A fascinating look into an ancient community
Perfume is as old as humanity. Perfumery—the art of making perfumes—began in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley civilization. Pictured: fragment from the decoration of an Egyptian tomb depicting the preparation of lily perfume, c. 2500 BCE.
The Arab chemist Al-Kindi (c. 801–c. 873) authored the 'Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations,' which contained more than 100 recipes for fragrant oils, salves, and aromatic waters. The book also described methods and recipes for perfume-making and perfume-making equipment. Later, the Persian chemist Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna) introduced the process of extracting oils from flowers by means of distillation—the procedure most commonly used today.
The Crusaders brought back perfume from the Levant, effectively introducing the art of perfumery to western Europe in the early 12th century.
However, perfume didn't become popular in Europe until the 16th century when Renato il Fiorentino, the personal perfumer to Italian noblewoman and queen consort to France Catherine de' Medici, relocated to Paris and established himself as one of the leading perfumers of the day.
In 1693, Italian Giovanni Paolo Feminis created a perfume water called Aqua Admirabilis—a concoction of lemon, orange, bergamot, rosemary, bitter orange, and neroli. He later settled in Cologne in Germany where the scent became known as Eau de Cologne. Pictured is a late 17th-century advertisement for the perfume.
A nephew of Feminis, Johann Maria Farina, took over the business in 1763. Today, the 8th generation of the Farina family still produces the original Eau de Cologne.
Highly valued since antiquity for their fragrance, resins including labdanum, frankincense (pictured), myrrh, and benzoin are commonly used in perfumery.
Controversy surrounds the harvesting of animal parts for use in perfumery. The rare Siberian musk deer (pictured) is still hunted by humans who use the musk pod found in the male deer to make medicines and perfumes. Similarly, the odorous sacs of civets are prized for their oil. Fortunately, the manufacture and use of synthetic animal oils musks is now the preferred option.
Fashion designer Coco Chanel is synonymous with one of the most famous perfumes ever created.
The ancient city of Kannauj in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is celebrated for the distilling of scents, and is known as India's perfume capital. More than 200 perfume distilleries are located here.
One of the oldest production sites for perfume ever discovered is located at Pyrgos, in Cyprus. Scientists were able to extract essences of the world's oldest scents and reconstruct the aromas used four millennia ago from fragments of clay perfume bottles (pictured).
The marketing of perfume began as modern advertising took shape in the 16th and 17th centuries with the advent of newspapers, magazines, and trade cards (pictured).
But promoting a fragrance soon became far more than just selling an aroma. Advertising executives quickly realized that to successfully advertise a fragrance, you had to tap into human psychology and link your brand with a desirable abstract idea.
Set in 18th century France, this thriller tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), an olfactory genius, and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent. Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, and Dustin Hoffman costar.
Meanwhile, France and Italy had become the European centers of perfume and cosmetics manufacture. Aromatic plants to provide the burgeoning perfume industry with raw materials were being cultivated in the Grasse region of France, as well as Sicily and Calabria in Italy.
Cosmetics were part of daily life for women in ancient Rome, and scent was an important factor in beauty. The Romans refined the art of perfumery, and created fragrances using flowers or herbs and oil.
An ancient Egyptian perfume vessel in the shape of a monkey dated 1550-1295 BCE.
Wood oils and distillates are vital in providing the base notes to a perfume, for example those extracted from juniper (pictured), sandalwood, and pine.
There are numerous aromatic sources used in the creation of perfumes. Undoubtedly, the largest and most common source of perfume aromatics is flowers and blossoms, including the flowers of several species of jasmine (pictured).
The flowers of many species of rose have long been used to create perfume. The blossoms of citrus and ylang-ylang trees are also prized for their aromatic qualities.
Today, those ideas revolve strongly around passion, femininity or masculinity, and celebrity! Pictured is Gwyneth Paltrow launching the 'Pleasures' fragrance range for Estée Lauder.
The global perfume market reached a value of US$38.8 billion in 2018, according to Globe Newswire. Looking forward, the market value is projected to reach a staggering US$48 billion by 2024.
Chanel No. 5 was the first perfume launched by the French couturier, in 1922. The scent formula for the fragrance was compounded by French-Russian chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. It remains one of the most famous perfumes in the world.
Based in Versailles, France, the Osmothèque is the world's largest scent archive. Exclusive to the collection are countless rare masterpieces, including an original bottle of Fougère Royale by Houbigant. Created by Paul Parquet in 1884, it is one of the most important modern perfumes and inspired the eponymous Fougère class of fragrances.
The Perfume Museum in Paris houses a rare and unique display of perfumery objets d'art. Must-see exhibits include a 16th-century pomander, a Louis XIV perfume burner, and a rosine bottle by Paul Poiret. Entry to the museum is free.
Around 4,000 chemicals are currently used to scent products, and a single scent may contain anywhere from 50 to 300 distinct chemicals, a report revealed in the Guardian newspaper suggests.
Paper blotters are commonly used by perfumers to sample and smell perfumes and odorants.
The perfume organ dates back to the 19th century and was invented by French chemist Septimus Piesse. Traditionally a perfumer would sit at a semi-circular desk with stepped, curved shelves above, which would hold small bottles of all the raw materials that the perfumer used.
Shopping for the right perfume can be exacting. But imagine sitting down at the organ and actually composing perfumes that will be sold. The perfumer is an expert on perfume composition and is often affectionately referred to as a "Nez" (French for nose), due to their fine sense of smell and skill in smell composition.
Perfume was first used by the ancient Egyptians as part of their religious rituals. The Greeks and the Romans refined its use, applying perfumed oils to the skin for either cosmetic or medicinal use. But it was within the Islamic world that perfume making, or perfumery, became commonplace. By the 16th century, western Europe too was beginning to smell good. Today, the global perfume market is worth a staggering US$38.8 billion. So, why is wearing an agreeable scent so popular?
Click through the following gallery and sniff out some amazing facts behind the art of perfumery.
Why does perfume smell so good?
Where do our favorite fragrances come from, how are they made, and what's in them?
LIFESTYLE Scents
Perfume was first used by the ancient Egyptians as part of their religious rituals. The Greeks and the Romans refined its use, applying perfumed oils to the skin for either cosmetic or medicinal use. But it was within the Islamic world that perfume making, or perfumery, became commonplace. By the 16th century, western Europe too was beginning to smell good. Today, the global perfume market is worth a staggering US$38.8 billion. So, why is wearing an agreeable scent so popular?
Click through the following gallery and sniff out some amazing facts behind the art of perfumery.