In many countries around the world, Valentine’s Day (February 14) is celebrated with gifts of chocolates and flowers, or romantic dinners and getaways.
Fodor’s, in posting its 2015 list of “10 Romantic Spas for Valentine’s Day Escape”, calls attention to the proverbial rose petals, chocolate-covered strawberries and fireplaces. Certainly each spa is fabulously enticing, but there’s also the option of re-creating the ambience at home, away from the stress of traveling. Besides, home can offer the most intimate of settings!
A simple way to bring a luxurious spa experience home is by indulging in bath salts which transport the exoticism of the East into your bathroom with romantic fragrances such as Jasmine of Arabia, Oriental Gardenia, Rose of Damascus. And then pamper yourself with our Palette of Fragrances of nine pure vegetal soaps, or Pouch of Two Soaps (special Valentine’s boutique display of our seductive Honey fragrance shown above).
Another way to bring some of the East into your home is to savor chocolates incorporating flavors from the East, such as Middle Eastern pistachio and rosewater, or Japanese green tea.
Speaking of Japan, that is one country which has a special take on Valentine’s, with the ladies gifting the men with chocolates, and the invention of another special day, White Day (March 14), when the men present the ladies with chocolates.
On Valentine’s Day, Japanese women present “giri-choco” (obligation chocolate) to male friends, colleagues and bosses, while “honmei-choco” (the real thing) is reserved for boyfriends, lovers and husbands. These days, though, many ladies also enjoy gifting themselves with chocolates, and who can blame them with the cornucopia of the world’s best chocolatiers represented in any leading department store in Japan. The images in the 2015 Takashimaya Department Store “Chocolate Catalogue” relay the sheer range of choices available this week. Enjoy!