Being a beauty editor, I have access to tons of free grooming products. Nobody in my family is surprised to find a new shampoo or body wash in the shower, a turbo blow-dryer in the linen closet, or a special hand cream on the nightstand. But it's rare that I get much feedback from this group. My three kids, all under the age of 12, would prefer to review the latest chips, sports drinks, and breakfast bars that Health's senior food editor often passes along. But that all changed this fall. Never have I brought home a beauty product that resulted in such fanfare. The prize? A Bath & Body Works antibacterial hand sanitizer called PocketBac Deep Cleansing Hand Gel ($1.50; bathandbodyworks.com).
I threw a tiny 1-ounce bottle in each of my kids' backpacks one morning, hoping to stave off the wave of swine flu making its way around their schools. No lie—all three kids came home that night begging for more product. Was it the nourishing vitamin B5 and vitamin E that had them hooked? The nonsticky feel of the clear gel? Nope. It was the addicting fragrance. This hand gel comes in scents like White Citrus, Coconut Lime Verbena, and Sea Island Cotton. They even have holiday scents like Winter Candy Apple and Vanilla Bean Noel. My 10-year-old son found the fragrance so intoxicating, he bought 10 bottles (worth a few weeks' allowance), then proceeded to hand them out to his desperately seeking hand sanitizer classmates. No doubt these little bottles of gel have elevated my children in terms of popularity, but hey, I'm just happy they've discovered an addition worth paying for. Here's to hoping it keeps their classmates healthy this winter!