Love is in the air...

And so we welcome February, a wintry month warmed and cheered by the romance of Valentine’s Day on the fourteenth.

This special date brings together several pagan and early Christian celebrations and beliefs, including : –

• the eve of the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which involved a ritual drawing of girls’ names from an urn by young men for courting purposes.

• the time of year when birds start mating according to European folklore

• the day when a priest called St Valentine was executed in 270 AD for secretly marrying young lovers against the orders of Emperor Claudius II who believed that unmarried men were more reliable as soldiers. The saint is supposed to have left a message signed ‘From your Valentine’ for his jailer’s daughter starting a trend which has snowballed over the centuries.

Over the years, Valentine’s traditions have developed from writing secret declarations of love and giving hand-made hearts and love tokens to sending today’s mass-produced cards, as started by the American Esther A. Howland in the 1840’s with her scraps, ribbons and lace.

Say it with fragrance

Nowadays the sending of Valentine cards is only second in popularity to Christmas cards, while offerings of chocolates, champagne and red roses are also commonplace. Indeed, often referred to as the flower of love, rose is a key ingredient in love potions.

Uniquely Organic invites you to celebrate the romantic season by booking yourself a facial or massage to enhance your self-esteem and appearance (click here to view our treatment list) and/or treating your partner or object of desire to a gift voucher (click here to buy your gift voucher) which can be used for treatments or for pure, organic Miessence skincare products (click here to visit our online product shop).

Alternatively, you can make Valentine’s Day memorable by concocting your own aromatherapy love potion for your essential oil burner or as a room spray – or we will be happy to make one especially for you (price £5).

Here are some Valentine’s Day blend ideas to be added to water in your burner or spray bottle:

Rose blend

Rose otto or absolute (1 drop)

Sandalwood (2 drops)

Bergamot (2 drops)

Jasmine blend

Jasmine (1 drop)

Black pepper (1 drop)

Grapefruit (2 drops)

Neroli blend

Neroli (1 drop)

Ylang ylang (1 drop)

Lavender (2 drops)

Happy Valentine’s Day!