As with everything in life, Italians do summer with style, creativity, and glamour. Here are 10 ways to add La Dolce Vita to your summer.

1. Watch the show Riviera for style inspiration, mainly the clothes worn by Julia Stiles and Lena Olin. In the U.S. you can watch this show on Sundance Now. This show takes place in Nice, France on the Côte d’Azur. The beautiful dresses are by Gucci, Roland Mouret, Giles Deacon, and more. Here are two articles about the costumes in the show:
The Riviera cast are giving us all the style goals…
Riviera’s Costume Designer on dressing the Smart Set for Season Three of Sky’s hit series

2. Explore the Dolce Diva collection by Italian makeup company Kiko Milano. Summery fresh colors give you that Mediterranean glow. I picked up the Dolce Diva Magnetic Loose Eyeshadow in Lost in Coral, along with Dolce Diva Nail Lacquer in Fine Coral, and Dolce Diva Glam-Lips Stylo in Luxury Magenta.

3. Try luxurious bath and body products from Italian website Mozzafiato. I picked up Rudy Profumi Bath and Shower Gel in Rose along with Perlier Olive Oil Ultra Rich Body Butter. The body butter smells divine.

4. Learn some Italian phrases. They roll trippingly off the tongue. Italian is such a beautiful language. Learn more at this article of Italian phrases for travel. Here is a sampling of the most helpful, along with how to pronounce them:
Hi/Bye (informal) – Ciao – Chow.
Good morning (formal) – Buon giorno – Bwohn-johr-noh
Good afternoon (formal) – Buona sera – Bwoh-nah-seh-rah
Good night (formal) – Buona notte – Bwoh–nah–noh–teh
Good bye (formal) – Arrivederci – Ahr-ree-veh-dehr-chee
Pleased to meet you – Piacere – Pyah-cheh-reh
How are you? (formal) – Come sta? – Koh-meh stah?
Please – Per favore – Pehr fah-voh-reh.
Thank you – Grazie – Grah-tsee-eh.
You’re welcome – Prego – Preh-goh.
Cheers! (To your health) – Salute! – Sah-loo-tay or Cin Cin – Chin chin
Excuse me (for attention) – Scusi – Skooh–zee.
Excuse me (to pass by) – Permesso – Pehr-mehs-soh.

5. Have an aperitivo, Italian for happy hour. For centuries, Italians have enjoyed an early evening drink with appetizers to pass the time before dinner. Says cheers with your friends with a “Salute” or “Cin Cin.” Add some arancini, some olives, and tomato bruschetta and you have a delectable Italian treat.

6. Make a pasta salad. I recently made an interesting tortellini salad by Laura Vitale. It’s an antipasto pasta salad with salami and cheese and many marinated vegetables. It’s quite tasty in small doses. Get the recipe here: Laura in the Kitchen Tortellini Antipasto Salad

7. Adopt an olive tree. For my brother’s birthday this year, I adopted an olive tree in his name from Pomora Italian Olive Oil. You can choose between olives grown by Antonio in Campania or Carmelo in Sicily. We chose Sicily. You get three tins of delicious olive oil every quarter, as long as you’re a member.

8. Buy a new pair of stylish sunglasses. I know I tell you this a lot. But sunglasses look cool, and help protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays. Depending on their shape, they can also help protect the delicate skin around your eyes.

9. Eat gelato while people watching. Enjoy the freedom and fresh air of summer while cooling down with this creamy frozen delicacy. Chocolate and hazelnut are my favorites. But you could also choose vanilla, pistachio, and many fruit flavors.

10. Enjoy the fruits of summer. My Italian father was always eating fruit. All summer long, he would go to the farm market and buy whatever fruit was at its peak — and hot peppers. He always came home with a bag of hot frying peppers that only he could tolerate.

I hope you enjoy this list of 10 ways to add La Dolce Vita to your summer. Whatever you are doing this summer, do it with style. That’s the Italian way.

* I’m not sponsored for any of the products listed above. I purchased them with my own money.