A short poem about the meaning of Easter by Edmund Spenser (c. 1552-99):
“Easter”
Most glorious Lord of Lyfe! that, on this day,
Didst make Thy triumph over death and sin;
And, having harrowd hell, didst bring away
Captivity thence captive, us to win:
This joyous day, deare Lord, with joy begin;
And grant that we, for whom thou diddest dye,
Being with Thy deare blood clene washt from sin,
May live for ever in felicity!
And that Thy love we weighing worthily,
May likewise love Thee for the same againe;
And for Thy sake, that all lyke deare didst buy,
With love may one another entertayne!
So let us love, deare Love, lyke as we ought,
—Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.
A Poem by Edmund Spenser (c. 1552-99)
Comment:
In medieval England and into the Elizabethan era, Easter was a more important religious festival than Christmas.
In his poem, Spenser writes about the love of Jesus Christ and sacrificing himself on the Cross for humanity.
He reflects, we should take our ‘lesson’ from Christ and practise love towards one another.
This religious poem even becomes romantic at the end.
Ideas from our perfumer, that are simple and yet effective on ‘how to make your perfume last longer’.
It can be very disappointing, to say the least, when you have spent your Money, Time and Energy choosing your perfect or preferred perfume for the day, only to then discover that the scent has disappeared or is very faint shortly afterwards,
Thankfully it doesn’t have to be that way.
Here are 10 x Top Tips from a Perfumer how to make perfume last longer and what you can do to enhance your scent to help it linger all day.
Enjoy Your Fragrance For Longer:
Store your favourite perfume in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight. Light and heat will cause your fragrance to deteriorate, in terms of quality, longevity and colour.
Apply an unscented moisturiser or lotion to the areas on your skin where you plan to spray your fragrance. The lotion will ‘bind’ the fragrance to your skin and make it longer lasting.
Apply your perfume onto your pulse points plus your wrists, behind your knees and on your ankles.
Don’t press your wrists together as the friction will stimulate the evaporation of the light top notes. Top notes are usually light and fresh.
Fan or open your hair and spray fragrance lightly into it. Your hair will cover the perfume to reduce its evporation and yet every time you move during the course of your day, your perfume will come to the fore.
Choose a fragrance that works with and for you, if possible opt for an ‘Eau de Parfum’ rather than the lighter ‘Eau de Toilette’ or ‘Eau de Cologne’. It may cost more initially but it is better value for money in the long run, as ‘Eau de Parfum‘ contains a higher concentration of oils that will last longer on the skin.
Spraying or Spritzing on to a favourite scarf or subtly on your clothes is also an excellent way way to retain and surround yourself with your chosen perfume. However be very careful not to spray too much and from a very close range, as the oil in the perfume can stain fabrics. Maybe a better way would be to spray the air and walk through it.
Apply your Perfume following a shower when you have finished moisturising your skin (preferably with an unscented lotion or oil), and just before dressing, as it will adhere to your skin and clothes, and release slowly with your movement and body temperature during the day.
Layer your perfume during the day. The Pairfum London Collection is designed to be layered or worn as standalone Fragrances. One way is to choose your ‘Morning’ fragrance and then choose a complimenting Perfume to refresh with during the day. This also allows you to create your own unique signature scent and the only limiting factor is your imagination.
The most important ‘Tip’ is to choose a Perfume that you love and that loves you back. In other words, find a Fragrances that complements you and you know you have got it right, when you get compliments.
AnPost, the Irish Postal Service, is running a campaign under the slogan “Céad Míle Hugs” to send 100,000 Hugs via a postcard.
The campaign is based on the famous Gaelic saying, ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’, which translates to ‘one hundred thousand welcomes’. ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ is the Ireland’s global greeting reflecting the counrtry’s global reputation to extend a warm welcome to all visitors.
AnPost created the ‘Céad Míle Hugs’ campaign to raise funds for the Children’s Health Foundation and Cork University Hospital Charity, both in Ireland.
We believe this is a wonderful project and would like to invite all of us to send “Love, Hugs and Kisses” to those that need it.
This could be family, friends, colleagues or anybody that we feel needs to know how much we think of or feel for them.
What do you need to send love, hugs, and kisses?
Who would like to send love, hugs and kisses to? The minute you start thinking about this question, there will many relations, friends and acquaintance that you lost touch with during the Pandemic.
St. Patrick’s Days is a wonderful occasion to pick up the thread and revive the connection.
Nowadays, if you want to send love, hugs, and kisses to someone who is far away, then all you need is an email address. The internet has made it easier for all of us to stay in touch with those that live far away from us, especially when we don’t have the time to travel.
Don’t wait or put it off, send some love, hugs and kisses today.
Send a Personalized Video or Greetings Card
Video messages are ideal to send a personalized and different kind of Greetings Card.
You can record a video with your own voice and send it to someone as a gift or just for fun.
There are many different websites that offer this service but you can also just pick up your mobile and use Whatsapp to send a recorded voice message.
A quick search on the internet will also offer many options to send a personalised Greetings Card through the post, the traditional way. We all love to receive a wonderful, thoughtful greetings card in the post. Wouldn’t you agree?
So, what are you waiting for? Get your St. Patrick’s Day greeting cards today and send Love, Hugs and Kisses.
St Patricks Day – An Irish Celebration
There is no better time than St. Patrick’s Day to be Irish and to be in Ireland!
It is one of the most popular and well-known Irish celebrations. It is a day to celebrate Irish heritage and culture, as well as the arrival of spring.
Here are some places you can go to enjoy the festivities, should you be visiting Ireland on this day:
-The Dubliner: This pub has been around for over 25 years and has become a popular destination for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. It offers live music, drink specials, and an authentic Irish atmosphere.
-The Dublin Bay Pub: This is an authentic Irish pub that provides live music every day of the week in addition to a full menu of food items like fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash etc., in addition to traditional Irish fare like corned beef or soda bread with butter.
-The Brazen Head: This pub is situated in Dublin’s Temple Bar, and offers live music, drink specials, and has an Irish atmosphere.
-The Liffey Side Pub: This traditional Irish pub features live music, drink specials, and offers a full menu of food items like shepherd’s pie or fish and chips.
-Paddy’s Pub: The Paddy’s Pub is an Irish pub situated in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighbourhood and offers live music, drink specials, and has an Irish atmosphere.
-The O’Reilly’s Pub: This pub is situated in The Liberties area of Dublin, which features live music, drink specials, and has a full menu of food items like Shepard’s Pie or Fish
What Do People Wear For St. Patrick’s Day?
Wearing a shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day is a Must!
After that, people usually wear green clothes, hats, scarves, shoes or colour their hair green. There is literally no limit to your creativity of how you can turn out in green.
If you don’t own anything suitably green for the occasion, there are many ways to dye clothes, hats green. For example, you can use green food colouring, paint the clothes with a green dye, or use a spray-on dye.
As perfumers, we recommend wearing a ‘green’ Eau de Parfum for the day. Our perfumes are natural and the ideal fragrance would be Bergamot, Basil & Patchouli.
How To Throw A Traditional Irish Celebration At Home
If you are not so lucky to be in Ireland and when there is no St. Patrick’s Day parade nearby, you might want to think about how to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at home and to invite family & friends around for the occasion.
What food and drinks should serve and how should you decorate your home for the occasion?
Here are few customary, Irish dishes that you need:
Corned Beef & Cabbage: This dish is a staple on Saint Patrick’s Day tables in Ireland. The corned beef and cabbage is served with boiled potatoes and carrots.
Guinness Beef Stew: This stew will warm your heart and fill your stomach with beef, potatoes, carrots, onions and Guinness beer. It is hearty and delicious!
Irish Potato Soup: This hearty soup has a base of potato, onion, carrot, celery, bread crumbs and broth. It will fill you up while tasting like you are going to Ireland.
Whiskey Chowder: If you love seafood chowder then this soup is for you ! It has a whiskey base and shrimp, clams, pot boiling water, bay leaf and salt.
Chicken Pot Pie: This an Americanized Irish dish on the list but it is still worth trying! The pie crust is made with buttermilk dough and filled with chicken dumplings in a rich cream sauce.
Breakfast Irish Style: Who doesn’t love having a little taste of Ireland in their morning meal?
Irish Stew: A traditional Irish stew recipe, this dish is made with lamb, carrots, onions and celery seasoned with salt and pepper.
Irish Soda Bread: Think of a traditional Irish dinner without the beer? Well this is your answer! This is an easy bread recipe that only takes about 10 minutes to make.
Irish Coffee: A traditional Irish coffee recipe that only takes 5 minutes to make and perfect finale to the dinner.
Crock Pot Irish Stew: A classic stew recipe that is made with onion, celery, celery seed, carrots and lamb. This stew is slow cooked for about 6 hours.
Bonus: you should really serve some green food, e.g. a salad with green leaves
In terms of drinks, you have to offer Guiness or a green beer! After that, any and all Green drinks are perfect, regardless of whether they are non-alcoholic. How about a green Smoothie?
What can you decorate your home with?
Anything and every green
Shamrocks to leprechauns
a Celtic Cross.
green candles: we have a wonderful choice of natural and eco-friends (‘green’) soy wax candles and the fragrances perfect for St. Patrick’ Day would ‘SPA’ or ‘Pink Powder & Violet’.
green plates, napkins, cutlery and green bunting.
green flowers
green curtains or drapes
In terms of entertainment, there has to be some Irish music. People like to dance on St. Patrick’s Day!
St. Patrick’s Day celebrated on March 17th, and is a day for remembering Saint Patrick and his contribution to Ireland.
The origins of St. Patrick’s Day can be traced back to the fifth century when Saint Patrick was sent by Pope Celestine I to convert Ireland to Christianity.
Saint Patrick lived in Ireland for most of the remainder of his life, during which time he established churches and ordained priests, converted wealthy landowners, distributed food, taught people how to read and write, and did many other things that helped the Irish people become Christians.
With this in mind, the Irish donate to Charity on St. Patrick’s Day, as a way of saying ‘thank you’.
What about the Shamrock?
A shamrock with four leaves is traditionally used to represent the Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity because it looks like three leaves and one stem.
In addition, the three leaves and one stem look like a person’s hand, which is an ancient symbol of prayer because it represents the hand of God blessing people.
A Traditional Irish Blessing
We would like to close this post with a most traditional Irish blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Happy St Patrick’s Day
Ireland St Patrick Day 2020 Famous Buildings Green 1
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Scientific Research shows that nearly 60% of us are struggling to sleep well and yet we all value a Good Night’s Sleep.
Sleep is as important for your body as a healthy diet or regular exercise and poor sleep has been linked to weight gain and heart disease amongst other long term health conditions.
The effects of ‘lack of sleep’ are immediate, both physically and mentally, and it can become hard to concentrate. Over time this can lead to further worries about the lack of sleep, with ever decreasing circles that can end in anxiety or even depression.
It is important to take steps to improve the quality of your sleep as soon as possible. Start and create a routine and have a `bedtime’, a regular time you go to bed.
Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg, a director at the AASM, recommends adopting healthy sleep routine and suggests the following tips to address short-term insomnia:
Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations.
Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed.
Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.
Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
Avoid consuming caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.
Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.
Our recommendation is to invest in a good sleep spray and spray your pillow and sheets before you go to bed. The blend of Lavender, Chamomile and Neroli is scientifically proven to aid with falling asleep.
Following as many of these Tips as you can, gives you the best chance of getting a Good Night’s Sleep, even at times when it is difficult.
On this Valentines Day, give your partner a special kiss and model it on some of the world’s famous kisses.
Here are some of our favourites.
On Screen Kisses That Didn’t happen
What more is there to say about Scarlett and Rhett’s almost-kiss in “Gone with the Wind”. “You need kissing badly” Clark Gable tells Vivien Leigh.
The kiss that was cut from the film because it was too risqué. Deborah Kerr tells Burt Lancaster in this scene: “I never knew it could be like this. Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.”
Historic Kisses
This photo of the End of Word War II being celebrated emphatically by a soldier and a nurse travelled the world.
The Obama’s kissing during his inauguration.
The Socialist “Fraternal Kiss” between the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the leader of East Germany, Erich Honeker.
First Royal Kisses
In 1981, the newlywed Charles and Diana, started the tradition of the balcony kiss. Sadly it turned sour in the end.
Will and Kate’s kiss captivated the word: Fairy tales do exit, even if the flower girl might not be impressed.
Artistic Kisses
Gustav Klimt famously depicted this loving kiss around 1908 of embracing couple surrounded by regal gold robes, … most sensual.
In 1182 Auguste Rodin depicts this embrace between an Italian noblewoman and her husband’s younger brother. Sadly, both were killed by the husband.
The Steamy Kiss
These photos may not be famous but we all know the ‘steamy kiss’.
The ‘Mandarine Orange’ is a sweet, juicy citrus fruit also named ‘Mandarin’ or ‘Mandarine’. Read about why they are the scent of the Chinese New Year.
The role of Mandarine Oranges in the Chinese New Year !
The mandarine orange is a native of China and an important symbol of Chinese traditionanl culture, a symbol of ‘good fortune’, with a significant sacral meaning during the Chinese New Year festivities.
Mandarines are symbols of the New Year and the expected positive changes. The shape and colour of mandarines symbolise the Sun and connects with the yang principle (the positive and generative force of nature). A symbol of good fortune, luck and success, mandarines are exchanged between families, friends and colleagues as offerings of goodwill during this time of festivities.
These richly coloured fruits (orange / red / gold) are placed on the family alter in a large pile during the Chinese New Year celebrations and are synoymous with prosperity and wealth. For the same reason, potted plants, rich with hanging mandarine oranges are a favourite indoor decoration during this festive season.
In Cantonese, mandarine are named “gut”, meaning “the lucky tree.” It is an ancient New Year tradition of the Chinese to place pairs of mandarines and red envelopes with money, beside the pillow of every child, in the box with the New Year treats and above the rice container of the home. It is believed this will bring good fortune to the house and its family.
The Chap Goh Meh Festival, the 15th day of the lunar New Year, marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities and serves traditionally as a day for matchmaking. Young girls throw mandarine oranges into the rivers in the hope of gaining a husband by honouring the full moon. Likewise, young men line the streets straining to gain a glimpse of these young ladies who were normally not permitted outside in days gone bye.
Other uses of Mandarine Oranges in China
The essential ingredient in many Chinese sauces is the dried peel of the mandarine orange due to its wonderful citrus oils and other aromatic notes that will richly perfume any dish and remove any oily taste.
On the other hand, in traditional Chinese medicine, the dried peel is used to regulate the flow of the energy of life ( or chi ). Natural philosophers in Old China prescribed the peel as a medical remedy to reduce phlegm, treat abdominal problems and to stimulate healthy digestion.
Mandarine Orange in Perfumery
Peel away the rind of a mandarine orange and out bursts a tempting mix of citrus oils with hints of cloves, ginger, jasmine and orange blossom. There are also undertones of star anise and saffron.
In perfumery, mandarine essential oil is greatly valued in the top notes of many light floral accords and colognes, for its invigorating, juicy sweet and fruity note but also its sensual, floral, neroli-like trail. The essential oil also blends harmoniously with other citrus oils and with many spice oils (nutmeg, cinnamon, clove).
Here at PAIRFUM, we are proud to introduce our new ‘pink grapefruit’ fragrance which contains mandarine essential oil. The addition of mandarin orange oil to the grapefruit accord makes this a truely great fragrance. It is indeed the perfect fragrance for the Chinese New Year.
‘Pink Grapefruit’ is available in the following luxury scented candles and reed diffusers:
Reed Diffusers (petite, classic and large size and in the bell, cube and tower shapes)
Reed Diffuser refill oil
Snow Crystal Candles (classic and large)
Soy & Flower Wax Candle
Message Candle
Other fragrances within the PAIRFUM Collection that exhibit notes of mandarin essential oil are the following perfumes :
‘Mandarin Blossom & Sandalwood’
‘White Nectarine’,
‘Pink Powder & Violet’, and
‘SPA’
Happy Chinese New Year
We would like to wish all of our customers, partners, friends and families a Happy Chinese New Year.
This fragrance opens with the sparkling interplay of the aromas of Black Cherry, Bergamot, Red Berries and Nutty Almond. The heart is a most elegant fusion of Oolong Tea, Bulgarian & Turkish Roses and Liquorice. The sensuous base rests on Aniseed, Tonka, Iris and Patchouli.
This rich, passionate fragrance opens with Lime & Mandarin, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Clove and fruity hints of Cassis. At the heart of this accord are spicy White Lily, Rose and Orange Blossom. A sensual base of Tonka, White Oud, Cedar, Santal and Amber rounds off this creation.
