When we started to brainstorm about what we would do for our Christmas campaign, we thought long and hard about wanting to convey a message that would give us warm, fuzzy feelings of authentic love.
And in this sense, kisses are one of those universal expressions of love that provide a feeling without the need to say anything at all, so we loved the idea of turning Christmas into a “kiss-mass” campaign.
However, we wanted to feature real kisses and love, so the idea of telling true love stories really struck a chord with us, and we thought it would resonate with our readers too.
In a time where people and moments seem more fleeting than ever, here are two inspiring love stories from our Kiss-mass campaign to restore the faith in the importance of loving and being loved.
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ALICIA & EDU: Speaking through the eyes
When they first started seeing each other, it was rather unexpected for Alicia. They met on the job (they are both models) and they liked each other from the very beginning. However, she had been through a string of difficult situations and didn’t want to be with anyone; she felt happy on her own.
But soon after, she felt something special about him. “Edu appeared to make my romantic idea of what love means come true, without effort, without asking and without knowing it.”
Meanwhile Edu felt drawn to her smile on her “face full of stars.” “I don't know if you have ever experienced the feeling of knowing a person just by looking into their eyes. With Alicia that’s what happened, we didn’t need to speak,” he recalls.
In the beginning they took it slow and steady. Edu was in New York and she was in Bali. Six months after they began dating, she wanted in 100%, “even if I was making a mistake,” she recounts. So they moved to Barcelona with her dog ‘Panda’, which is now Edu’s dog too, “Panda is the furry one and when it’s with us we’re a family,” he adds.
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Looking back to how it all began, Alicia remembers that being ok with herself was key to make that special connection. “Work on yourself and don’t wait for someone else to give you what you’re not capable of giving yourself,” she says.
It seems her inner work paid off. Edu says he likes “everything about her, from her good morning to the good night kiss, the good work she does and her way of seeing life.” Meanwhile Alicia says that his joy [for life] is what she likes about him the most adding, “his way of seeing life, that subtle cheekiness and [constant] smile “tattooed on his face.”
Sure they are different in some ways, “Alicia is very organized, she loves to create spaces and she’s great at it, Edu says. “I am more analytical and I like to contemplate possibilities in all environments and aspects,” he recounts.
But when he’s with her he says he feels “A lot of love. I feel like I can't stop looking at her, it's as if the world stopped and every day was Sunday, a happy and sunny Sunday at the beach,” which by the way, is one of their favourite things to do.
For Alicia, Eduardo is “her best friend and love, her peace, her home,” she tells PDPAOLA.
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ALINA & LEANDRO: A simple, honest and unbreakable bond
This pair hailing all the way from Córdoba, Argentina has been together for 12 years and met initially online in the times of msn messenger in 2005. “We started out as friends, but I took the initiative to formalize the relationship,” she tells PDPAOLA.
Alina says she liked Leandro from the beginning, “his sense of humor, his emotional sensitivity, his musical taste and love of simple things.” Meanwhile, Leandro says Alina’s is “beautiful and loving” and he highly values “her transparency and honesty.”
But there are things they don’t coincide in. When travelling, she loves discovering exciting experiences in exotic places, languages, foods and cultures, whereas Leo prefers more classic getaways.
When Christmas comes around, “each family has its ritual,” says Alina. She spends time with her paternal side of the family, “ I have many cousins I only see there once a year and we eat typical foods of our Balearic ancestors,” she tells us. Leo, on the other hand, goes to his parents ‘and enjoys an Argentinean barbecue with his family.
Whether together or apart, it is nurturing their bond over the years which has helped them stay strong together, “we keep each other company, we understand and accept each other through the good and bad,” says Leandro, also cites laughing together and a shared sense of humour as something important. “When it’s good we find joy together, when it’s been tough we learn.”
