While we gladly welcome all this glorious sunshine, the stifling heat and temperatures of over 30 degrees can make it hard to sleep, concentrate or work from home.
So, with temperatures hitting 34 degrees in some parts of the country this week, and today set to be the hottest June day for over 40 years, we're going to need a few things to see us through!
From cooling desk fans and pollen busting air purifiers to compact ice cream makers, cooling bedding and pretty parasols, these are the heatwave essentials you need to be hot weather ready.
1. COOLING FAN
Firstly, get a fan – pronto. You'll need to keep cool while working from home or you'll struggle to stay focussed. When shopping for a desktop fan, consider how much room you have and how it will look in your workspace. By choosing something compact, you can then transport it to your bedroom in the evening, helping you stay cool at night.
We love the chic design of Russell Hobbs' black and wood fan. Also available as a tall pedestal fan.
Russell Hobbs desk fan, £46.99, amazon.co.uk
Or, treat your home office space to a fan that purifies the air while still blowing a breeze. The Desktop Air Purifier from HoMedics filters the air you breathe at home, making sure that 99.0% of airborne bacteria and allergens are removed. This desktop air purifier is ideal for your home office and also discreet enough for your bedside table. It tackles and destroys 99.0% of airborne allergens as small as 0.3 microns such as pollen. Customise your settings by selecting from the three fan speeds. What’s more, this air purifier is super quiet and won’t distract you while you work.
HoMedics TotalClean Desktop Air Purifier, RRP £129.99, available from: homedics.co.uk, Amazon
At the very least, the compact, foldable desk fan from John Lewis has five star reviews – and it saw us through last year's heatwave.
Handheld & Foldable Desk Fan, £12, John Lewis
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2. FRESH AIR
With temperatures soaring, so is the pollen count! The pollen season has become longer and more intense, and during the warm and dry summer months there is also more dust in the air.Whether you suffer from hay fever or not, an air purifier is one of the best things you can get for your home. Believe it or not, indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outside, so keep the air in your home cool and clean.
Blueair’s Classic 205 air purifier removes at least 99.97% of airborne particles such as viruses, pollen, dust, pet dander, mould spores, smoke, allergens and bacteria from the air we breathe. Plus, it's chic, sleek and stylish in design too.
Aside from helping with hayfever and overall health, it also promotes deep sleep and protects your skin from damaging air pollutants. And, clean air is even proven to increase levels of productivity, making Blueair’s compact Classic 205 air purifier the perfectaddition to your home office.
Blueair’s Classic 205 air purifier, £379, blueair.com
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3. HYDRATE
We all know how crucial drinking plenty of water is to staying happy and healthy in the heat. Add some sparkle to your water to encourage you to stay hydrated. A SodaStream transforms dull tap water to sparkling water at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for plastic bottles and encouraging us all to hydrate a little more often.
The SodaStream Spirit starter pack, £99.99 from Sodastream.co.uk
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4. SLEEP
Avoid sweaty, restless nights and swap out your duvet for something more breathable.
The SIMBA Hybrid Duvet features Aerelle® Cool Night fibre which is embedded with semi-conducting minerals that draw heat away from the body, helping you stay comfortable all night long. Don't just take our word for it, it's had 2,115 five-star reviews, including: "Worth the money – the duvet is brilliant in that it regulates you for too hot or too cold, don’t ask me how but it just does", and "It definitely fulfils the brief to keep you cool, which is an absolute Godsend." Plus, it's 100% recycled, hypoallergenic and doesn't use any animal products.
SIMBA's Hybrid Duvet, starting at just £99 for a single or £149 for a double,simbasleep.com
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5. SKINCARE
Don't let your skin get parched. Hydrate your skin – and lather up the sunscreen!
Disciple's Juicy Mist is a must for keeping cool this weather. It’s orange blossom water with neroli and bergamot plus aloe juice and moisture magnet hyaluronic acid which is great for dehydrated skin. Keep in your bag to refresh and revive after a long day or give a morning wake-up spritz.
Juicy Mist, £15, Disciple
You'll also need to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. In the words of Baz Luhrmann, always wear sunscreen.
New Zealand brand Skinnies is a sun protection gel that creates a protective barrier on top of the skin, while also enriched with vitamin E for skin hydration. It rubs on clear, so won't leave any greasy white marks on your face or body. Just a pea size blob covers your face, neck and ears for instant, long-lasting UVA/UVB protection. It's already grown to become the number #1 brand from down under where the sun is hot and sunscreen is used daily...
Skinnies Sungel SPF30, £24.95, skinnies.online
ZO Skin Health's SPF 30 sunscreen comes in powder format in a range of skin shades. The powder promises to maintain hydration, absorb surface oil (minimising shine), give a matte, even skin coverage while also protecting from the sun.
Sunscreen powder, £54 from ZO Skin Health and via medical skincare clinics like the Dr Rita Rakus Clinic in Knightsbridge.
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6. WEAR
Banish sweaty feet for good with some uber-breathable footwear. Mahabis' flow design is a lightweight, breathable luxury slipper, designed to be worn both inside and outside. With a breathable, perforated lining for continuous air flow, it's the perfect footwear for keeping feet cool (and sweat free) in hot weather. The scandi designs come in a range of colours, from ice cream shades of mint, soft grey, cream and pink, to darker shades of black and navy.
Flow slippers, £79, mahabis.com
7. COOL DOWN
Chances are you'll already have several ice lolly moulds hiding amongst your tupperware. But what about an actual ice cream maker? When you say ice cream maker, we usually imagine big, bulky machines that you'll most likely end up using once and then they take up masses of cupboard space the rest of the year. Not anymore! Ice cream makers have modernised, and have become much more lightweight and compact, making it easier to whip out when you want to, then stash away easily as it takes up a minimal amount of room. The American Originals Ice Cream Maker will have fresh ice cream ready to eat in under 45 minutes. It only makes about two portions of ice cream (better for the waist line), and it won't clutter your kitchen.
American Originals Ice Cream Maker, £24.99, available exclusively from Argos.
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8. SHADE
Enjoy some shade in your outdoor space with a gorgeous parasol. We love the colourful designs from the East London Parasol Company, with stunning fabrics, tassels and carvings in unique designs made by craftsmen and artisans in India and Indonesia.
East London Parasol Company’s founder, Lucy Ferguson, was inspired by the decorative parasols she saw in Kerala. She bought her own collection of richly coloured parasols and, on her return to East London, discovered that no time in her garden was complete without one. She still works with the Kerala parasol makers. She designs a new collection each year, working with artisans and modern fabric technology to create unique parasols.
Big Gloria Parasol, £755, eastlondonparasols.com
For al-fresco dining, we recommend getting a sun canopy like the St. Tropez Canopy from Dobbies. It's secured to your exterior wall with the fixing bolts provided, creating a covered outdoor room where you can enjoy being outdoors while still being dry and out of the hot sun.
St. Tropez Canopy £349.99, Dobbies.com
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