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Fan, squirt, and drink your way to a more comfortable summer
BY BRIAN E. O’NEILL
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On the not-so-socially-acceptable subject of sweating, one Victorian wordsmith euphemized that gentlemen "simply perspire" while ladies "merely glisten." Well, during the dog days of summer, many of us find ourselves "glistening" like pigs. But no need to skulk the day away in the climate-controlled environs of home or office. Before you curse your sticky skin and, um, glisten-soaked shirt, try keeping your cool with a personal cooling device. The Squeeze Breeze ($7.99) is a water spray bottle with a powerful fan mounted at the opening, and it’s available at Walgreens. An extra-large filling hole allows you to add ice cubes to your water for added fun. Squeeze Breeze comes in various colors, as well as in a festive baseball motif, perfect for staving off the heat in the Fenway bleachers ... if security will let you bring it in. Cooler heads prevail for those who head over to Brookstone and pick up a Hydro Visor ($15). This perfectly innocent-looking visor sports a special internal compartment that stores temperature-retaining beads. Just soak the beads in cold water for about 30 minutes, load them into the visor, and off you go. If you’re looking to add a bit of peppermint oil or ginger extract to your personal cooling, check out the Body Shop, whose Energizing Face Spritz ($12) is refreshing and fragrant, and even better when the bottle has been refrigerated. Faneuil Hall Body Shop manager Sarah Gibbs says the big seller is the Ananda Cooling Mist ($18), which features peppermint, lemon, and other skin-tingling essential oils. The Body Shop’s Relax Eye Mask ($8) is a gel-filled Lone Ranger–looking device that goes in your freezer ... and then onto your head. It might not be the greatest thing for outside use, but it’s perfect for anytime you want to sit around the house and pretend to be some kind of heat-battling superhero. For the serious heat-hater, the Sharper Image comes to the rescue with the Personal Cooling System 2.0 ($39.95). (What?! You mean you’re still using version 1.0?) Essentially a wearable air conditioner, its horseshoe design wraps around the back of your neck, literally sending shivers down your spine. It works by evaporating a small amount of water and directing the "evaporative cooling" onto your skin. (And it serves a double purpose for anyone planning to masquerade as Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Geordi La Forge next Halloween.) But sometimes it’s not the heat; it’s the humidity — in which case a good fan is all you need. Brookstone offers the Powerful Personal Fan ($15), as versatile as it is effective. With its pistol-grip design, this six-inch fan includes a clip, allowing you to hang it wherever a breeze would be appreciated. A suction-cup base makes it perfect for mounting on the dashboard, desktop, or nightstand. A bit more compact is the Advantage Laser Light Fan with neck cord ($9.95), available at the Discovery Channel Store. The palm-size fan has soft foam "blades" that make it a safe option for kids. And, when all else fails, head to Dunkin Donuts’ for one of its many excellent cold and frozen drinks. Addiction, thy name is "Coolatta." Where to find it: • The Body Shop, various locations; www.bodyshop.com. • Brookstone, Copley Place, 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, (617) 267-4308; CambridgeSide Galleria, 100 CambridgeSide Place, Cambridge, (617) 621-6959. • Discovery Channel Store, Faneuil Hall, Boston, (617) 227-5005. • Dunkin’ Donuts, various locations; www.dunkindonuts.com. • The Sharper Image, Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 262-7010. • Walgreens, various locations; www.walgreens.com.
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