The Edit / Beat The Heat

The weather in England is currently overcompensating for its poor show this year, calling to mind the guest who turns up excessively late to the party and spends the rest of the evening conspicuously having fun. Well now we know – despite it being late in the summer with the trees shedding leaves like it’s already autumn, mercurial weather can still pull absurd, heavy, breathless heat out at the drop of a hat.

Unfortunately for its subjects, most of us have to work. Not only work: we have to work while wearing clothes. Decisions have to be made in this department – whether to choose form or function (function for me), or to err on the side of caution under linen or white fabrics by wearing proper underwear that then adds to the unbearableness of the situation (I choose big knickers and overheating a la Bridget).

Here, as ever, products are my friend. When out and about, Elemis Instant Refreshing Gel is stellar. I was found by a colleague with my skirt tucked into my mouth as I frantically rubbed this onto my thighs in the office beauty cupboard last week. It’s indeed instant, but also keeps limbs (and hips and bums and anywhere else you choose to slather it) cool for a good hour after applying.

I also find scent – and high quality essential oils in particular – to be helpful in making me feel refreshed. For this, I’ve currently got Ila Vital Energy Aroma Roller on the go. A swipe deployed every hour at my desk/every fifteen seconds on the tube snaps me out of that overheated fog.

My eyes are troublesome at the best of times (see here for an account of my battle with puffiness), but when heat hits they really want to get swollen, red and dry. My tube of Bakel Cool Eyes is still going strong, but when things get really dire, I swipe an Anne Semonin Eye Express Radiance Ice Cube around my eyes. In essence a ball of frozen serum, this takes down redness and that sense of having sore, heat-addled eyes.

My final tip will only count for the bath-addicts among you. I plop myself into a warm tub of water at least every other day regardless of the weather outside. That said, a potion containing cloves or cinnamon would be pure insanity right now, so I’ve freshened things up with Dr. Hauschka Lemon Lemongrass Vitalising Bath Essence, which I will be using in the mornings when the heat eases off. Until then, stay cool…