PENHALIGON'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING THE GREAT BRITISH SUMMER

The Great British Summer approaches in its predictably unpredictable fashion. There’s the blue skies, of course (and how inviting they look from the office window), but puddles still pool on the pavement from the recent rainfall. Sadly, these summer rainclouds are always more of a promise rather than a thinly veiled threat.

So, how do you solve a problem like The Great British Summer? As fine perfumers who have spent 155 years on this blustery isle, we’ve finally concocted the answer. All it took was a little trial, error, and a sense of humour. Are you with us?

PROBLEM #1:
IT RAINS AT THE BARBECUE ​

The British Barbecue, so competitive a sport it should be considered for the Olympics. It’s a race against time to fire up the grill and get the sausages on the go that sometimes, and more often than not, an ill-tempered drizzle will extinguish all hope before the coals have turned white. The despair that follows is palpable. The chef is never pleased. ​ Spritz the clouds away with Vra Vra Vroom. A radiant burst of optimism with every spritz all but guarantees your own sunshine. The barbecue must go on! Burgers for one and all! Prance in the paddling pool! Has anybody seen my sunglasses? ​ ​

PROBLEM #2:
GETTING DRESSED IN THE MORNING

Honestly, you can’t win. Britain has a peculiar habit of looking warmer than it is, especially down those sun-drenched streets you see from your bedroom window. But turn the corner into the shade and it’s a whole other story. Goosebumps prickle your skin. The tips of your fingers turn blue. Your neck craves the familiar scratch of your favourite scarf (yes, the one you’ve been wearing up until April. You need it back.). ​ You’ve come to the realisation that your summer wardrobe is your winter wardrobe.

PROBLEM #3:
ENDURING BRITISH PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Like summer itself, public transport is a blessing and a curse in Britain. Your spirits couldn’t be higher as you board the high-speed train to the coast, ready to make the most of the rare rays by the beach. Only to find that everyone else in your town had the same idea and the carriage you’re all stuck on – we forgot to mention the delays – is heating up faster than a greenhouse in a microwave. And your portable fan has ran out of batteries. ​ But that, dear countryside dwellers, is far from the sweltering horror Londoners face on the Underground. On elevators that descend deeper than Dante’s seventh circle, Londoners face varying degrees of unbearable each time the tube doors slam shut. The heat? Stifling. The people? Sticky. Hope? A sliver, in the form of A Kiss of Bliss, where happiness is the destination and it is no longer delayed.

PROBLEM #4:
MUD AT THE MUSIC FESTIVAL ​

You came for the music but you’re stuck in the mud. It shouldn’t be surprising, this is Britain, after all. But you were here to throw caution to the wind for a weekend, not fight with the wind while putting your tent up. And finally, when it’s no longer inside-out and upside-down, you crawl in on hands and knees to find there’s already mud on your sleeping bag?! The first band hasn’t even played yet... ​ Pause. Breathe. Pretend the pattering rain is the warm-up act. The muddy footprints? They’re yours, dancing to your favourite song! In the cacophony of inconvenience, find a moment’s peace with A Balm of Calm. The clouds might remain but the gloom will lift.

PROBLEM #5:
SUMMER IS BEING TOO HOT AND TOO COLD

Your relationship with summer is on the rocks, and honestly, we don’t blame you. Hot one second, cold the next. It’s hard to know where you stand. How many more months can you put up with this erratic behaviour? ​ Yes, we’ve listed summer’s flaws. The rainy barbecues, the muddy festivals, the sweltering trains (and the scantily clad neighbours). But Britain bursts to life when the sun parts the clouds; a universal excitement that makes your heart skip a beat. The first lick of ice cream by the beach. The first sip of ice-cold beer in the garden. Longer days, shorter nights. Leaving your jacket at home, finally. ​ It’s a love-hate relationship. But a kiss of Liquid Love will make you fall head over heels (or sandal over sand) for summer all over again. Long after autumn starts to fall...

PROBLEM #6:
A SALVE FOR SUNBURN

Your skin has been tickled pink by Britain’s fickle sun. And, as tempting as it is to tell you one of our fragrances would make this problem vanish, sadly, any fragrance would make this worse. Even we wouldn’t take the joke that far (though we really, really want to)...