History of Perfume and Fragrances

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History of Perfume and Fragrances

The history of perfume is a reflection of humanity: a means of exchange, a protection against disease, a potion with divine virtues, a gallant message, which reflects society, perceptibly communicating its sense of commerce and medicine, of the sacred and the sensual. The word "perfume" comes from the Latin per fume "through smoke". This refers to the original use of fragrances - the burning of incense and herbs as a religious offering.

Perfume is made up of denatured ethyl alcohol and essential oils. The different names refer to the percentage of essential oils, and thus the strength of the scent.

Perfume: 22% of essential oils.

Eau de Parfum: 15 - 22%

Eau de Toilette: 8 - 15%

Eau de Cologne: 4%

Ancient Time

During the civilizations of antiquity, perfume was presented as an offering to the gods. It was believed to sublimate the body and make it more god-like.

10th Century BC: The Medes, ancestors of today’s Kurds are generally given credit for the invention and widespread use of perfumes, presumably to hide certain smells originating from overeating and failure to observe what are now common hygienic practices.

1580-1085 BC: The Egyptians create perfumes for daily consumer use and ultimately, use in religious ceremonies. Egyptian women used perfumed creams and oils as toiletries, cosmetics and aids to lovemaking. Queen Cleopatra was reported to use opiates and perfumes to seduce her many lovers and she may be the first to invent pomades from bear grease. Perfumes, especially those developed from resins, were originally used to appease the gods but in time they became more important in the embalming process for chemical reasons. Materials with drying agents like asphal...

... middle of paper ...

...n Klein's, Yves St Laurent’s, and Nina Ricci's.

Conclusion

In the end, history of perfume shows how great human in developing what we call fashion. From all those history we know that there are a lot of perfume usages, like medicine, surgeon, etc. People developed not only the fragrances, but also the bottles. They also invented a lot of way to obtain the fragrances, like distilling oil from the petals of roses. After all, perfume is part of human history, without it our live is not complete.

References:

Maginnis, Tara. Perfumes For The Period Scent. The Costumer’s Manifesto.2 July 2003.

<http://www.costumes.org/pages/perfume.htm>.

Karppinen, Shannon. A View of the World of Perfume.2 July 2003.

<http://zebra.sc.edu/smell/shannon/shannon.html>.

Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History of the Senses. Vintage Books, New York.

ISBN #0-679-73566-6.

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