We are delighted to announce that new website for PAIRFUM is now live.

Unfortunately, we could not post during the building of the new site on our News Blog about Home Fragrance but hope everybody enjoys the new layout.

Now that the News Blog is back, you can again look forward to our articles about the following subjects:

• news about couture perfume, home fragrance and scented skin & body care
• ingredients from nature: natural / organic / essential oils, flowers and perfume ingredients, beeswax & bees, natural candle waxes, …
• home fragrance products: reed diffusers and refill oils, luxury scented candles, perfume room sprays, wardrobe sachets, fragrant botanicals, …
• perfumes in all their forms: eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne, …
• skin & body care: hand & body lotions, hand creams, hand & body washes, foam bath, hand soap, ..
  homes & house, interior design & decor, …
• articles about Britain, London, the Queen and Royal Family, …

Don’t hesitate to let us know, if you would like to see us write about a particular subject (couture perfume, home fragrance or skin & body care) that you have a strong interest in.

Our writing always endeavors to be entertaining, surprising, elegant, a personal story or scientific in nature. If you are interested in writing about perfumery / home fragrance / skin care and seeing your work published here on pairfum.com, then do let us know. Here is a link to find our about how you can become one of our authors:

write for PAIRFUM

From all of us here at PAIRFUM, thank you for your patience during the website refresh and we look forward to seeing you again at the home of PAIRFUM.

The Winner

The finals took place from the 11th-13th of June 2015 in Berlin. Congratulations to Alex Choi (South Korea) on winning Fleurop-Interflora World Cup 2015.

Below we are showing some of the stunning floral bouquets created during the competition.

Runner-Up

However, we would especially like to congratulate Neil Whittaker of Great Britain for winning the second prize ! What a great achievement and it demonstrates the strength of floristry in the UK.

These were the five Finalists:

Mehmet Yilmaz, Turkey

Neil Whittaker, UK

Pirjo Koppi, Finland (who came third)

Aritaka Nakamura, Japan

Alex Choi, South Korea

The Tasks

The competitors were assigned various tasks. The theme of the world cup was ‘Freedom’ and few cities symbolise is more than Berlin, considering the devide of the city after the Second World Ware and it re-unification.

The competitors have to prepare three tasks during the competition, as well as performing surprise items.

First competition task: 100% personal

Second competition task: 100% hand-tied

Third competition task: 100% organic

Flower Candle Wax

There is an intrinsic link between flowers and perfume. It is very unusual to find a fragrance which does not contain perfume oils that are flower extracts or derivatives.

Hence, flowers and florists are always close to the heart of PAIRFUM.

To build on this synergy we created here at PAIRFUM the Flower Candle, which uses mimosa wax to boost the fragrance bloom of the candle.

Click below to find out more about the PAIRFUM Flower Candle:

click to see the PAIRFUM Flower Candle

Our bees are being placed in danger again. The chemical manufacturers are trying again to get the toxic and banned pesticides on UK fields. On 19.5.2015, an application was filed asking the government to remove the ban on chemicals ( that kill bees ) for some crops that will be planted this autumn.[1]

Sadly, our bees don’t have their own voice, which is why members of 38 Degrees have raised a new petition against this new application. Already, 38 Degrees has fought for a Europe-wide ban and they wan to ensure it does not get diluted.[2]

PAIRFUM has always supported the wellbeing of our bees and its beekeepers, both in the UK and abroad, and we are asking all of our fans to sign the petition to keep the ban on bee-killing pesticides.

For your information, these potent pesticides, which were banned in Europe last year, are called neonicotinoids. An influential group of scientists advised recently that these banned substances not only kill bees but actually wreak “havoc” with other insects and plants in the countryside.[3]

It is important that we keep protecting the bee population as we know how crucial they are to our life.[4]

New Petition

Please click HERE to sign the petition and send your request to environment minister Liz Truss to protect the bees.

Thank you for your support, from all of us here at PAIRFUM.

PS: Bees pollinate apples, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, cauliflowers, onions, cabbages, broccoli, carrots and many many more of our fruit and veg. Without bees, we would not survive for very long!

PAIRFUM Flower Candle

Here at PAIRFUM we fully support the ban of bee-killing pesticides, as we believe there are more environmentally friendly solutions.

It is quite simple, the more bees are dying out, the less plants and flowers they can pollinate. Hence, the PAIRFUM flower candle supports the ban on bee killing pesticides from the bottom of its candle glass.

click to see the PAIRFUM Flower Candle

PAIRFUM uses by-products of bees in many of our ranges, such as beeswax in our candles and beewax foundation sheets in the honeycomb wardrobe sachet.

click to see PAIRFUM Sachet

NOTES
[1] Farmers Weekly: NFU confirms bid for neonics ban exemption
http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/nfu-confirms-bid-for-neonics-ban-exemption.htm
[2] The 2-year EU-wide temporary ban was effective from December 2013, and will be reviewed later this year. The government can overturn the ban in ‘emergency’ circumstances – chemical company Syngenta sought to do this last year.
The Independent: ‘Victory for bees’ as European Union bans neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for destroying bee population:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/victory-for-bees-as-european-union-bans-neonicotinoid-pesticides-blamed-for-destroying-bee-population-8595408.html
The Guardian: Syngenta seeks ‘emergency’ exemption to use banned insecticide on UK crops
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/25/syngenta-exemption-neonicotinoid-insecticide-ban-oilseed-rape
[3] New York Times: Pesticides linked to honeybee deaths pose more risks, European group says:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/business/energy-environment/pesticides-probably-more-harmful-than-previously-thought-scientist-group-warns.html
[4] Read about 38 Degrees members campaigning to save our bees here:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/tag/bees/
You can read more about some of our friends’ campaigns to protect our bees here:
Bug life: Saving the small things that run the planet:
https://www.buglife.org.uk/
Friends of the Earth: The Bee Cause:
https://www.foe.co.uk/what_we_do/the_bee_cause_home_map_39371/

#royalbaby Made in Britain

Kensington Palace has announced, that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby girl – with the mother and baby both doing well. Something to be proud of ‘Made in Britain’.

The new baby was born at 8.34am today, weighing 8lbs 3oz. William was at his wife’s side during the delivery.

From all of us here at PAIRFUM, we would like to congratulate Kate and William (the proud parents), the Royal Family and the Middleton Family on the birth of the lovely new baby girl, the 4th in line to the throne.

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Baby Names

Possible names for the new royal baby and the latest odds from Ladbrokes on the baby name, now we know the gender:

• Alice 7/4
• Charlotte 3/1
• Victoria 5/1
• Elizabeth 6/1
• Diana 10/1
• Alexandra 14/1
• Alexandrina 25/1
• Anne 25/1
• Catherine 25/1
• Eleanor 25/1
• Florence 25/1
• Frances 25/1
• Grace 25/1
• Katherine 25/1
• Margaret 25/1
• Mary 25/1
• Rose 25/1
• Samantha 25/1
• Sarah 25/1

Our favourite here at PAIRFUM would be ‘Diana’ (another of the ‘Greats Made in Britain’).

#RoyalBabyWatch #RoyalBabyGirl #Royals

 

Every year, the perfume industry assembles to award the famous FIFI awards. The are like the “Oscars” but for fragrances. The first two countries have made their choices and you can read more about them here:

FIFI Awards 2015 (France)

FIFI Awards 2015 (USA)

For us here at PAIRFUM, the stand-out fragrance in France was this year:

‘La Petite Robe Noire Couture’ (eau de parfum, Guerlain)

In the USA, our personal winner is this year: ‘Invictus’ PACO RABANNE (Puig)

What is your favourite fragrance of the year ?

Mother’s Day History

Mother’s Day is a relatively modern celebration which began in the United States in the early 20th century. It was started by Anna Jarvis and was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna held a memorial for her beloved mother in her home town of Grafton, West Virginia.

She first began campaigning to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday in the United States in 1905, the same year her mother,  Ann Reeves Jarvis, died.  Ann Reeves Jarvis was an incredible woman who saw problems in her community and found ways to solve them. She founded the Mothers’ Day Work Clubs in local towns to improve health and sanitary conditions.  Jarvis’ clubs sought to provide assistance and education to families in order to reduce disease and infant mortality. During the American Civil War, Ann and her Mothers Day Clubs declared neutrality and provided aid to both Confederate and Union soldiers. This was just one act amongst a raft of others that Ann performed, but it, above all others, showed what a Mother’s Love truly is:

Irrespective of ‘what’ or ‘who’ we are, Mothers are Mothers the World over!

Anna’s mission was to honour her own mother and to set aside a day to honour mothers all over the world.

Mother’s Day Today

So, … Mother’s day is here again and there are so many ways of celebrating it. It is a time to honour and cherish the special bond of love that you and your mother share. A time to say “Thank You” for being My Mother, the one who gave birth to me, raised me, answered my questions (.. even if I did not like the answers ..), overlooked my failings and celebrated each milestone with me.

My Mother, my ‘Best Friend’, my ‘Number One Fan’ and who taught me what ‘Unconditional Love’ is.

So much to be thankful for ! So, … how do we do it, how do we say “Thank You” ?

Does it really matter? Not really, as long as what we do comes from the heart !

Anna Jarvis’s original intention was to appreciate and honour Mothers by writing a personal, handwritten letter to express ‘love’ and ‘gratitude’.

Times have moved on and most of us cannot remember the last time we wrote a letter by hand.

Whether we use a computer, tablet or a quill, as long as we make the effort and take the time to show our Mother’s just how much they mean to us, then whatever we do becomes the ‘Perfect Mother’s Day Gift’.

Whether it is flowers, a card, a lunch or dinner, a handmade gift or a favourite perfume,… just as long as they are all wrapped-up in a “Big Hug”, then you have the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift – the same gift your Mother has given to you every day of your life: “Love” !

XX