Perfume History
The Egyptians discovered glass at about the same time they discovered essential oil fragrances. The combination of the two ended up being perfume. This began an earnest exploration in the use of plants and other natural elements to produce fragrances that could be used for various ceremonial rituals. Back then the science of fragrance was most closely attuned to what we refer to as aromatherapy today. The fragrance was used to help people get into specific religious moods and to enhance lovemaking rituals. At first, this art was reserved only for those of noble birth and people in the priesthood, but the use of scents to remove the odors of the body became such a boon that it eventually went out to the masses.
The perfume industry came into its own when Alexander the Great invaded Egypt. He sent back numerous new plants and perfumes that were analyzed and classified by a Greek by the name of Theophrastus. He was the first to try and classify the scents and is the basis for the traditional classification of scents we have today.
The traditional classification consists of the following categories: floral, oriental, woody, leather, fougere, and chypre. These were scents that could be derived naturally through the distillation of plant essences or other natural materials. It wasn’t until chemists began to use chemicals to create scents that some newer categories were added that relied on synthetic procedures. These were: green, oceanic, citrus or fruity, and gourmand scents. In the past, citrus scents weren’t long-lasting or concentrated enough to be made into perfumes, although they could be made into bath splashes. With modern science, we are now able to synthesize many scents that were not available to our ancient ancestors. This has also helped to reduce the reliance on animal components like civet, musk, and ambergris, making the synthetic perfumes an ethical and green choice in the end.
