As Lover brands know, romantic can be so much more than cheap Valentines and basic red roses. Think old-world kind of love. Elderly folk who met as high-school sweethearts and have loved each other ever since. Think velvet and peeling wallpaper and wine in the bathtub. Think of the beauty of wilting flowers, dried flowers, dead flowers, florals crushed underfoot. Imagine discovering a love letter written a century ago, falling out as you open the pages of a dusty, leather-bound book. Lazy afternoons in silky gowns, watching the dust float through sunlight.

Romance can be emotional and moody, bittersweet and achingly beautiful. It need not be shiny or perfect or new.