Summers in Boston can be brutal. Once that heat and humidity seeps into the ground, and the subway, it simply sits there, bothering and annoying even in the midnight hour, and stubbornly lingering until October at the earliest. When the days creep into the 90’s, and the sun is not abated by cloud or tree cover, it becomes difficult to cool down, and when you’re trapped among the city blocks of concrete and cobblestone, the only relief is found within the mind.
Such were the warm circumstances in which Suzie and I found ourselves on a recent Saturday walking along Newbury Street. To alleviate the heat, we ducked into the Aesop shop, where the temperatures were cool and the lighting was dim and everything suddenly felt tranquil and calm. So much of being hot has to do with noise and bustle, and if you can master that mental game then the world instantly becomes more comfortable. In this case we also had a big sink with cool water in which to sample their body washes and products. A fan since I purchased their delicious ‘Tacit’ fragrance, they have a number of sweetly-scented items that neither overpower nor overwhelm, and we set about to giving them a try.
Both of us are fans of geranium, which seems to originate neither from the popular annual plant that bears its common name, or the true perennial variety that blooms in subtle shades of purple. It’s a very green scent, herbal and pungent, yet soft and delicate. Cool enough to withstand the summer heat, and bright enough to dispel winter’s darkness. And so it was that I found myself with a ridiculously-pricey pair of products, all worth it in the end when I realized I could pair them so perfectly with the ‘Geranium Pour Monsieur’ fragrance by Dominique Ripion (in Frederic Malle’s exquisite line) that I had in my cologne collection. This is an ideal fragrance to use for the summer months, as it dissipated rather quickly, doesn’t rest heavily on the skin, and is light and bright enough to cut through the humidity that characterizes the muggiest days.
