History Of Perfume And Fragrances

You love your perfume but, have you everAs Christianity spread, the use of perfume
thought about how many other people have asdiminished. All that lasted until the 12th century,
well? Let us give you some interesting facts...when Europe started to see the perfume thanks
Historically, culture has considered the senses ofto the international trade. Routes between the
sight and hearing as "higher" senses, delightingEast and West were open and new scents and
them to the arts: dance, poetry and music amongspices made it to Europe. Perfume use revived,
other forms. The senses of smell, taste andas it was a great addition to personal grooming. In
touch have been considered the "lower" sensesthose early days of fragrances, people often
for their connection to primal instincts: survival,developed their own fragrances by mixing
nutrition and mating. However, the sense of smellflowers, herbs, spices and oils in their own home.
has been underestimated, as well as the desireThe 18th century brought the Eau de Cologne -
for mankind to cater to his/her vanity."water from Cologne". A young Italian, Jean-Marie
The history of perfume dates back to the ancientFarina invented it in Cologne, Germany, which was
world. The Egyptians employed fragrances as parta big success in France and subsequently in
of their religious ceremonials, believing that theyEurope. The eau de cologne was originally intended
could communicate with the gods by raisingfor both internal and external use, having both
scented smoke; thus, the word perfume -permedicinal and cosmetic applications. Napoleon
fumum, Latin for through smoke. Incense wascreated a legal distinction between pharmacy and
used for religious purposes, while balms andperfumery.
ointments were used for cosmetic and/orHygiene had become a symbol of soul purity as
medicinal purposes. Myrrh, frankincense,the 19th century arrived. Modern chemistry and
peppermint and rose were common ingredients inadvanced technology made it possible to create
early perfumes. The Egyptians invented glass andnew extraction techniques. The biggest of all
utilized glass perfume bottles to store theirtechnological advances was the ability to create
perfumes. They also used gold, hard stones andsynthetic ingredients to substitute natural perfume
other materials to make their "perfumeingredients that were hard to find or very
containers".expensive, bringing the perfume prices down and
The Persians perfected the art of preservingmaking it accessible to the masses. Perfume was
scents; while the Greeks categorized perfumesno longer a luxury for the wealthy. However,
according to the part of the plant they camethere were still only a few brand names available
from and kept records of their compositions.until the 20th century when mass production of
Alexander the Great brought perfume to Greeceperfumes began.
after invading Egypt, and the Romans took onHuman beings are vain by nature and have
the Greek's perfume culture when they invadedperpetuated the use of perfume as an intricate
Greece. In the mean time, Islamic, Chinese andpart of culture. We are in a global society, where
Indian cultures had been using perfume as part oftechnology has made perfumes accessible.
their religious and social rituals as well.