I love summer, with its early morning clear light that quickly turns hazy and warm. Golden hot sun bakes the patio and there is a constant buzz in the air from the bees making their rounds through vividly colored snapdragons, larkspur, day lilies and hollyhocks in the garden. The work pace slows down, water cooler breaks are more frequent, with perhaps even an afternoon espresso break allowed this time of year — a nod of thanks to our European friends across the pond.
Yes, summer is good. And for some of us, summer also brings back fond memories of the beach — gathering shells, dodging the waves, rolling in tired but happy at the end of a long day outdoors, with that slight salty pungent tang on our skin. And it seems that the home fragrance industry agrees. There are an abundance of products on the market designed to elicit sensations of turquoise water and palm fronds, dried up drift wood and tangy sea salt. Today I am going to review two home spray fragrances in this category: Azur by The Thymes, and Aqua by Antica Farmacista…
Recently, I’ve come across many articles online and in magazines informing me that the scents men fancy most are (in no particular order): vanilla, cinnamon, licorice and pie (apple and pumpkin being favorites). Though I will happily eat a cinnamon roll, a slice of apple pie and/or a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream, I avoid sweet-foody room fragrance products that smell of cake icing, lemon sorbet, or crème brûlée. (The gist — dessert on a plate: GOOD; ‘dessert’ in a bottle or candle: BAD.) So when I received