The Essence of Summer
Simple Feel-good Boosts to Promote Summer Hygge
Summers Arrival
As we approach Summer, it’s time to get into the zone and enjoy the ever lengthening days. If we’re lucky, we’ll be watching energetic waves hit a pristine beach, followed by laid back evenings observing the sun, as it gently dips below the horizon, the balmy air touching our skin, perhaps a glass of fizz in hand - yes please!
While we might not all have access to idyllic destinations filled with teasing tropical scents, we can certainly look to create that lightness of a carefree summer in our everyday lives. It could be as simple as some targeted self-care and enjoying the scents of summer fruits. Or, you could look to inject some extra vibrance into your seasonal wardrobe by stepping out of your comfort zone. Whatever you choose, you can capture a clean fresh vibe to match those bright and luminous mornings.
For inspiration around instant ‘pick me ups’ or just a simple boost to promote that feel-good factor this summer, then, read on!
Dress to Impress
With summer fast approaching its time to break out the summer dresses. And yes, I get it, that not everyone is a dress person. That said, there are so many different designs these days, that are both effortless and functional, there’s bound to be a dress that you could definitely consider, if you wanted to step a little out of your comfort zone this season.
If you’re a person, like me, who generally does not wear a lot of dresses, then it’s going to be important to invest in a piece that has a lot of versatility and can work for you in variety of settings, in keeping with your lifestyle.
In addition to that, get to understand your body shape and what will work best, and then perhaps go for something budget so that you can get a feel for what works, investing wisely later.
Tantalising Scents
I often find that there is nothing more uplifting than selecting a new fragrance for the season. Scents I’m loving at the moment include Chance by Chanel – their new Chance Eau Spendide version provides for a lovely summery uplifting scent. The Chance collection comes in various guises, though, so you can pick the fragrance most suited to your personality, be it fruity, floral, intense woody notes or citrus.
Jo Malone Honeysuckle and Davana is another option: “The wildness of honeysuckle, winding through the English countryside. Climbing. Twisting. Ever more alluring after dark. Fresh with rose and the aromatic, fruity twist of davana. Woody with moss. Warmed by sunshine.”
Molten Brown’s Flora Luminare offers up the following: “Transport the senses to languid mornings on an idyllic island with this fragrance. Solar notes of bitter almond soften into neroli and tiare absolute, culminating in a creamy trail of sandalwood and musk.”
For an affordable scent experience when washing the hands, I love Marks and Spencer Watermint & Lemon Basil – it comes in a hand wash and also a lovely body lotion (and other formats too, for e.g. body wash).
For the ‘at home’ facial with a touch of the English country garden, the rich smelling Elemis Rose Cleansing Balm will dissolve all of your make-up while leaving skin wonderfully clean and soft. The scent is divine. While it might seem expensive, it lasts forever and a little goes a long way. It’s also available in black cherry.
Jewellery
Come summer, swap heavier jewellery for more delicate pieces. This will help you to feel lighter and will portray a more refined appearance. Again, this can be something as simple as a string of your favourite crystals on your wrist. For a midrange price point, have a look at Monica Vinader’s sustainable approach to everyday jewellery (100% recycled gold and sterling silver) or the Nordic inspired Dansk Copenhagen.
If you fancy a splurge, you could go for the lovely delicate Chanel bracelet made up of both glass and real pearls from their SS25 Costume collection.
Embrace Colour into your Wardrobe
If you’re like me and wear a lot of neutrals, it might be worth moving out of your comfort zone this season by embracing some bold pops of colour.
And here’s the thing, colour doesn’t have to be scary. My tips for incorporating an accent colour into your styling go from adding a simple lip and nail colour, to incorporating colourful, yet understated accessories. It’s entirely up to you how far you go with this.
When selecting a colour – I’m liking the cherry reds at present, ensure it’s a colour that’s going to be versatile long term rather than just a novelty. How many schemes does the chosen colour fit with in your current wardrobe, for example? Let’s take cherry. For me, it will work with my navy items. (Grab some inspiration from my previous nautical inspired post here:
It will also work with anything neutral as well as with grey and also black. I have all those schemes in my wardrobe, so while it’s a colour that is trending at present, it won’t be redundant anytime soon if I’m looking to build it into my overall style palette.
Second important point - ensure it’s a colour that suits you. If you’ve had a professional colour analysis done, then you’ll have a good idea as to what works for you and what to avoid. Going back to the cherry, I also feel it’s a colour that actually suits me quite well, enabling me to add that extra spark to neutral based outfits during the summer. If I were to look to other trending colours however, like pistachios or butter yellow, I don’t feel they’d work quite as hard for me, if at all. Cherry is going to work cross-seasonally, hence, I concluded that it also works well in the context of a ‘slow fashion’ investment.
If experimenting keep it simple. You don’t have to go overboard. Just a simple accessory like a belt will work well. Remember the ‘everyone needs a friend’ guidance, so while you don’t want to go overboard looking all matchy matchy, you do want to aim for a coordinated appearance, which will mean having two reference points for the colour pop you’re working into the look (as opposed to wearing 4 different colours independently, for example). This could be as simple as a belt and your nail colour, or your belt and some accents on a scarf.
What you might want to avoid is bag, shoes, earrings, necklace all in the same colour as this could present as repetitive and overdone. Subtle is always classier in my opinion, but generally it depends on the look you are striving to achieve.
Don’t want to go quite so far in terms of higher investment accessories? Try a lip and/or nail colour combo. Often this is just enough to give us a much-needed lift in spirits, while also tying a look together.
Sandals
It’s officially the season of sandals, and there’s plenty to choose from. You can go for a pair of fabulous neutral based ones, or an accent colour. Not only can we get really stylish with sandals, they are great for helping us to feel effortless, lighter and airier in the prolonged summer heat - yes I did just get optimistic there!
Again, go for what suits your activities. I find that with an understated breezy summer outfit, just a simple pair of slim Havaianas flip flops can look really stylish when coordinated with the outfit – you don’t have to spend a fortune.
Simple Self Care
Stay Hydrated. Aim to get the recommended two litres of water daily. You’ll need more water if the temperature dials up and don’t forget to protect yourself from the sun. I’ve never looked back since a very good friend introduced me to Frezyderm’s Velvet Technology Factor 50. It leaves a lovely velvet like, matt finish on your skin, which softens fine lines. It’s non greasy and fragrance free. Because it doesn’t feel in the least like sunscreen, it’s a total game changer!
Balance the Hormones
At certain points in life, hormone imbalances can throw us off kilter. Balance yours by getting a little help from your diet. They say to eat a rainbow. This basically means eat as many different colours of fruit and veg as is possible. Grab some inspiration for a diet that can help prevent inflammation in the body – The Anti-Inflammatory Recipe Book by Angela Dowden can help. Give the watermelon, feta and herb salad a go!
Hygge at Home
If you love to lounge in bed on a Sunday morning while the breeze filters in through the window, bringing with it the scent of wildflower meadows (real or metaphorical), then some cool linen bedding could be your thing. In calming fresh white, check out the Santorini collection from The White Company.
Scents to bring the coast to your home? Try the White Company’s Sea Salt candle: “Imagine a warm sea breeze blowing gently across sun-kissed sand dunes. Notes of crisp sea salt and fresh vetivert, with peaceful oakmoss and cedarwood, combine beautifully to uplift the spirits and transport us to a favourite coastal escape.” Sounds idyllic, right?
Stay Positive
Last but not least, maintain a positive mindset. Even if it rains! Hopefully these hacks will help you to maintain optimism whatever the weather, whether that be through colour psychology and embracing uplifting colours, or through scent.
Just small boosts like these can help us to maintain a positive and hopeful mindset and will really help us to get the most out of those long summer days.