Creative Responses To Our Friend Humidity

Sigh. July has come to Manhattan and with it, my least favorite thing ever, humidity. When just walking outside makes me feel like a big old head of wilted lettuce, it's time to find some creative solutions. Lush Fresh Handmade Products, the U.K.-based beauty purveyor who uses so many fresh ingredients they put expiration dates and made by stickers on all of their products, recently opened a location in downtown New York on Broadway at 34th Street. I wandered in after a long wait at the DMV upstairs and discovered a brilliant summertime invention on their shelves — freezable bath gel in individual ice cube-sized portions. They took their regular bath gel which comes in a variety of scents and put it inside a plastic sheet portioned into single serving size bubbles. You stick this bad boy in the freezer, then cut of a section or two for the shower, and as it melts enjoy a shot of deliciously cold cleanliness. It's a little S&M, pain equals pleasure kind of experience but is a really a perfect way to end a hot, humid day. There is a caveat — keep the plastic up right or frozen all the time or the bath gel will leak all over the place. I found this out the hard way. I'm also storing it inside a plastic bag, so my freezer doesn't get soap residue everywhere. But when I've used up the Lush product, I think I might dedicate an ice-cube tray for storing regular bath gel to keep myself cool through August and September. That's the part of summer when I upgrade from wilted lettuce to steamed dumpling. It ain't pretty.