My Essentials: A Damn Good Scrub in the Bath

A Damn Good Scrub in the Bath - for me it consists of an excellent bath or/and shower gel, with the scrubbing implement of choice: Japanese wash cloth, ayate mitt, loofah, etc., and a big tub of hot water. I have a very large and old enamel bath tub (it came with the house)and a man of six feet plus will be comfortable in it.

As I've said before I like a soak in oils, but sometimes you just want to slough, and I keep coming back to Lush's 'Tramp' showergel - it's all that patchouli. Patchouli is a big thing for me; the first fragranced product I spent serious money on at 18 was a 3 bar box of Crabtree and Evelyn Patchouli soap in a shop in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford. The smell, not hippy - too balanced, and the packaging, Art Nouveau and Rousseau-esque with it's nearly navy background and wild, lurid foliage, was to me in 1979 sublime.

And, back to scrubbing, soaking in oils is opulent and exquisite in its own way but sometimes the non-conformist relish of excoriation is hard to beat. It has to be followed by a good body cream and my favourite to date is the Goodworks big tub from Boots - it really does leave your skin feeling like velvet.