Today, the 22nd of April, is “Earth Day” around the world and in its honour, people are sharing their passion & support for our wonderful planet with inspirational photos.
This year’s theme is “protect our species” and it is the 49th celebration of this day.
Perfumery, Nature and our Planet are intrinsically linked, which is why this day is very close to our hearts here at Pairfum London.
We would therefore invite everybody to celebrate the beauty of our planet today through your noses!
On a few occasions today, we invite you to slow down for a second and to look at what is next to you:
Take in the beauty of what you see and ‘nosy’ around to take in the scents that are close to you.
This is Earth Day through the eyes (or nose) of a Perfumer.
In this post and as one way to illustrate the close link between perfumery and our dear planet, we have linked images of individual fragrance ingredients with their olfactive groups, i.e. a visual ‘bridge’ between nature and perfume.
We are often asked: What is Niche Perfume? So, … we decided to share with you our Top 10 Things that define a niche fragrance.
If you are one of those people who have heard the terms Niche Perfume, Artisan Parfum, Indie Scent or Boutique Fragrance bandied about and wondered what they really mean, then you should read on.
You are not alone, as we receive emails regularly from people wanting to understand what we or others mean when they use these terms.
There are specific elements that define a niche fragrance and set it apart from the Mass Market Brands we are accustomed to from Couture Houses and Designer Labels.
Although, when you define a niche fragrance, these lines become sometimes blurred when large worldwide brands describe their offerings as ‘Niche’ or introduce ‘Private Collections’. The fact that a product is available at every Airport, in every retailer and on every High Street worldwide would by definition exclude it from being considered a Niche Creation.
We equally believe a Niche Fragrance House that is owned by a global corporation no longer qualifies as being Niche. The list is long of these small perfumery houses that were bought-out. Examples are Jo Malone, Creed, Frederic Malle, L’Artisan Parfumeur, … It is not easy to spot these ‘Niche Wannabees’.
So when looking for a genuine Niche or Artisan Fragrance, the list below will help you to separate the true Niche from the ‘Niche Wannabee’
Well the following are our Top 10 Things that Define a Niche Fragrance:
A Perfume House, founded by a Perfumer who’s wish is to create Unique Fragrances – like the original Fragrance Houses of Old
An in-house Perfumer, that is unencumbered by the restrictions of mass consumerism, and is allowed to recreate the ‘artistry of the unique’ in luxury fragrances.
Limited Availability – not on sale in every shop, store and airport worldwide.
Art and Creativity – like Painters, Poets, Writers, Chefs, Wine Makers, Gardner’s, Designers, as the founder of PAIRFUM London Huib Maat said “Who would want to create a copy of the same thing again and again if they have the ability and creativity to create an original? – no true Artist would”
The use of Natural, Unusual or Unique Perfumery ingredients and Accords, i.e. note combinations.
Selective approach to Distribution – not available everywhere
A different approach to PR & Marketing – where the best form of advertising is – through ‘Word of Mouth’ passed from one Fragrance Aficionado to another ( and with a little help from the right type of Magazine article)…
With the attention to detail given to the creation of a Niche Perfume, it assures the wearer that the Perfume is of the highest quality.
Something that is rare is always more precious – Clientele will seek out and love something different – because we were born unique – so why not celebrate it..
Not owned by a global, multi-national Corporation or produced on a large scale factory floor but in small batches and independently owned.
Keep these in mind when shopping for Niche Fragrances.
Pairfum London’s in-house Perfumer Huib Maat created our collection of Natural Eau de Parfum Intense and we also introduced the Perfume Experience Box to try and sample these exquisite creations.
We are frequently being asked: “How do you smell perfume?”
Today on day two of National Fragrance week, organised by the Fragrance Foundation, we are taking a look at (and not for the first time) how do you evaluate or test perfume?
It may seem that the obvious answer is “with your nose” – and in a sense (no pun intended) that is correct.
However, there is so much more to smelling a perfume, than simply taking a sniff …
In an earlier post we discussed how as individuals we have an olfactory blueprint that is totally unique to us.
So, … how we smell perfume or interpret a fragrance or note, will be as individual and unique as you are..
We know that memory formation is linked to our sense of smell.
So if you think how different your life’s experiences or your life’s road map has been when compared to those around you, it explains why some of us love certain notes while others may loathe them…
With National Fragrance Week now underway, what better time to try new Fragrances or Notes and evaluate them as only You can.
From everyone here at PAIRFUM London we just want to say “Try it, Enjoy it” and “Be Your Authentic Self”.
International Women’s Day was first organised by the Socialist Party of America in 1909. In 1910 it was proposed to celebrate it annually every year on the 8th of March.
In some countries International Women’s Day is a public holiday, in others it is a day of protest, however for the most part it is largely ignored.
The fact that we need to have or celebrate an International Women’s Day in 2019, points to the fact that Women over the World do not yet have equal rights. The World Bank has just released a study that found ‘Only Six Countries’ have equal rights for men and women,
YES! you read that correctly only Six countries – just in case you are wondering ‘Who’ these six countries are? then I would hazard a guess that the answer will surprise you as much it did us….
They are – Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden. The surprise was not that these countries have equal rights, the surprise was how many names missing from the list… are from the countries so many of us are proud to call Home.
In this quote, Warren Buffett highlights his view on the potential equal rights for women offer our society: “It’s one of the things that makes me optimistic about America because when I look at what we have accomplished using half our talent for a couple of centuries, and now I think of doubling the talent that is effectively employed — or at least has the chance to be — it makes me very optimistic about this country,”
So from everyone here at PAIRFUM London we want to wish every Woman, who ever you are, what ever you do and where ever you are in the World – “A Happy International Women’s Day”, because without YOU this World would not exist xx
One of our favourite ‘health tips’ is that you can boost your health, mood and memory through the use of perfume.
Did you know that your sense of smell is the strongest of all the five senses as well as being the oldest ?
Or, that 75% of all emotions generated every day are due to smell? Just think about that for a moment… 75% of how you have felt or the emotions you had during a single day were due to scent !!
The reason for this, is that it is the one sense most connected to memory and emotion, and research has proven that we are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell over something we see, hear or touch.
Again, if you think about this for a moment – we are 100 times more lightly to remember something we smell over something we read, see or hear…. and yet we spend years in an education system that teaches us to remember important information, without ever using the strongest sense we have ‘Smell’ to help embed this information into memory…
Mother Nature designed our sense of smell to be the one sense to go directly to the fore brain without going to the thalamus, and one of the most obvious reasons for this is that the information our sense of smell provides us with is so important to our survival, that it needs to reach our brain in as fast a time as possible.
To give you an idea of just how fast the information is relayed – if you are impressed that Formula One race cars can go from 0-60 in as fast as 1.6 seconds,…then Formula One needs to get in the back seat as the entire procedure of olfactory processing takes a mere 200 milliseconds!
Odours and scents affect us all in different ways, by becoming aware of how a particular scent affects you personally, you will be able to enhance your health, mood and indeed memory. A particular scent or odour has no personal significance until it is connected to a space, a moment in time or something that has meaning to us.
Theresa Molnar, executive director of the Sense of Smell Institute, the research and educational arm of the perfume industry’s Fragrance Foundation. Has said that “Scents can have positive effects on mood, stress reduction, sleep enhancement, self-confidence, and physical and cognitive performance,”.
So if we associate a particular scent or perfume with an action or a particular time of day, for example getting ready to fall asleep, relaxing, studying, or waking-up in the morning. Then the brain will form memories or associations to coincide with the inhalation of that specific note.
So if you do wish to improve your health, mood or memory a very simple way to do this is to include one of your favourite perfume notes when preparing for bed, sitting down to relax and unwind or preparing for an exam. It is such an easy thing to do, light one of your favourite perfumed candles, or spray the area you are using with a natural room spray, or place one of your reed diffusers in the room.
From the initial and subsequent encounters with the aroma, you begin forming nerve connections that intertwine the smell with emotions, so by choosing a scent or aroma that you love you can immediately alter your feelings in a positive, healthy and mood enhancing way.
Final Question: Did you enjoy this tip? Would you like us to write more about health tips linked to scent? Alternatively, what are your favourite health tips linked to fragrance or perfume?
Smiling is infectious,
you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
and someone saw my grin.
When he smiled I realized
I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile,
then I realized its worth.
A single smile, just like mine
could travel round the earth.
So, if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected. Let’s start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!
This poem that promotes the positivity of smiling is sometimes attributed to the late great Spike Milligan, whether it was written by him or by Karen McLendon-Laumann, we would be delighted to hear from anyone who can confirm the author.
Well, who ever it was that wrote this lovely little ditty, the poem does exactly what it is telling us to do – It makes us SMILE…………
So from everyone here at PAIRFUM London for 2019 we wish you Miles and Miles of Smiles, enough to spread around the World and infect it.
The English Oxford dictionary defines art as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination, especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” What is Art?, what do you think it is and how would you go about describing it.
Leo Tolstoy said that “Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or God; it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of man’s emotions by external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity”.
So when we create something whether it is in the kitchen, workshop, class room, craft room or garden. We are as Oscar Wilde said taking part in the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. If this is the case, then what we create is not only important for our own well-being but for the health and well being of the people and World around us.
Can A Product Be Art?
When does a mere product become a piece of art or an item of beauty?
“When science meets ingenuity. When creative invention and relentless research ignite a trend. When quality is pride of product. When a woman feels beauty in herself and a desire for life’s little luxuries is fulfilled.” – Huib Maat, in house Perfumer at PAIRFUM London.
Excerpt from Leo Tolstoy’s ‘What Is Art?’
(1896 – translated by Aylmer Maude (1900):
“… In order correctly to define art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider it as a means to pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions of human life.”
For most of us, our gardens, homes, rooms or work spaces are a canvas that we create and re-create over time.
It is an expression of how we see ourselves and how we wish to live. We use colour, texture, light and space to design and define the space around us.
By adding a ‘Perfumed Candle’ or a ‘Reed Diffuser’ you are also able to add a truly multi-sensorial experience to your life’s ‘Work of Art’ or ‘Art Work’.
PAIRFUM London’s Works of Art are available for sale in our online boutique.
Millions and Millions of Pounds, Dollars, Euros, Yen, Swiss Franc and any other currencies you care to think of, are spend each year on anti-aging (or anti-ageing) products.
From Anti-ageing creams, Anti-aging Essential Oils, Anti-aging Face Creams, we use them daily at home or when we travel, for the lucky few who can afford it there are Anti-Ageing Clinics.
Today we saw an article that posed the questions:
What is the future of anti-aging?
How do men and women really feel about natural and organic beauty ?
Who are the ‘Well-Aging generation’?????
‘Well-Aging’ a new term that you may see cropping up, along with terms such as post-aging. It makes you wonder what do they really mean by these terms?
In 2017, a paper was published by researchers called “The skin Aging Exposome”. The term “exposome” describes the totality of exposures to which an individual is subjected to from cradle to grave, or, to put it in a much nicer way: ‘Our Life’s Journey’.
The review was carried out by a collaboration of European scientists, that specialise in either environmental medicine or skin biology.
It set out to discover which factors impact the visible, if not chronological perception of age. It included external and internal factors, and the human body’s response to these factors. These factors include air pollution, lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and nutrition. Exposure to UV and IR, stress and sleep deprivation, the use of cosmetics and other variables.
By including such an all encompassing and wide variety of factors, the findings point to more subtle shades of meaning or expressions on what contributes to age perception. As the scientific focus around ageing has broadened, consumer perceptions of what it means to ‘Age’ has also shifted significantly.
We here at PAIRFUM London have noticed that the expectations related to chronological ageing are slowly giving way to a more holistic, lifestyle-focused consumer mindset. We are what we eat, drink, exercise, sleep, relax, think and most importantly of all ‘Feel’.
Get a Full Refund when you later buy a full-sized bottle. Special Offer: Free Gift-Wrap (luxury bag & tissue paper) with every Perfume Experience Box.
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Free Tester: We will include a mini sampler with your Eau de Parfum so you can try the perfume before you open the pack.
Free Returns: Should you not love your perfume, then we will collect it free of charge from your home (unopened product). No quibbles from us.
We are honoured & proud that Pairfum London is available for you to enjoy at CRYSTALLINE in Abu Dhabi.
CRYSTALLINE Unit 13235, Level 3 The Galleria Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 6228 824
eMail: at***@**********et.ae / ar****@*****um.com
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CRYSTALLINE in the UAE
We are honoured & proud that Pairfum London is available for you to enjoy at CRYSTALLINE in Dubai & Abu Dhabi.
CRYSTALLINE LG-110- LOWER GROUND THE DUBAI MALL, DUBAI, UAE Tel +971 4 3398 897
