Perfume is an exquisite blend of science, art, and personal expression. It is the result of skillfully blending a myriad of natural and synthetic ingredients known as “raw materials” into a harmonious fragrance that appeals to a person’s sense of smell and evokes a specific emotion or memory. Understanding perfume, its creation process, different concentrations, and categories is essential to selecting and caring for the perfect fragrance for you.
The word perfume is derived from the Latin words for “through” and “scent,” or “fume.” In the ancient world, perfume was created to mimic nature’s pleasant aromas using oils extracted from plants and animals. These materials were used to scent clothing, food, objects and living spaces.
Throughout the Middle Ages, perfume became popular in Europe thanks to Crusaders who brought back gifts of perfumes from the Orient and Occident. It was during this time that the earliest perfumes were developed as medicinal treatments to treat the plague. Seventeenth-century physicians treated victims of the plague by covering them in aromatic compounds containing cloves, cinnamon and other spices.
By the end of the eighteenth century, perfume had become a fashion statement with the more expensive the bottle the higher in social status. The court of Louis XIV was infamously known as the “perfumed court.”
Perfumers combine raw materials through a variety of extraction techniques including distillation, cold pressing, enfleurage, solvent extraction and the use of headspace technology. The olfactory family of a perfume is determined by its top notes (citrus, fruit, light floral), middle notes (rose, gardenia and jasmine) and base notes (musk, ambergris and wood).
Animal secretions such as ambergris from the sperm whale, castor oil (also called castoreum) from the beaver, and musk from the civet cat are sometimes used to increase the longevity of perfumes. The use of these materials also permits the creation of odour characteristics that are not available naturally such as the smell of newly mown grass or a leather jacket.
The chemistry of perfume is complex with many different chemical compounds involved in its composition. The first synthetic perfume was formulated by Englishman William Perkin in 1868 from nitric acid and benzene and marketed as nitrobenzene. The following year he successfully recreated the scent of freshly mown hay by synthesizing coumarin, a compound extracted from the root of South American tonka bean.
To discover the perfume that is uniquely you, take a close look at the fragrances that you instinctively gravitate towards and the moods they invoke. Consider how different scents change as the day progresses or in response to your environment. Spend time at a perfume store spraying yourself with various perfumes and taking note of the effects on your olfactory system. Then use your results to select the best perfume for you. You might even want to select complementary fragrances to create a personalized signature scent. Remember that perfume can be a powerful tool of self-expression and can enhance your confidence and personal style.