Summer Shopping Guide: Stay cool
Brew your favourite loose-leaf teas, stir in a bit of honey or berries and freeze them in ice-pop moulds for a refreshing – and healthy – treat.
Mastrad Ice Molds, $15 at amazon.ca.
DavidsTea Melon Cooler, $7.98 for 50 g at davidstea.com.
Summer Shopping Guide: Soothe skin
Soothe and hydrate angry, burning skin with calming nutrients like aloe vera. Apply the lotion generously over a few days to ease tight, itchy skin.
Live Clean After Sun 98% Aloe Vera Gel, $8 at mass and drug retailers.
Istitut Esthederm After-Sun SOS, $59 at esthederm.ca.
Summer Shopping Guide: Travels well
Get all your plane-friendly toiletries in one place. This “advent-style” calendar puts the fun in counting down the vacation days, as you open 14 little doors to find samples of everything your face and body will need. Face oil: Check! Hand cream: Check! Shower gel: Check! Shampoo and conditioner: Check and check! The rest you’ll have to find out for yourself.
L’Occitane 14-Piece Summer Treasures, $49 at loccitane.ca.
Summer Shopping Guide: Smells like summer
This summer scent instantly refreshes you in the morning. And the fact that it is made by a French brand just makes it all the more luxurious.
Le Petit Marseilais White Peach & Nectarine Extra Gentle Shower Gel, $5.99 at amazon.ca.
Summer Shopping Guide: Summer streaks sans orange undertones
Yes, please! This hair spritzer provides gradual, gentle lightening, thanks to chamomile and honey. No oxygenated water means no dreaded orange hue.
Klorane Blond Highlights Sun Lightening Spray, $13 at drug stores.
Summer Shopping Guide: Slather on the right kind of oils
Remember the days when oils were used for a better tan. We know better than that, and now we use oils to keep skin healthy. Especially the three oils in this cream: Rosehip oil (high in linoleic fatty acids, the building blocks of healthy skin), camellia seed oil (rich in antioxidants and oleic acid to fight dryness), and black cumin oil (an anti-inflammatory, used by Cleopatra). ’Nuff said.
The Body Shop Oils Of Life Intensely Revitalizing Cream, $34 at thebodyshop.com.
Summer Shopping Guide: Vacation in a bottle
Can’t get oceanside this summer? Channel the feeling with the scent of coconuts. Promising smooth, dewy skin enveloped in a distinctively summer scent, the lotion now comes in a smaller bottle with a flip top.
Jergens Hydrating Coconut Dry Skin Moisturizer, $8 at mass and drug retailers.
Summer Shopping Guide: Shorts-season ready
Did you know that 90 per cent of women have cellulite? And if you do, you are not alone. Thankfully Caffeine stimulates skin, while botanical oils moisturize and plump for a now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t effect.
Elancyl Slim Design, $60 at beautyboutique.ca.
Summer Shopping Guide: Fake your green thumb
Always forget to water your herbs? This planter uses a system known as “wicking” to supply just the right amount of water and nutrients, so you can fill it and forget it.
Indigo Self-Watering Herb Garden Jar, $25 at indigo.ca.
Summer Shopping Guide: Gardening, the easy way
Save your knees from pain and dirt with this convenient and comfy garden tool. Plus there’s less strain on your back when you don’t have bend over deweeding.
Lee Valley Folding Kneeler Stool and Tool Holder, $66 for both at leevalley.com.
Summer Shopping Guide: A bit of schadenfreude to get you through the heat
Sample this tasty bit from Brent Preston’s new book, where he shares the joys and struggles of growing his own food for the first time: “I knelt over the rows of salad greens and started plucking leaves with my fingers, to see how things tasted.. After weeks of struggling to stay alive as the temperature hovered around the freezing point, these guys tasted amazing.”
The New Farm by Brent Preston, $32 at amazon.ca.