
There’s something transcendent in the air. Could it be the ungodly heat? The communal joie de vivre catalyzed by international sporting festivals sprinkled across the continent? It feels special to be alive this summer, communing with lovers and friends and foes under the auspices of seasonal sunshine. We’re tired of being told we must constantly self-optimize. It’s summer, honey! Can’t we just reap what we’ve sown?
Here, at the office on Sunset and Highland, we feel no obligation to “glow up,” as it were. We hope our readers are cherishing the season. In hedonism, in piety; in passion, in sorrow; in pleasure and pain and in leisure and with levity, we believe it’s the season of feeling.
So, we present to you: the FLAUNT SUMMER GLOW GIFT GUIDE. All of these pieces have been carefully selected for their unique abilities to aid and abet That Summer Feeling, á la Jonathan-Richman-1994. Perhaps you would like to share a meal with your neighbors unburdened from the worry of toxic metals leaching into your broccolini. Perhaps you’d like to attend a cocktail event exposing a seductive-yet-tasteful slice of side-back, or you’d like to slide your hands through your hair on a dance floor and have them glide through effortlessly, without meeting a tangled mess.
Let’s not push to improve. Let’s push to luxuriate. We need to enjoy this summer. If not…what is this all for?

What better alcohol to imbibe in your season of hedonism than one borne out of a (female!!!) friendship? Avaline is founded by friends Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power with lead winemaker Ashley Herzberg, and operates under the ethos of transparency: Avaline offers a full list of ingredients on the label, and all of their (delicious, crisp, summery) wines are made from 100% organic grapes with no unwanted additives. Avaline, like all great gifts, are best when enjoyed in a group setting. Plus, it’s worth checking out their wine club!

We all want to free ourselves from the confines of our own vices. In the FLAUNT offices, the aforementioned constricting vice is nicotine. Sometimes, there’s nothing more glamorous than fingering a vogue while parsing through article proofs. We’ve discovered, though, that there’s something even more classy about taking a cute tin box from your purse to slip a delightfully flavored nicotine mint under the tongue and continuing about your day smelling like perfume and not tar. Jones Mints (and the accompanying app that offers addiction support) work. We’ve been testing them for 3 months now and couldn’t be happier. Get ‘em for the summer and watch your schedule (and your breath and general mood) free itself.

Let us set the scene. It’s an early evening in late July. You’ve just spent hours in the sun. Perhaps you were on the beach, perhaps next to the pool. Perhaps you were standing in a long line at a pop up because your friend dragged you somewhere you didn’t want to go in the first place! Regardless, you hop in the shower and you’re glowing and you’re in desperate need of a refresher and a place to flirt. This is the dress you wear to attract that kind of energy. It’s lightweight and simple and it has a tantalizing back cutout that leaves a thin strip of fabric running along the spine. You feel incredibly powerful, like a sorceress…or an heiress.

Shiza Shahid, cofounder of Our Place (and the Malala Fund!), knows that cookware is a means to a beautiful, human end, beyond that of a singular meal. Our Place makes for a great gift for a number of reasons. One, because they offer a wide selection of fantastic, high-quality nontoxic cookware that will last long enough to become a family heirloom. Two—because it’s a mission-driven company. Our Place has sustainable packaging and fabrication practices and a great recycling program. We recommend the Vanilla Bean Cookware set for anyone you love or want to love—it’s got a great neutral tone that will fit all kinds of kitchens, and ergonomic to boot!

Keratin Alpha Sleek Line from L’Oreal
What’s inevitable here is that you will be having too much fun and you will let your hair down and you will run around the dance floor with beads of sweat dripping into your hairline. What is not inevitable is the frizz that comes after. All you need is the Keratin-Alpha Shaper and Amino Acid Chain Technology to really get into the inner structure of the follicle to smooth all of that fun down. The L’Oreal line (Yes, a shampoo/conditioner combo, but there’s also a hair mask and a heat protectant available that double down on the science-backed sleekness…)