Boston - August 15, 2005

Twenties Somethings

Hot & Flashy Body Products

The Roaring Twenties made a deeper mark on American society than many of us think.

They gave us jazz. Highways. Sound movies. The seeds of urban bohemian chic. And parties so hedonistic, they make the ’60s look like a Bible conference.

And now the decade reaches its dapper hand into this century with the brand new beauty line Hot & Flashy. Created right in our backyard (Pittsfield), the stuff comes wrapped in gorgeous foil-embossed, art deco-inspired packaging.

But the real coup is inside: lemongrass-cedar massage soap jacked up with jojoba beads to exfoliate, body creams full of aloe and cucumber extract, and lip balms sweetened with pear. But whereas the quality and aesthetic of Hot & Flashy may be retro, its attitude is full-on modern — and a little cheeky, to boot. (“Because you’re not crazy,” goes one company motto. “You’re just hot.”)

The prices, meanwhile, are themselves almost anachronistic; nothing in the line is more than $20.

So you can soak up some of that ’20s hedonism without getting soaked.

Hot & Flashy, Copley Flair, 583 Boylston Street, Copley Square (617-247-1648).