According to my memory (because I cannot find the YouTube clip to back it up), in 2002, Halle Berry—showing next-level-glowing skin on the night of her big Elie Saab Best Actress Oscar win—was asked what she did to prepare for her very public display of so much skin. To which Berry replied, “Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate!” And thus began my life pursuit of turning myself into Buffalo Bill’s prime target.

Over the last 12 years, I’ve tried a lot of scrubs, made my own, used scrub gloves, loofahs, even sand, and what I can tell you is that there are a lot of 'exfoliators' that I like. But there is also one that I love. To the 2014 Oscar nominees and to you, dear readers, I’m recommending Caudalie Divine Scrub.

I love the way it smells: a little molasses-y because of the brown sugar and notes of vanilla, a little woodsy because of the cedar, and extremely clean because of the rose and grapefruit. I love the way it scrubs: medium-fine granules that you can feel sloughing off dead skin, but not tearing you apart. I love its consistency: not too oily and not too dry, so you really get the most out of the product (i.e. you don’t lose the exfoliant or the four-oil base to the bathtub drain). And I love the way it leaves my skin: hydrated but not rotisserie-chicken oily. It's like giving a milk bath to an infant.

—Mackenzie Wagoner

Photos by Mathea Millman.