Jasmine Directory

Perfume is a liquid that emits an agreeable scent that is used to impart a fragrance to the skin.

Perfume is easily the most concentrated kind of fragrance. It is the purest, strongest, and longest lasting of all fragrance forms. In addition, this excellent blend may contain several hundred ingredients. Perfume sets the standard for all of its derivatives, eau de parfum, cologne, toilet water, soap, body oils and lotions, talc and bath powder. The higher the artistry in the perfumer, known in the world of fragrance as "the nose," the greater is the perfection in each of these offspring will be.

America is regarded as the world's largest perfume market, with well over one thousand fragrances to match every lifestyle, mood, and activity. The annual sales total is greater than $6 billion, with one-third representing men's fragrances.

History

Perfume has played many fascinating roles right from the start of recorded history. Individuals from almost every culture have considered fragrance as a psychological and in some cases mystical experience. 

Scented Sacraments

According to the Bible, the 3 Wise Men brought myrrh and frankincense to the Christ Child as the ultimate of worldly tributes. Ancient Egyptians identified every one of their deities with perfumes ascribed for them. In addition, the terms they used for perfumes were symbolic of their Gods.

Healing

In 17th-century, doctors of Europe treating plague victims covered their noses with leather "snouts," which held cloves, cinnamon, and other aromatics known to prevent the disease. During the same period, in England, people used to carry aromatics in their lockets that women wore around their necks. Women kept them close to their noses when they were outdoors.

Perfumed Heroes

Perfume has long been considered as indispensable in love and war. According to the works of Shakespeare, Cleopatra enraptured Antony when she sailed down the Nile; her sails were so perfumed that the winds were lovesick with them. Napoleon refused to go to the battle unless he is dressed with all the scents that he considered important to his personal well-being and battlefield superiority.

How perfume is made

Natural oils derived from flowers work as the base for most of the fragrances. The perfumer also works with the grasses, herbs and spices, citrus products and aromatic chemicals. Aromatic chemicals supply the perfumer with new kinds of accents not given by nature. Additionally, these aromatic chemicals also make it possible to recreate the fragrances of lily of the valley and gardenia, whose flowers do not yield oil.

Some aromatic chemicals are isolated from natural origins, while there are others that have synthetic origins. The synthetic aromatic chemicals are not found in nature but contribute a distinctive odor value to a perfumer's palette. 

Fixatives would be the base notes of your fragrance and hold each one of the ingredients in a long-lasting and harmonious manner. These fixatives are derived from resins, roots, mosses, leaves, woodsgums and balsams. Specially aged alcohol (mostly grain) serves as the "carrier" for other ingredients. 

Popular Fragrance Forms

Eau de parfum is amongst the latest types of fragrances that can be found in many fine collections. Eau de parfum prepares your skin for the use of perfume and makes certain that the application is long-lasting. Since fragrance rises, it is very important apply fragrance throughout the body. The scent will slowly rise and disappear if fragrance is applied just behind the ears.

Just like Eau de parfum, toilet water also contains no other notes of fragrance except those of original perfume, but the notes of perfume are expanded to make it more lighter and subtle. Cologne is often the lightest type of fragrance, and it can be used lavishly. When cologne was first introduced, it was the citrus form of fragrant "water" first created in the city named Cologne, Germany, in the 17th century. Although citrus-type colognes enjoy great popularity today, most of them are lighter versions of perfumes, less concentrated with perfume oils. Cologne is invigorating and refreshing, especially when splashed on after the shower.

Future Fragrance Developments

Throughout the twentieth century, perfumers trained in the aesthetic traditions of the Renaissance crafted most fragrances. The language of these artisans, who spent years in apprenticeship, was centered on amber notes and white floral accords.

In the 21st century, however, perfumers were speaking routinely of molecular binding affinities of floral-receptor proteins. The technique of perfumery had become inconceivable without computer-aided design and molecular modeling software. Computers were used to translate a gene sequence into a 3-D model of a receptor, screening 1000s of odor molecules to find the ones that activate it.