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Palazzo Newsletter
February 28, 2009
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Palazzo Newsletter
February 28, 2009
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| Romance in Paris |
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Love: Chemistry 101
The eyes have it. At least according to Professor Arthur Aron, of the State University of New York at Stonybrook. His studies on what happens when people fall in love finds that staring into each other's eyes has tremendous impact. In an experiment, he put strangers of the opposite sex together for ninety minutes and asked them to discuss intimate details about themselves. He then had them silently stare into each other's eyes for four minutes. Many of the participants felt a deep attraction for their partner after the experiment. Two of the couples eventually married. Everyone has a theory about how and what makes people fall in love. While most people don’t subscribe to the idea of “love at first sight," psychologists have shown it takes anywhere between 90 seconds and 4 minutes to decide if you're attracted to someone. The environment and circumstances under which two people meet might also play a role. Meeting someone under turbulent or stimulating conditions could cause us to experience a heightened sense of attraction. But while attraction is one thing, love is quite another. Most people fall in love with someone they already know. But while we’d like to think that we’re choosing our potential mate based on highly refined skills of intellectual judgement, could it actually be that falling in love has more to do with nature's master plan for procreation? Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University believes there are three stages of love--lust, attraction and attachment. Lust is the primary stage driven by the sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen. The secondary stage of attraction where one is “love-struck” could be the work of three neurotransmitters--adrenaline, dopamine, and seratonin. This potent chemical cocktail trio produces the heart-racing, pulse-beating physical response when you are in the presence of the object of your affection. The dopamine triggers a powerful sense of pleasure with the same effect on the brain as that of taking a drug. The seratonin is one of the reasons you won't be able to stop thinking about your new love. And finally, and probably the most important stage, that of attachment seems to involve two hormones--oxytocin and vasopressin. Oxytocin is known as the “cuddle hormone.” Theoretically, its presence deepens the sense of attachment in order to allow a couple to form a bond long enough to procreate. The hormone, vasopressin was also recently discovered to assist in this long-term commitment stage. Interestingly, as the chief scientific advisor to Chemistry.com, the internet dating site which is a subsidiary of Match.com, Dr. Fisher designed the 56-item questionnaire used to investigate some of the biological aspects of personality. Of the data collected, her preliminary analysis suggests that humans are attracted to those with complementary traits of temperament. So variety might indeed be the spice of life.
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Acacia - concealed love, chaste love Agapanthus - love letters Ambrosia - your love is reciprocated Baby's Breath - everlasting love, pure love Camellia (pink) - longing for you Camellia (red) - you're a flame in my heart Carnation (pink) - I'll never forget you Carnation (red) - my heart aches for you Carnation (striped) - I can't be with you Daffodil - unrequited love Daisy- loyal love Fern (maidenhair) - secret bond of love Forget-me-not - true love, memories Gardenia - you're lovely, secret love Honeysuckle (yellow) - bonds of love Ivy - love, fidelity, marriage, friendship Jasmine - sensuality Jonquil - love me, affection returned Lilac - purple - first emotions of love Lily of the Valley - sweetness Mistletoe - kiss me Orchid - love, beautiful lady Primrose - I can't live without you Rose (deep red) - passion Rose (orange) - desire Rose (pink) - perfect happiness Rose (red) - love, I love you Tulip - perfect lover Violet (blue) - faithfulness
Lingerie
In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob created a new type of bra. It was much softer and much shorter than the tightly bound whale bone corset of history.
The 1920s introduced the boyish silhouette. Brassieres were designed to flatten the breasts to create this boyish look.
The 1930s welcomed the full-figure. Dunlop Rubber invented Lastex, an elastic fiber that could be interwoven with the fabric used to make lingerie thereby enabling a proper fit to a woman’s shape.
The 1960s marked the female's emancipation and the women's movement. Bra burning crippled the lingerie industry.
In the 1980s, bras offering wire support became the number one sellers.
Today's biggest seller is the push up bra.
Purveyors of fine luxury lingerie
froufroufashionista.blogspot.com - luxury lingerie blog focusing on intimate apparel from around the world.
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Romancing the Stone
"I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond." Mae West
The diamond signifies eternity. Most diamonds are at least 1 billion years old. Traditionally the engagement ring has a single diamond. Only 20% of diamonds are suitable for jewelry making purposes. The largest diamond ever mined is 3,106 carats. The largest cut diamond is the Cullinan weighing in at 317.40 carats. Historically, the first recorded diamond engagement ring was given in 1477 by Archduke Maximillian of Hamburg to Mary of Burgundy. Trace elements can produce "fancy" colored diamonds. Pink is the rarest color diamond. Until the 15th century, only kings wore diamonds. Diamonds were once thought to hold magical and medicinal powers.
Catherine de Medici was famous for dealing out death
by diamond powder.
Perfume Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established.
The court of Louis XV was named "the perfumed court" due to the daily application of scent to clothing, fans and furniture.
The statutes of the perfume-makers of Grasse were passed in 1724 and the town established itself as the largest production center for raw materials.
Paris became the world center of perfume with houses such as Houbigant Lubin, Roger & Gallet, and Guerlain.
In 1760, James Henry Creed founded the House of Creed in London.
In 1868, the first synthetic perfume was created.
At $215,000 for a 30 ml bottle, the limited edition, Imperial Majesty, by Clive Christian is the most expensive perfume in the world. The perfume bottle is handmade in Baccarat crystal, circled with 24-karat gold-plated sterling silver and encrusted with a diamond solitaire.
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