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The phrase “dog days of summer” not only signals an uncomfortably inescapable August heat, but it has been in use since ancient Greek and Roman times. It came from the ancient observation of the star Sirius, also called the “Dog Star,” which appears in the sky during late July and early August.
The Roman Empire—it has been argued—is constantly on the mind. To date, one of the most underrated series produced by HBO is Rome, a two season epic that details two Roman soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, as they navigate the political turmoil around Julius Caesar’s empire unraveling—the final years of the Roman Republic and transition towards the Empire.
At its inception, Rome had a remarkably high production budget of around $100-110 million for its first season, which made it one of the most expensive TV productions at the time—costing even more than Game of Thrones' debut season, which was about $60 million. Why so expensive? Quality. The production included massive, highly detailed, and authentic sets built at Cinecittà Studios near Rome, renowned as some of the largest and most expensive sets ever built for television.
Quality often costs. Which brings us—inevitably—to perfume. Fragrance, like empire, is a matter of projection. It speaks before you do. Frisson D’Hiver, our iciest creation, wears like a Roman marble bust. It's cool, enigmatic, and impossible to ignore. An ice accord and orange blossom open with a glacial brightness, while lily of the valley, labdanum, and vanilla settle beneath.
There is an irony, of course, to escaping the heat by spraying on “winter.” But in a season ruled by excess, it’s precisely that counterpoint that reads as chic. A sensory contrapposto, if you will.
So whether you’re sipping rosé in Provence, enduring Q3 in Midtown, or watching Rome reruns from a wifi-starved cabin in the wilderness, consider this your permission slip to be Roman about it all: do less, luxuriate more, and let the empire wait. Some of them were experts at it.