Cure for the August Blues: Luckyscent.com

Ugh. I get why Europeans flee whichever cosmopolitan city they live in for the month of August; I get why Congress is recessing now. August is downright crappy, and that's all there is to it ("Let's Get Rid of August.") Even this year, where June felt weirdly like March, I'm still sick of the muggy/dirty/party's-over vibe of August. Things are bleak. I mean, the death of John Hughes.

But here ends my Eeyore moment: If you are feeling in any way similar, go RIGHT NOW to Luckyscent.com, THE BEST perfume website in creation.

How can you be hot and cranky when there's "Fraaagola Saalaaaaata" (that's Italian for "Saaaaaaalted Straaaaaawberry")? Or the Comme des Garcons Calamus Leaves perfume:"the fragrance of living plants, of freshly crushed stems and crumpledleaves....of a trampled meadow after a wild night of bacchanalia byunruly faeries and wood sprites." Or L'Air Du Desert Marocain?"Imagine finding peace in a room, lying on the bed, exhausted from theheat of the day, with the window open, letting the cool air in whichstill is very dry and filled with the scents from the near desert andoverlayed with the spicy scents of the streets below."

Even better, if you want a hit of whichever one strikes your fancy, they'll mail you a (generous) sample for $3.

*If you are reveling in your mid-August ennui, I recommend the vaguely nihilistic "Rien"—Frenchfor "Nothing"—which has that perfect there-but-not-there, clean-skinnedpowdery scent, with an unplaceable moody undertone.