One of the consolations of summertime, for those of us who don't enjoy heat and humidity and the constant sight of other people's unkempt feet in flip-flops, is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Even I, a dedicated starch-lover, experience a craving for something a little more colorful at this time of year. I'm grateful for the network of farmers' markets that has expanded to urban areas, and for the tiny city-yardspace behind our new home, where my husband and I are making our first attempts at growing a few potted edibles.

Oyin Handmade's Juices & Berries is a spray-on, leave-in conditioner for hair, and it smells like the kind of fruit salad that you can only make at the height of the summer season. It's scented with a mix of natural and synthetic fragrance oils, and it turns out to have a much more appetizing and realistic aroma than many berry-fragranced toiletries on the market. Juices & Berries smells mostly citrus-y if you sniff it directly from the bottle, thanks to a dose of sweet orange oil. (The ingredients list also includes lavender and ylang ylang essential oils, although they're harder to detect.) When shaken up and spritzed into the air, it releases a blend of strawberry and raspberry and apple-like notes, sweet and just a little tart, that has tricked my mouth into watering more than once.

The basic recipe for this conditioner is a blend of flaxseed, aloe vera, and vegetable glycerine, designed to add and retain moisture. I've been spritzing it onto my just-washed hair before I apply other products and reach for the blow dryer. I have a mess of wavy-curly hair that doesn't always cooperate with my styling efforts, not to mention the weather, so I need all the extra help I can get. My hair has been feeling softer and calmer since I started using this conditioner. Juices & Berries has the added incentive of smelling tasty, so I remember to apply it every day; its scent lasts for a minute or two and then gently fades out, so that no one near me will think I'm carrying a stash of fresh fruit with me. Then again, it does put me in the mood for some of the fruitier perfumes in my collection, like Bond no. 9 Bryant Park or Creative Universe Vita, which also appeal most to me during the summer, so I may end up smelling a bit juice-y after all.

Oyin Handmade Juices & Berries Nourishing Herbal Leave-In sells for $11 for 8 fl. oz. I purchased my bottle at Georgia; it is available online at Curlmart and the Oyin Handmade website.

Note: top right image is Summer Fruits [cropped] via Wikimedia Commons.