Recently, JOHNSON’S Body Care contacted me with a really exciting opportunity: They asked me to serve as hostess for a “body care cause party” in which I would invite several of my BFFs to my home for an intimate gathering, serve cocktails and chat about all things girlie, and then raise funds for the charity of my choice.

Considering the current economic recession, I chose Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that provides interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women, and got to planning.

This is a cause super-important to me. I have so many friends and readers who are out of work right now. How can they find their next job if they can’t afford to dress for the interview? Our party would be totally fun, but it would be with a purpose!

Things became complicated though when in the middle of party planning, I moved! Could I host a party in my (though larger, still) studio less than a week after moving in? Would people come? Would it be a success?

It was a long and winding road.

First of all, of the 3 dozen invites I sent out - only about half responded. And of those, half my yes’s cancelled at the last minute! At that moment, I sat at my newly moved kitchen table, laden with snacks I had prepared with my own two hands, and began to wonder if this had all been a mistake…

Pictured above is my best friend, Allie - she was a trooper, and came through the rain storm to knock on my door while the bean dip was still in the oven! We began to drink sparkling wine, and were, quite honestly, a little bit buzzed by the time the rest of our awesome guests came!

Above, our new guests are my fabulous friend Amy, and her mom, Mary Lou, who drove all the way in from New Jersey to come. They even brought me gorgeous pink roses!!! We heart them.

As the night wore out, we drank more wine, ate my homemade pizza and dipping sauces - the party was DIP-themed, after all - and played party games!

Not to mention startling confessions!

And, of course, anyone in the “biz” knows that a party is completely dictated by the presents you receive. And thus, the people who made it out to my party received fabulous gift bags as a parting gift.

So, while we did end up with a party of four rather than a party of, say, 40, that is perhaps for the best. I live in a New York City studio! And the goal was achieved - an awesome intimate gathering over cocktails with my besties. Plus, we made a difference…and have hydrated skin!

Of course we all know about Johnson & Johnson, right?  Probably the first beauty products most of us ever used.  They have been around for well over 100 years and are still developing great products.  The one I have been most addicted to of late is their 2-in-1 Shower and Shave Moisturizing Wash.  This is a killer product - a combo shaving cream/body wash.  It is thicker than other bath gel type products and is really lovely.  But that’s not what this post is about.

Johnson’s newest line of body products is the Melt Away Stress line.  This consists of a body lotion, moisturizing body wash and a massaging moisturizer, all with aromatherapy elements to relax your mind.  Lavender is the primary fragrance in their blend, which among other great properties, relaxes your mind and body.  I love lavender - it is one of my favorite fragrances.  The Body Lotion in the Melt Away Stress line is my favorite product here - it is a thick lotion in a pump bottle, and despite soybean oil being one of the top ingredients it absolutely soaks right into your skin, not leaving one tiny ounce of greasiness behind.  That is one of my peeves about lotion - if it stays greasy for awhile, I will have a tendency not to use it, as I have to wait to touch anything for a while, and I cannot stand getting dressed over greasy lotion and having my clothes stick to me.  Ick. 

After the jump is the full ingredient list - you can buy Johnson’s Melt Away Stress lotion through drugstore.com and just about every mass retailer out there.  Added benefit - it won’t kill your wallet - at all.  Each product in the line retails for around $6.

Image:  drugstore.com

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