I love snow, and all the forms Of the radiant frost
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
Summer has at last become a season I look forward to. Now my year is complete ~ my love of winter doesn't spoil summer for me anymore.
You know those days when all of the seasons visit? Tuesday was one of those days, with a sunny scented morning warm enough for me to mow the lawn in my Ozzie t shirt and bermuda shorts, an early afternoon of cool almost ozonic spring rains turning into a crisp dry autumn chill, and a night that revisited winter with the temperature steadily dropping and not stopping until it felt like December and made us turn the heat on in the house.
Tuesday, May 20th: Chedwick discovers Lavanila's Vanilla Coconut. The box says it is good for you, not tested on any animals, gives you anti-oxidants and nurtures and hydrates your skin. In fact it works overtime to nourish your skin. Well, it smells incredibly good, the slightest hints of Tahitian gardenia, fruit extracts and sugar cane are present for a while at the heart, but the fragrance is so vanilla and coconut delicious, it feels like summer at the beach ~ the suntan oil on your skin part anyway, and it's gourmand enough to cheer you up on a cold day. Finally it's not a kid's scent, having just enough sex appeal to avoid that. There are other 'flavors' ~ Their Pure Vanilla has patchouli, Vanilla Grapefruit has a sweet grapefruit with a gentle bite, Vanilla Blossom is scented with rose and orange blossom. Price-wise it costs about $10 less than most of what you find at the fragrance counter at Macy's. Since I got so much perfume for Christmas, Valentines, my birthday, anniversary, and Mother's Day, I had no plans to spend my own money buying any. I just went to Sephora to sniff stuff as usual. But this suckered me in. All those promises. I bought a bottle and have been using it every day since. Friends & family have been sniffing me more than usual... hovering and sniffing, giving very positive feedback. And they are a brutally honest bunch. If something bores them, they are happy to say so. If they dislike something, they don't want me wearing it.
But now SUMMER, the weather man said, cannot and will not be stopped. From now (Memorial Day Weekend) until you cannot take another day of it, it will be hot and sunny. Do I listen to the weather man? Like you, I know better than to trust him. Summer will be whatever it wants to be, like always.
Whatever happens, I plan to spend the summer pampering my body and soul with this Lavanila stuff. It says I can right on the beautiful art nouveau 100% recyclable box! It promises to give me 30 essential vitamins and minerals and 19 amino acids. I fully expect to look & feel younger & healthier by August.
top photo by Ched: Outside a Donegal Shop
perfume photo: Ched sniffing Lavanila (made in Los Angeles, (hence the name) available at Sephora and other places probably.
