Kiss My Face Lemon Verbana Organic Shower Gel & Body Scrub

Most beauty editors have products that they'll easily plunk down big bucks for (usually shampoo and skincare) and those that they'll—shock—slip into the drugstore to get.  Shower gels and body scrubs fall into this latter category for me.  I won't spend two meals' worth of money on them when no one has ever said, "Wow, you have such smooth, beautiful kneecaps!"

Besides, I excitedly snatched up NUDE Skincare's Moisturising Body Polish ($52!) at a beauty sale at work last month only to discover that it had the cohesiveness of a dry muffin.  When I tried to smooth it on my arms, chunks literally came flying off.  I'm not a morning person to begin with and certainly don't care to bump into my shower walls, picking up chunks of "damn $52 body scrub" (that's now sitting in a corner of my shower, like a kid in timeout).

Last week, a co-worker who runs a blog called Beauty Maverick gave me Kiss My Face's Lemon Verbana Organic Shower Gel & Body Scrub. And it's perfect. Here's why:

Pretty factor: This two-in-one cleanser/scrub contains very mild surfactants to clean your skin without drying, jojoba beads to exfoliate without harshness, and aloe and chamomile to soothe.  Lemon extract plus orange flower and lemongrass waters give a light, energizing aroma that's perfect for morning.

Eco factor:  It contains organic botanicals and no parabens, synthetic colors or dyes. No animal testing either.

To buy: $7.99 at Whole Foods and kissmyfacewebstore.com