Heatwave Handbag Essentials

The Poodle knows....there has been a blog post famine for the past couple of weeks, but let's be honest - if you've been in London or Paris lately the chances are that you haven't been online so much anyway! That's because it's been hot hot HOT! And when the grey skies of Paris and London reveal clear blue and sunshine, the only thing to do is get out there and enjoy it!

So I know you'll forgive the Poodle for neglecting the net for the real world for a couple of weeks!

The sunshine has also given me a chance to just get to grips with heatwave city essentials that are going to keep you fresh on the metro/tube and keep you looking, smelling and feeling fresh... So where I may have been a little quiet, the truth is that the Poodle is forever undergoing intensive research trials in the quest to bring you the must buys of right now.

The Poodle's guide to How to be a hottie, not a hot mess!

My findings:

City heat and the sardine effect on the metro can only lead to sweating en masse with your fellow commuters and city sharers, so the Poodle has put together a heat wave handbag list that will keep you sorted throughout a city summer!

1. First things first, to freshen up make sure your handbag is equipped with Dove's Body Wipes which will banish any beads of perspiration. Lightly fragranced and extremely refreshing, Dove's Body Wipes also care for your skin, so it refreshes perfectly without drying your skin.

2. Next up, you're going to need a handbag friendly fragrance that smells just great in summer. For an instant spritz of floral freshness the Poodle suggests Gucci's Flora eau de toilette with its citrus top notes and peony and rose heart, it's a breezy, easy fragrance that isn't overpowering. It also comes as a deodrant for only £24 which the Poodle thinks is just great - when it comes to fragrance, matchy matchy is always more pleasing!

3. You are definately going to need water, but we all know that plastic water bottles are just helping to clutter up the planet, so go for a reuseable, stylish, refillable wottle instead which is eco friendly and in the water bottle stakes, far superior to the average evian screw top, after all it is designed by Orla Kiely! And if the green sixties leaf print doesn't go with your Furla, then try the streamlined SIGG travel water bottle in red, from £9.95 at http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/ :

Made from a single piece of aluminium, its durable, cooling and looks pretty cool too!

Last but not least, to survive summer in the city, the Poodle believes that floaty dresses, short shorts, playsuits and flat sandals are all essential for heatwave happiness. Fashion can be your friend in summer, but the more you expose, the more grooming you're going to need to do, so invest in a full leg wax and some nourishing body oil so that whatever you bare, you can make sure it's beautiful...

Introducing your new friend:



Usiku Body Oil by Jo Wood Organics, is a multi award winner and at only £10 you can't go wrong - your skin will love you for it! With organic calendula, echinacea and vitamin E, this is a melody of lovely, natural, essential oils and plant extracts to slaver on your sun parched pins! Enjoy!

Deckchair image from http://s3.amazonaws.com/metrotwin_production/photos/28907/sunshine_large.jpg