on my limbs in the winter had vanished.

To complete my skin makeover, I followed my scrub session with a generous slather of my new favorite body lotion, St. Ives Hydrating Vitamin E Advanced Body Moisturizer. It’s lightly scented, long-lasting, and non-greasy. All the things I look for in a body lotion.

The result of this wonder duo? I was left with touchably soft skin, for the first time all year.