A summer body is just a body that happens to notice the weather has warmed up, and that’s about it. After an uncertain year of intense stress at home, and perhaps less exercise and more comfort eating than we might otherwise have engaged in, many of us look different from the way we looked last year. That’s alright.
A body isn’t something to keep stored away like hot weather shorts in a plastic container under the bed during the cold months, while you promise that you’ll probably take it out when the conditions are optimal and your confidence has improved.
It isn’t something to be kept “for best”, and left to moulder away joylessly while you sit covered up and overheated next to an expanse of water, too self-conscious to go in. Your body gets you around, and facilitates the things you choose to do with it, so it should be treated with kindness and consideration.
Bodycare products aren’t a necessity, but they do create regular opportunities for us to appreciate and care for our bodies, and to invest in rather than detach from them.
I've taken great joy in rediscovering the benefits of a bath this year. Being suspended in just-hot water is a wonderful excuse to do nothing whatsoever. Rituals The Ritual of Mehr 2-Phase Bath Oil (€13.90, rituals.com) looks, smells and performs like an infinitely more expensive luxury product. It provides the sort of milky, softening bath water that feels restorative and nourishing to bathe in.
Soft, plump skin feels objectively better than dry, tight and powdery looking skin (as well as looking better). The sensation of bright, healthy, comfortable skin is confidence-inducing, and that doesn't just apply to your face. I keep scrubs to the shower as they can be messy, but Sunday Riley Charcoal Smoothie Jelly Body Scrub (€38 at Space NK) is exceptional. It is incredibly effective without being uncomfortable or scratchy, but sloughs away dead and dry skin leaving you feeling practically reborn in your softness and ready for any products you might want to follow with, like moisturisers or tan.
I find applying a body oil to wet skin in the shower the fastest, tidiest and most effective way to moisturise. It absorbs better this way and doesn't transfer to clothes once you get dressed. There are great oils at every price point, but if you want a decadent luxury purchase, 111 Skin The Vitality Oil (€135 at 111skin.com is beautiful. Its green medley of coriander, marjoram and wild mint is particularly invigorating for a post-exercise shower.
If you feel more comfortable in your skin with less body hair, Heire Hot Wax Kit (€18 at heirewax.com) is a brilliant Irish lockdown launch. The pellets melt in your microwave and dispense with the need for strips, and the vanilla-scented wax is ideal for delicate areas like the bikini line and underarm area.
Product of the Week
Cult Fragrance brand Le Labo is now available online at Brown Thomas, with counters launching at Brown Thomas Dublin and Cork this summer.
