The Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into culture followed by the Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians. Arabs, Greeks and Romans. While the earliest use of perfume bottles was trace with the Egyptians dated to around 1000 BC (Before Christ). The Egyptians invented glass and perfume bottles were one of the first common uses for glass.
Perfume huge success was trace way back seventeenth century. Perfumed gloves become so popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established. The use of perfume in France grew steadily. The court of Louis XV was even named "The Perfumed Court" due to the scents that were applied daily not only to skin but also to clothing, fans and furniture.
Grasse in Provence, France became a center for flower and herb growing for the perfume industry. The men who treated leathers in the same area found the smells so bad, therefore they perfumed themselves and the leathers. They were knowledgeable about making the botanical essences and were the early perfume noses. But it was only in 20th century that scents and designer perfumes were really mass produced.
Fragrance oil is a complex blend of natural essential oils and aroma chemicals. Perfumers create a unique combination of anywhere from 10 to 100 ingredients to meet a defined fragrance profile intended for a certain target market.
Using a musical metaphor, every blend of fragrance oil is said to have three notes. The top notes, body or middle notes, and the base or bottom notes which form the harmonious chord of the scent.
The notes unfold over time, with the immediate impression of the top note leading to the deeper middle notes and the base notes gradually appearing as the final stage. These notes are created carefully with knowledge of the evaporation speed of the different scents used in perfume.
Citrus - this is popularly used in perfumery, usually oils from bergamot, grapefruit, lime, lemon, mandarin and tangerine.
Green - this is the odor of fresh cut grass, vines, and leaves. Green notes add lift and vibrancy to a fragrance composition and appear in most combinations to add naturalness. The oil of tomato leaf, for example, maybe described as a "green" note. Camphor falls into this category, as do pine and mint. Lavander lies somewhere between green and floral. Other examples are, styrallyl acetate which comes with a powerful penetrating sweet green floral gardenia note. Galbanum oil on the other hand comes with several species of tress growing wild in Iran and the near East. Its green odor is reminiscent of tossed green salad or green pepper.
Aldehydic - this is an important ingredient used in perfumery to enhance and support floral odors. Synthetic aldehyde bases are more commonly used now. Others are;
Herby - best described as grassy and pungent. Popular herbs used are rosemary, thyme, lemongrass, and sage which are familiar cooking ingredients.
Tarragon Oil - this is from the Tarragon plant grown in Europe and Asia. It is an herb with a sweet anise and celery leaf odor.
Armoise Essence - this is from a plant grown in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It gives a powerful and somewhat green bittersweet cedar leaf odor. It is not commonly used but gives an excellent impression when used with other herbal notes.
Wormwood Oil - this is from the dried leaves called Mugwort, a plant native to Southern Europe. It gives a warm long lasting note, very green and herbaceous.
Clary Sage Oil - it comes from the flowering tops of the sage plant in Southern Europe. It gives a tea or tobacco impression. It is very tenacious and has an excellent fixative property.
Spearmint Oil - comes from flower tops of Mentha spicata form the Mediterranean area. Contains much less menthol than peppermint.
Spicy - it described as agreeably pungent odors or piquant notes. Best examples are cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, and cumin.
Woody - this is generally described as the aroma of freshly cut dry woods or roots. Best example are sandalwood, indisan, patchouli, and vetiver.
Animal - There are four main animal ingredients used in perfume. Civet from civet cat, musk from musk deer, castoreum from the beaver and ambergris from the sperm whale.
Mossy or Lichens - is an ingredient used extensively in perfumery to give naturalist, rich undertones and high fixation. The best example is oakmoss or mousse de chene. This lichen grows mostly on oak trees. It is collected in Central and Southern Europe and gives a very lasting typical mossy note. The absolute grade is the highest possible concentration and used only in high-end perfumes.
Resinous or resin - is a natural exudation from plants and trees, not powerfully odorous but usually good as a stabilizer. Best examples are labdanum, myrrh and frankincense.
Musky - is an important animal fixative, which is from the musk deer. Natural musk, being symbol of lasting, penetrating odor has given its name to a whole series of aromatic chemicals that are not constituents of natural musk but have similar odor and lasting qualities. These are as follows, musk ketone, galaxolide, vanilin, coumarin and heliotropin.
You will need this perfumery knowledge as well when you try to create original scents from essential oils, sample recipes of which are described in the next post under the #steem-perfume.
