June — August
Summer
The open season of light and abundance.
Summer is an argument against moderation. The light lasts too long, the fruit is too ripe, the water is too warm — everything is excessive and correct. The body spreads, the skin browns, the schedule loosens. Productivity is a winter value. Summer asks you to swim.
This season
- Seasonal skincare
- Curated drinks
- Books and films
- Morning ritual
- Slavic holidays
The Products
Summer formulations.
The summer formulations are being prepared. Browse the full collection.
Morning Ritual
How to begin the summer day.
Wake at dawn — summer grants this without effort. Go outside immediately, barefoot if possible. Stand on grass or earth for five minutes: this is grounding, and it works. Swim in open water before breakfast if any is near — a river, a lake, the sea, a cold outdoor pool. If not: a cold shower of at least sixty seconds. Apply body oil after swimming while the skin is still slightly damp and warm from exertion. Eat fruit for breakfast. Work before eleven, rest between twelve and three, and do the rest of your work in the long evening light.
To Drink
Summer in a cup.
Kvass
Fermented rye bread drink — earthy, slightly sour, barely alcoholic. The traditional Slavic summer refresher. Make it from stale dark bread, water, a handful of raisins, and a little honey.
Elderflower Lemonade
Fresh elderflower cordial diluted with cold sparkling water and the juice of two lemons. Add fresh mint leaves and let it sit for five minutes before drinking.
Cold Mint Infusion
A mason jar of cold water, a large handful of fresh mint, two slices of cucumber, and a wedge of lime. Refrigerate overnight. Drink from the jar, outside.
For the Soul
Books.
The Summer Book
Tove Jansson
A grandmother, a granddaughter, and an island. The best short novel about summer ever written.
Housekeeping
Marilynne Robinson
Water, transience, and two sisters. A novel that moves like weather.
A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway at his most honest — Paris, work, friendship, and youth.
To Watch
Films.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Peter Weir, 1975
Heat, disappearance, and the sublime. The Australian summer as fever dream.
Midsommar
Ari Aster, 2019
The midnight sun and what it reveals. Disturbing and beautiful in equal measure.
Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki, 2001
The mythological summer: a child discovering a spirit world in the liminal heat.
Slavic Calendar
Ancient celebrations.
The Slavic seasonal calendar is one of the oldest systems for marking the year. These holidays have been practiced in various forms for over a thousand years.
June 23–24
Ivan Kupala
Иван Купала
The most mystical Slavic holiday — a night of fire, water, and the fern that blooms only at midsummer. Couples jump over bonfires for luck and fertility. Women make flower crowns and release them on rivers to divine their future. At midnight, the brave search for the mythical fern flower that grants knowledge of all hidden things.
How to celebrate
- —Build or attend a bonfire at dusk. Jump over it in pairs — holding hands is traditional, and if the hands stay joined through the jump, the bond holds for the year
- —Make a flower crown from whatever is blooming: daisies, cornflowers, yarrow, chamomile. Wear it all evening and set it to float on a stream or river at midnight
- —Collect morning dew from grass and plants before sunrise — it is considered the most potent beauty water of the year. Use it to wash your face
- —Gather medicinal herbs at sunrise on Ivan Kupala — they are said to hold the greatest healing power of the year at this moment
August 14
Honey Spas
Медовый Спас
The first of three August harvest festivals. The season's first honey is blessed and tasted. Beekeepers open the new honeycombs; the community gathers to share the abundance.
How to celebrate
- —Visit a local beekeeper or farmers' market and buy fresh-harvested honey — taste it mindfully, noticing the flowers of the season in it
- —Bathe in river water with a spoonful of honey dissolved in it — the traditional beauty ritual of Honey Spas
- —Make medovukha (honey wine) to ferment over the coming weeks, ready by autumn
- —Share honey with neighbors and friends — the holiday is explicitly about sharing abundance, not keeping it
Other Seasons