As most of you may have already guessed, perfume has been
used since the dawn of time, the first ones known to have
used it being the Egyptians, as balms and ointments. They
were soon followed by other people, such as the ancient
Chinese, Hindus, Arabs, Greeks, Israelites, Carthaginians
and Romans. Surprisingly as it may seem, the oldest
recovered bottle of perfume is over 3000 years old and it
was assumed to belong to an Egyptian.
However, during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, perfumes
were highly exclusive, only allowed for religious purposes.
Fortunately, in a couple of century’s time, women were
allowed to use this kind of products, especially in the form
of perfumed creams and oils, used for cosmetic purposes and
as aphrodisiacs.
At first used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes, over
time, the cosmetic value of perfumes has risen and it now
represents a 10 billion dollars industry. Still, it hasn’t
always been this way. Some centuries ago, the use of
perfumes was not so highly thought of, even being prohibited
because it was considered to be witchcraft.
However, perfume has had a major comeback in the 17th
century, when perfumed gloves were really popular,
especially in France, which also determined the founding of
the perfume and glove makers’ guild. Soon, applied not only
on skin, but also on clothing, furniture and other similar
items, the need for perfume was at an ever increasing rate.
A new breakthrough in this field occurred in the 18th
century, when the eau de cologne was invented. Used in a
wide variety of ways (for perfuming the bath water, used to
give the wine a distinct fragrance or as mouthwash, even
eaten or injected), the eau de cologne soon became one of
the most popular types of perfume on the market.
As the perfume industry grew, it gave birth to a new
industry – the perfume bottle industry, which can even be
considered an art. Nowadays, the “package” in which those
drops of pure delight come is considered to be as important
as the perfume itself.
However, the true foundations of perfumery were laid
starting with the 19th century, this art
advancing helped by a now vital part of the professional
perfume making industry – chemistry.
One of the most important name in the perfume industry is
fashion designer Gabrielle Chanel, who, in 1921, launches
her own brand of perfume called Chanel no. 5, the 5th
in a line of perfumes created by Ernest Beaux, who made the
perfume history books as the first one to use on regular
basis aldehydes in his perfume formulas.
Soon, other perfumers followed, in a hurry to make
themselves known and people more attractive with their
secret scents. Jean Patou, Christian Dior, Jacques Fath,
Nina Ricci, Pierre Balmain, Hugo Boss are just some of the
names known and appreciated all over the world, people
responsible of providing the ingredients for a more
beautiful life.
Sincerely,
