what the contractors liked

When we had some work done on the house, we tried to keep these hard working guys happy with muffins and coffee for breakfast along with hearty lunches and snacks but I think the thing that made them happiest was the downstairs bath.

Sure, maybe it was the futuristic Toto washlet with heated seat from Japan or maybe it was the fact that the central air cooled this room to an igloo during that hot spell but actually, I think it was the Jo Malone products.

I'm a big believer in happy scents. When I first came home with Jo Malone's Orange Blossom Body & Handwash and Body & Hand Lotion for the downstairs bath (which is used 90% more than any other bath in the house), my husband, L., balked at using this 'girl' scent to wash his hands. To me, this scent is dreamy. It reminds me of L.A., specifically the rooftop Four Seasons Los Angeles pool dotted with lemon and orange trees. The light creamy white flower scent is light and lovely, like walking by an orange tree in bloom, rather than a cologne in a bottle. This is one of the happiest scents I know.

So, while I immediately took to the handwash followed by the hand lotion, L., is strictly an Orange Blossom handwash kinda guy. After you wash your hands you don't smell like someone who just stepped away from a perfume counter. Your hands smell clean, like sunshine and white citrus blooms.

So those contractors may have been working hard and sweating out in the Seattle sunshine but their hands? Well their hands were just about soft and sweet smelling as could be.

Yesterday I swung by the Nordstrom Jo Malone counter in Bellevue where the Jo Malone team know exactly how to help you pinpoint your new favorite scent from French Lime Blossom (which smells just like a stroll through the Champs Elysses in Paris) to Nutmeg and Ginger (which smells just like how a boy should smell) to Wild Bluebell (like a dewy spring morning in London). I know when I need a quick pick-me-up that a stop by this counter is a happy thing. I like to think that this pick-me-up worked on some very big, brawny, hard working boys as well. I think so.

Visit the JoMalone.com to help you choose your happy scent or visit a Nordstrom near you.