Dior Homme ♥

This advert oozes sophistication and sex appeal.... with Jude Law as his usual suave self, a mysterious blonde and hot car, it is essentially the sexiest perfume advert.

"Sherlock Holmes’ director Guy Ritchie has teamed up with Jude Law for a new mini-movie/ad campaign for Dior Homme cologne. The piece also stars newcomer Michaela Kocianova."

"The sexy spot runs about five minutes. It features Law, clad in a sharp suit and driving a convertible, cavorting with Kocianova in Paris."

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Facts about Valentine's Day

The Price of Love

♥Men spend almost twice as much on Valentine’s Day as women do.

♥More than one-third of men would prefer not receiving a gift. Less than 20 percent of women feel the same way.

♥Around this season, a dozen long-stemmed roses can cost an average of 30% more than the normal price.

♥More than nine million pet owners are expected to buy gifts for their pets this Valentine's Day.

♥15 percent of women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.

The Birds and the Bees

♥According to the condom company Durex, condom sales are highest around Valentine's Day, which are 20 percent to 30 percent higher than usual.

♥More at-home pregnancy tests are sold in March than in any other month.

The Choo Choo Choose You

♥Teachers receive the most valentines, followed by kids, mothers, wives and sweethearts.

♥Over 50 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the holiday.

♥The oldest surviving valentine dates from 1415. It is a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife. At the time, the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt.

♥One billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

♥Hallmark produced its first valentine in 1913.

Love Around the World

♥In Japan, women are expected to give chocolate and other gifts to men on Valentine's Day. This tradition was started as a marketing campaign by Japanese chocolate companies. Men are not off the hook, unfortunately. They are expected to return the favor on March 14th, commonly known as White Day.

♥"I love you" in German is "Ich liebe dich."

History, Legends & Rumors

♥The roots of St. Valentine's Day can be traced back to the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.

♥In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. Today, to wear your heart on your sleeve means being transparent with your affections.

♥Three different Saint Valentines have been mentioned by the martyrologies of the Roman Catholic Church.

♥The Catholic Church struck St. Valentine’s Day from its official calendar in 1969.

♥The phrase "Sweets for the sweet" is a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1.

♥For every 120 single men who are in their 20s, there are 100 single women in the same age range.

Muse of the Month: Aphrodite

As the February is deemed the month of love, it seems only appropriate to pay hommage to the most famous Muse associated with love, Aphrodite. She embodies all that love is, and is still considered the Goddess of Love.

Aphrodite was considered the most beautiful among the Olympian goddesses. She was born from the foam of the sea. When Cronos emasculated his father, Uranus, the blood drops that fell into the sea generated the goddess. The Zephyr gently blew and pushed her to the shore of the island of Cyprus, where she was received and dressed by the Graces, then taken to Mount Olympus.

As she was so beautiful, she refused all the gods, as she considered none of them good enough for her. Zeus punished her for her vanity and forced her to marry Hephaestos, the lame and ugly god - but she would always cheat on him.

Her most famous lover was Ares, God of War, she also loved Adonis, a young man of extreme beauty. She spent all the time going hunting with him. When he was killed by a boar, she looked for his body and mourned over him. Her delicate feet were hurt by thorns and the drops of blood turned into beautiful flowers, the anemones.

Aphrodite also loved a mortal, Anchises, and helped him and their son, Aeneas, to flee from Troy to Italy, so she might be considered the "foremother" of the Romans.

Aphrodite represented the power of love, from which no one can escape. She would bestow her blessings on those who worshipped her, but she would also be ruthless with those who despised love. Narcissus refused to worship the goddess, so she punished him, making him fall in love with his own image.

The most famous story of her manipulation was, 'Paris and the Golden Apple'. Paris had to choose the who was the most beautiful, between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, in order to decide who deserves the golden apple thrown by Eris, each of the goddesses promised him something. Aphrodite promised him the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth, Helen of Sparta. Paris and Helen's love affair is said to have sparked the Trojan war.

Aphrodite was also known for blessings she bestowed on people who truly loved, one example is of Pygmalion, a sculptor who made a beautiful statue, so beautiful that he fell in love with his creation. Aphrodite gave life to that statue, so they may live happily ever after.

So this month take time to reflect on love, and the powerful effect and reaction it can cause and the woman who used it to its full advantage... Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love ♥

Candles

Images of Autumn

Muse of the Month: Jane Austen

Despite living worlds apart, Jane Austen is as relevant today as she ever was. Her stories are timeless and will continue to be for ages to come. You can't pick up an Austen novel without feeling some connection to the characters, whether it be, jealousy, empathy or sympathy, she enthralls her readers in a way that leaves you considering your own choices and decisions when it comes to life and especially love.

I love her prose style, her humor, her perceptiveness, her memorable characters, and her scintillating dialogue. I admire her ability to create a world that rarely touches upon her contemporary world, but is nonetheless “real”, to produce romantic matches formed at a time when few men and women “can afford to marry without some attention to money,” and to conclude each work with irony, affection and reconciliation. But I especially love Austen as the foremost writer of the novel of manners.

In an era of “snark chic” and the internet’s ever-expanding venues for indulging in it, I continue to be impressed with Jane Austen’s ability to be penetrating, ironic and droll without ever sinking to coarseness of expression. Austen leaves those without manners and morals to each other – Lydia and Wickham, Lucy and Robert, Mrs. Norris and Maria Rushworth – but reserves genuine happiness as a reward of good character for those like Darcy, who, “in a cause of compassion and honor…had been able to get the better of himself.”

So when in doubt of what to do, just think...What would Austen do?

Mackintosh

The appearance of the Mackintosh, is a subtle reminder that Autumn is upon us. This legendary item of clothing, encompasses the genius of British design. It stands as a brand of modern heritage built on true craftsmanship and a two hundred year history.

In 1823, Charles Macintosh, developed the process of spreading rubber onto cotton to create the world's first formal waterproof fabric, signaling the arrival of the first original Mackintosh coat.

Today, Mackintosh is a firmly established global brand that combines updated technology with traditional techniques. Based in Cumbernauld, Scotland, they continue to craft the vintage design that sets a Mackintosh apart from other coats.

Mackintosh's flagship store is located on the fashionable Mount Street in Mayfair, London, and offers the full Mackintosh collections in a understatedly elegant space set over two floors.

The Mackintosh continues to set the standards of elegant rain wear, and still no brand can parallel its excellence. The Mackintosh is a definite must have for any fashionable wardrobe.