In this entry, I am sharing with you the information and pictures about the first Clarins orchid, and also how you can stand to win the Renanthera Clarins Christian & Olivier Orchid Brooch at Clarins Facebook page.

Details included in the images below.

There's a new branch on the family tree.

December 9, 2010 – Clarins, the European leader in premium skincare, proudly announces the birth of the first Clarins orchid, the Renanthera Clarins Christian & Olivier. The new family member, a fiery crimson orchid, made its official debut at the Clarins’ Orchid Presentation, in Singapore Botanic Gardens' Burkill Hall.

The Clarins Orchid is a new hybrid that has been crossed from an award-winning Renanthera hybrid bred in the US and another outstanding Renanthera hybrid from Malaysia. This spectacular cross bloom was specially bred by Singapore Botanic Gardens as a tribute to Clarins, for its continual efforts to support and raise awareness of sustainable development and biodiversity.

These efforts have resulted in projects with the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ like the bi-ennial Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) since its inauguration in 2006. At the SGF 2008, Clarins created two gardens: A Garden of Love, where visitors could learn about plants like ginger and mint, which are found in the brand's beauty products; and a Learning Garden to teach children through play about environmental conservation.

In conjunction with this year's SGF, Clarins and its esteemed retail partner Tangs, helped re-introduce a native orchid species - Grammatophyllum speciosum (aka the Tiger Orchid) – into the cityscape. Tangs Chief Executive Officer, Mr TS Foo, Dr Wong Wei Har, Director of SGF and Singapore Botanic Gardens and Chairman of the Clarins Groupe, Mr Christian Courtin-Clarins, jointly planted the Tiger Orchid onto a mature tree in front of the Orchard Road department store. Clarins also sponsored in-store window displays at Tangs, which promoted the Orchid Conservation Story – one of the central themes at this year’s SGF.

The orchid honour to Clarins is especially significant too because it is the first time that a premium skincare brand has been gifted with its own orchid by the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Chairman of the Clarins Groupe, Mr Christian Courtin-Clarins, who flew in for the ceremony, says: “It is with great pride and a deep honour for Clarins to be gifted with an orchid that was specially created for us. For it to come from a professional body like Singapore Botanic Gardens, that works to promote greenery and plant species --- the brand and myself, find this tribute more meaningful. It is not simply a flower but it validates the efforts that Clarins has dedicated to sustainable development, all these years.”

Sowing The Seeds of Love

Orchidaceae (aka the Orchid family) is one of the largest group of flowering plants. It is estimated that there are about 35,000 orchid species on the planet, and that's not counting the undiscovered ones yet. The elegant botanical is also one of the oldest flowering plants around: its existence dates as far back as 120 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.

Though the elegant flower may look fragile, its resilience is remarkable. It's defied evolution time and time again, flourished and thrived in nearly every continent, adapting to live in various environments, from mountains to bogs, in grasslands and rain forests.

The exotic bloom, for centuries, has been a symbol of love, luxury and beauty. The early Greeks saw it to represent virility; while in the Middle Ages, the plant was considered an aphrodisiac and used in love potions.

It is all very befitting then, that a new orchid hybrid has been specially bred by Singapore Botanic Gardens and gifted to Clarins, in recognition of the latter's aim to bring Man and Nature closer. No mere flower, the Clarins Orchid is symbolic of the brand's love and respect of the world.

The beautiful orchid plant -Renanthera Clarins Christian & Olivier – is a hybrid cross of the mother plant, Renanthera Kalsom (a prolific breeder with more than 40 progenies to its name) and the Renanthera Mauricete Brin 'La Belle Dame' FCC/AOS. The latter, a cross bloom too, was created by American Martin Motes, a famous breeder of the Vanda orchid species. The fathering plant of the Clarins Orchid is an impressive title holder. It was awarded a First Class Certificate (FCC) by the American Orchid Society. The FCC is highest accolade for flower quality, and is awarded to orchid species or hybrids that score at least 90 points, on the 100-point scale.

Pollinated back in 2004, and the first bloom of the Clarins Orchid only appeared earlier this year on 8 June. This magnificent plant has the following distinctions:

* Branching sprays that can reach more than 60cm (or the length of 2 long rulers), with each spray bearing a total of more than 100 well-displayed flowers.

* The natural spread of the velvety flower is 7 cm long by 4.5 cm wide.

* Its petals and sepals are crimson, and overlaid with ox blood-red spots. The centre of the lip is lemon-yellow.

For more pictures of the Renanthera Clarins Christian & Olivier Orchid launch event at the Singapore Botantical Gardens, click on the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141767282552987.31528.106614952734887&type=1

For more information of the actual giveaway/ contest, click here:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/clarins-singapore/celebrate-our-orchid-blo...

The contest runs from 22 May 2012 to 21 June 2012.   All terms & conditions can be found on the Clarins FB page.

Hope everyone will go take part, and good luck!

images & information extracted from the press file.