About Perfumes

Since ancient times, people have used perfume in religious ceremonies and for purposes of seduction. The methods of production vary, as do the glass vials that carry the scents, worn sparingly on the body. For many, a particular fragrance evokes positive feelings or pleasant memories. Others have adverse reactions to the scents, including illness. Furthermore, animal rights activists and environmentalists oppose the modern production of these cosmetics. However, the perfume industry continues to thrive today.

History

Perfume use dates back to at least 4,000 years in Cyprus, where archaeologists have uncovered a perfume laboratory. Dozens of artistic glass vials were also found at the excavation site. The word "perfume" derives from the Latin phrase "per fummum," which means "through smoke."

Features

To create a perfume, one starts with a palette, a selection of ingredients masterfully combined to create the right scent. Ingredients include organic materials, such as flowers, fruits, and leaves, as well as thousands of man-made ingredients. Additionally, perfume components come from animal parts, such as secretions of the sperm whale and civet cat, and extractions from the glands between beavers' and musk deer's hind legs. The latter is now made synthetically.
Ancient perfume makers distilled their ingredients to make their product. Modern-day methods include the cold pressing of fruit, cold enfleurage (the soaking of flowers in fats) and fractional distillation (utilizing chemistry to single out specific scents). The science of chromatography enables perfume makers to narrow down a scent by examining its individual elements.

Considerations

Adverse health affects of inhaling perfume can include allergies, headaches, sinusitis and asthma. Because some perfume ingredients are petroleum-based, anti-oil activists take issue with the perfume industry. Proponents of organic living take issue with the array of chemicals used in many modern-day perfumes.

Types

Citrus, woody, amber and leather are all categories of perfume scents. Another is chypre, assembled with a palette that includes rose, oak moss and bergamot. A third, fougere, has a palette that contains lavender, oak moss and bergamot.

Significance

For consumers, perfume means seduction and beauty. Perfume may recall certain memories to passers-by who smell it. To the perfume maker, his scent is like a work of art---starting out with a blank canvas, he uses a variety of colors and textures to create his own individual imprint on society. Even the glass vials that contain the perfume are acclaimed as art in their own right.

Resources

• International Perfume Museum
• Health Risks of Perfume