Pairfum London

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SPA Break Where Would You Go

23/02/202401/11/2018 by Josephine McCarthy

If you could choose a SPA Break where would you go?

Would it be to a cutting edge spa in an ultra stylish hotel, or a quite getaway surrounded by spectacular natural landscape.

Whether you opt for a day or weekend spa, or for the lucky ones among us a week-long spa getaway, there is something to suit everyone.

What do we do though! when time or circumstances get in the way?

When what we would like is nothing better, than a relaxing few hours to ourselves.

PAIRFUM London has the perfect solution for this little problem, create your own SPA in the comfort of your own Home..

By using PAIRFUM’s Organic Body Wash & Shower Oil in our SPA Perfume, you can transport yourself to your favourite SPA in an instant.

Bergamot White Tea Afternoon Home Fragrance London Pairfum

Afternoon Tea For Your Home?

23/02/202430/10/2018 by Huib Maat

Fragrance Makeover For Autumn?

How about the feeling of a cosy, lazy autumnal day in front of a fire?

With time to spare, a good book to read and the table set for…

‘Afternoon Tea’ – for You and Your Home?

Bergamot & White Tea by Pairfum is a wonderfully warming and yet fresh note.

That will set the scene and ban the autumn blues.

Below is a graphic with the olfactive description for this wonderful perfume.

As Jack Buchanan famously sang:

“Everything Stops For Tea”

Pairfum London Gerardo Broissin Glass Treehouse Mexico Fragrance 11

Glass Treehouse Above Micro Forest

29/10/2018 by Huib Maat

What is your dream house? Our in-house perfume dreams of a home made of transparent glass to immerse himself in nature.

With this in mind, architect Gerardo Broissin struck a cord here in the office with his transparent treehouse, titled ‘Chantli Kuaulakoyokan’ (which means ‘house in the tree top’ in nahuatl).

Using glass, the installation is situated at the foothills of the ‘sierra de las cruces’, a mountain range to the west of the Mexico City.

The Tree House sits above its own lushly planted ‘micro forest’.

The transparency of the treehouse raises the issue of ‘privacidad’(privacy), questioning the privacy promised by social media.

Here at PAIRFUM London, we were discussing which fragrance we would associate with this wonderful Tree House.

What would it smell like when you are inside?

The fragrance that comes to mind immediately, is our “Neroli & Olive“, as it smells beautifully ‘green’, ‘fresh’ and calls to mind the ‘outdoors’.

What are the fragrances that you would associate with this unique Treehouse?

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Best Top 10 Men’s Colognes

13/10/2018 by Josephine McCarthy

When deciding to write a post on the best men’s colognes, it is normally the – Best Top 10 Men’s Colognes for 2018, or Top 10 Men’s Colognes.

Why Top Ten, why not the Top Twenty or the Top Thirty Five for that matter?

Why refer to them as Colognes for Men, when the word ‘Cologne’ refers to a perfume ‘Classification’, and is not gender specific?

Well now that I am on a roll asking questions! why does it have to be Top Ten Men’s Cologne for 2018 – how about a trip back in time to remember some of the wonderful Men’s fragrances of the 60s, 70s or 80s.

Just like the releases of today, there were some wonderful creations, some you may not have thought so wonderful but they were memorable.

When looking back at the Classic Men’s Perfumes of the 70’s, you quickly realised that the offerings at the time were in general referred to as Men’s Aftershave, as the word ‘Cologne’ was taken to refer to the iconic ‘4711’ – you see we have made some progress…

So enough Q&A for now, back to the wonderful Men’s grooming products that have in some instances become classics.

Starting in the late 1960s, single-note musk fragrances became very popular, reaching their peak in the 70s.

It was the decade that saw an increase in unisex fragrances, and the creation of the first natural and organic perfumes. It was also the decade in which the number of Men’s fragrances increased in relation to Women’s – for example in the 50s there were 6 Men’s fragrances brought to market – now compare this to 69 that was launched in the 70s…..

When you mention a particular brand or a perfume name from one of these era’s, most people over the age of 25+ have a memory they can connect to one of these. They could immediately associate them with their Grandfather or even Father.

Old Spice: by the Shulton Company(now a part of P&G), although it has been around since the 1930’s, it was in the 1970’s that it changed from being a shaving brand to a fragrance brand by introducing signature scents like ‘Old Spice Burley’. In 2008, the original Old Spice scent was re-branded as “Classic Scent”, with the ‘Old Spice Classic shower gel’ being sold using the wonderful slogan – “The original”- If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist.” – Now if this isn’t a reason to wear fragrance, we don’t know what is!!

Kouros: from the Yves Saint Laurent stable which just missed the 70’s, being brought to market in 1981, is a perfume that we could not fail to mention. This Fougère accord that was inspired by a trip to Greece – hence the name, is one that is known by almost anyone who has any interest or love of masculine fragrances.

Aramis: by perfumer Bernard Chant in 1965, going back even further into our perfume memory banks. They claimed at the time that this was created to be the most elegant Men’s Cologne in the world, and when worn by the right man who could argue with them…

Jovan: the US brand that was founded in 1972 and is synonyms with musk, it was also a market leader in marketing techniques being the 1st Fragrance to sponsor a Rock Band, which it did in 1981 on the Rolling Stones ‘Tattoo You’ tour.

EAU SAUVAGE: released in 1966 by Christian Dior and was created for them by perfumer Edmond Roudnitska. The name for the perfume was chosen by Dior when his friend Percy Savage turned up late for an appointment … true or not it is certainly an unusual way to choose the moniker for your new fragrance. It was famous for its fresh, citrusy notes with spicy Lavender on a woody base.

Ralph Laurens: their first male fragrance contained a very distinctive pine note, and was packaged in a very disincentive forest green bottle
Polo is one of the first two perfumes by Lauren, and was created by Carlos Benaim in 1978.

Faberge Brut: first launched in 1964 by Fabergé, called “The Essence of Man” in one of its advertisements, and who could forget the U.K. advertising campaign with the heavyweight boxer Sir Henry Cooper who asked us to “splash it all over”.

Paco Rabanne Pour Homme: the first of the aromatic-fougère family, combining spicy and woody notes, Since 1973 this fragrance has been an established cornerstone of contemporary perfumery. It inspired countless men’s fragrances for decades after it’s launch.

Pour Monsieur – In 1972 Pierre Cardin launched his first men’s fragrance, it was a classic of the spicy masculines notes of the 1970’s, and one of the first to come in a non-aerosol spray. The reason for mentioning this is, that Gentlemen were for the most part, used to applying their ‘aftershave’ using the ‘Splash’ method. With the advent of atomisers there was for a time – a tenancy to shall we say “Over apply”, until the lessons of ‘Less is More’ was grasped.

Tabac: created by Mäurer & Wirtz in 1959, it may be around for almost 5 decades, but it is loved as much now as it was then – despite or maybe because of the priceless – “Peter Wyngarde Smells – long pause – Great”…… advert.

I was told by someone recently, that one of their most vivid memories of the 70s was of them as a child choosing a Christmas or birthday gift for their father or grandfather. Due to the lack of choice in both what was on offer and their budget constraints, it was a toss-up between Old Spice, Brut, Blue Stratos or if all else failed Denim – well the advert for Denim aftershave did say “It looks good on a Woman but smells better on a Man”….. quite an achievement that an Ad can make you both smile and cringe simultaneously…..

There are so many wonderful Men’s Colognes from the 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s, that we can’t mention them all – especially in an article entitled the Best Top 10 Men’s Colognes.

However we could not finish off without mentioning the colourful, wonderful, imaginative and in some cases most definitely suspect advertising campaigns that went along with these fragrances and the era.

For starters – how about encouraging Men to “Start a fire, that Women can’t put out” – as if Women are not busy enough already… Or Play Dirty it’s Cricket..

How about “Englishmen have more dash, Italians are suave- How come Scandinavian Men get to carry on the way they do?” – well to find out the answer to that you would have to ask Shulton the makers of Teak Men’s fragrance in 1968…

Men’s Colognes have been around for thousands of years, albeit under a large number of different guises. They have the ability to capture our attention, and the reason for wearing them ? well if we are very honest it is to capture the attention of other people. They have become a part of our everyday life, and if you were to ask almost every man you know do they wear Cologne, Aftershave of Perfume, then the answer would be a resounding “YES” and it is really easy to see WHY!!

Here at PAIRFUM London we love Men’s Colognes, Men’s Eau de Parfum, Men’s Eau de Toilette, we are really lucky that we get to create Perfume for a living – for Men, for Woman and for the Home.

If you would like to discover more about our New ‘Eau de Parfum’ that will be launched shortly – then please click HERE

How to Evaluate, Sample, Smell or Test Fragrance?

23/02/202409/10/2018 by Josephine McCarthy

We are often asked how to evaluate, smell perfume or test fragrance.

How To Evaluate Sample Test Fragrance Try Perfume 16

It may seem like a strange question “How do you Test Fragrance” ?

However it really is not as strange as it seems, some people would say “Just open a bottle spray and take a sniff”

Incredible Facts About Your Sense of smell, people can detect one trillion distinct scents. Test Fragrance

Finding the right fragrance is not quite as straight forward as it may seem, at times it would appear that there can be no logic behind your choice of perfumes because your emotions are so intrinsically linked to your sense of smell.

Perfumer Nose Smelling Strip Evaluate Scent Test Fragrance

We are conditioned to have smell preferences, and our response to a particular odour or note could be based partially on our individual genetic make-up, and partially on our life experiences.

Dark Chocolate Cake Fragrance Test Home Natural

So what do we mean by this?

Question Mark Info Graphic Sample Fragrance

In simple terms it means that we all have an ‘olfactory blueprint’, which like us is totally unique. Think of it as your life’s experiences or life’s road map all happily recorded in our smell memory.

No two individuals are alike and just as we respond differently to different situations, colours, music, art, clothes, food or wine, we also react differently to something that we smell.

Self Talk Day Positive Fragrance Test Aromatherapy

We here at PAIRFUM London are delighted that this is the case, could you just imagine for a moment how boring the World would be if we all liked the same thing… colour, food, wine, clothes..

How To Evaluate Sample Test Try Perfume Fragrance

Taking this idea a step further it would also mean that we would all, be attracted to the same type of partner, scientists have already proven that mice can and do, detect compatibility genes by smell, and that certain fish choose their mates by their colour. How this works in humans, is still not fully understood.

Sculpture Thinker Museum Famous Rodin The Thinker Sample fragrance

However it is such a fascinating topic, it deserves a post all to itself – so that is one for another time.

So! how should we Evaluate, Sample, Test or Smell Perfume..

Well, the Perfume World is divided into families, and then divided yet again into sub-family’s. Technically, ‘fragrance families’ are a classification system that the perfume industry has used for years. In the language of scent a ‘Family’ is used to place individual perfumes into olfactory groups, based on their more dominant characteristics.

When choosing which scent or perfume to wear we often without even realising it, gravitate to the same ‘fragrance family’ time and again. Instinctively, we prefer scents from some fragrance families and dislike others.

How To Evaluate Sample Test Try Perfume 8

However this may vary or alter slightly with a change in temperature or weather, for colder months we may prefer a warmer note and a lighter, fresher note for Spring or Summer.

The in-house perfumer here at PAIRFUM London, Huib Maat has just written a more in depth article on how to evaluate, sample, test Fragrance. If you would like to find out more, and learn how to do it like a professional then please click here.

Wine Tasting & Your Sense of Smell

23/02/202429/09/2018 by Josephine McCarthy

We have been approached by a wonderful Wine company, who would like to do a Wine Tasting & Your Sense of Smell event…

It may not be something we automatically think about in this way, but although each sense has it’s own receptor organs, smell and taste belong to our chemical sensing system – known as chemosensation.

Our sense of smell is our oldest sense detecting chemicals that relate to smell or taste, it provides us with the information we need to survive in the environment that surrounds us.

The sensation of taste includes five established basic tastes: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and savoury or Umami.

The majority of flavors are recognised through the sense of smell. Many of us have at sometime experienced how food looses it’s flavour when we have a head cold or a blocked nose.

Even though you can distinguish a foods sweetness or bitterness, if you hold your nose while eating chocolate, you will have trouble identifying which particular flavour of chocolate it is.

Why is this you may ask?

Well the reason for this is that the flavor of chocolate is sensed largely by our sense of smell, this is also the case with Coffee. So if you wish to fully experience or savour a wonderful flavor, then it really is a case of the ‘Nose knows You Know’.

This leads us perfectly into why having a Wine Tasting & Your Sense of Smell event, makes perfect sense.

Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to visit a winery, a vineyard or even watched a televised program about wine. Will have seen that before ever attempting to take a sip of wine.. the experts will evaluate the wine by employing four basic steps – looking, swirling, smelling, and last but not least tasting.

You do not have to be a true wine expert, also known as a Sommelier or Wine steward, to enjoy or savour the moment. These tried and tested rituals of wine tasting have been developed over millennia.

The iconic Marilyn Monroe once said – “There are no Women who do not like perfume, there are women who have not found their scent” –

Now that started us wondering – if this could also be applied to Wine?, although it would not only apply to Women………..

As in:

“There is no one who does not like wine, there are just people who have not found their vintage yet” – Huib Maat

Our nostrils are ‘Ipsilateral’(which means ‘on or affecting the same side of the body’) – this allows us to smell two odours simultaneously, it also means that you could in theory smell a Red wine with your right nostril and a White with your left, with the information being send to the corresponding side of the brain !!!

We can just imagine what a Sommelier would make of this suggestion …..

So what do you think?

Would you like to join PAIRFUM London at a – Wine Tasting & Your Sense of Smell Event?

Then please get in touch using the contact form on our site – https://www.pairfum.com/contact/

Has a Blooming Flower Crown gone to Beyoncé and Rihanna Heads?

09/08/2018 by Josephine McCarthy

Are Flower Crowns the accessory of the summer, Has a Blooming Flower Crown gone to Beyoncé and Rihanna Heads?

The answer is a resounding “YES”!When the Queens of Music, Fashion and Style don Blooming headpieces wearing them on the covers of September US and UK Vogues , it is only a matter of time before you see them gracing the heads of Beautiful Brides, and in vogue festival goers.Makeup Artists and Makeup Lovers in general, were blown away by the ‘Look’ created for Rihanna by visionary makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench.A number of artists were even inspired to recreate Rihanna’s look, such as Alissa Ashley and Ariel Thomas from Atlanta,also known as Jay Thomas on Twitter and Instagram.The reason the beauty world is still catching it’s breath, is from the sight of Rihanna and her pencil-thin eyebrows!!

Now before you do anything drastic to your eyebrows……. Rihanna’s look is created using an industry secret …. so she can go back to her normal look at any time she wants….. so sigh of relief all round.

Now as beautiful as the Vogue images are, and as wonderful as the recreations were ( works of art really).

Here at PAIRFUM London what captured our imaginations were the Blooming Headpieces…..The Headpieces worn by Beyoncé’s , was created using fresh flowers by Athena Duncan of Rebel Rebel florists…

The one question we wanted to ask was ! did the Blooming Headpieces smell Wonderful?

If you were recreating one of these beautiful creations for your special day or for a special occasion, then would you not want it to blend perfectly with your outfit?We know from years of experience that choosing the Perfect Perfume, for that special occasion is one of the top priorities when planning what to wear..

So if you do plan to wear a Flower Crown or like Beyoncé and Rihanna let a Blooming headpiece go to your head….Then you should insure that the Perfume of the Bouquet or Flowers chosen to make the Headpiece, blends seamlessly with your favourite or chosen perfume of the day…..

Nothing would be worse than having a cacophony of fragrances that may overwhelm you or do not match…

So when choosing the flowers be sure to choose fragrance family’s that compliment each other..One simple rule of thumb is to match the colour of the flower with the colour of your Perfume, for example a ‘White Flower with a White Flower Perfume’, a ‘Red Flower with a Red Flower’ and so on ….If you do choose to have a multi coloured Headpiece then don’t panic, as most shop bought fresh flowers nowadays have no perfume or a very faint aroma.