About Perfumists

You know that the mysterious contents of that perfume bottle are evocative, aromatic, maybe even seductive. You may even know that the intoxicating scent is a blend of essential oils from flowers, spices and other substances. But do you know who combines those oils and creates the specific perfumes? Meet the perfumist.

History

Perfume was not originally a liquid perhaps, but a form of incense. Literally, the name means "through the smoke." It may have taken wagon loads of flowers, plants and exotic spices to make even a small quantity of the fragrant, expensive stuff coveted by royalty and aristocracy alike. Hence the advent of the perfumist, who became an important personage. Especially when kings like Louis XIV insisted that everyone around wear perfume at all times. Keep in mind the other aromas that needed to be covered up in a world without running water, or circulating air. Catherine de Medici actually took her own perfumist with her to France when she married King Henry II.

Advancements

The first perfumists became experts about gathering and processing the ingredients needed to make perfumes. They only had raw materials like plants, flowers, exotic spices, musk and wood to use. When distillation techniques were refined, perfumists found a way to to turn incense into liquid fragrance. But the perfume industry did not become a magnificent mass-producing machine until perfumists discovered artificial scents that could be made in the chemistry lab. In fact it was Coco Chanel who insisted that a perfumist create a new fragrance that was completely artificial. Chanel No. 5 was the result.

Molecular Magic

The molecule that makes the difference is an aldehyde, created in a laboratory in the 1920s by perfumists who were also chemists. These amazing molecules give an exuberance to a fragrance, and they also adapt to a person's own skin chemistry, actually changing its scent and character sequentially. Perfumists call aspects of fragrance released in this sequential manner "top notes", "heart notes" and "base notes." This is why perfumes do not smell the same on different people. Since 1990 Estee Lauder has made a monolithic scent still popular today, named "Tresor." This one does smell about the same on everyone. In this case, the perfumist created a complex fragrance that hits the olfactory sense all at once, rather than as a sequential unfolding.

Consistency

"Perfumistas" have their own form of elitism, and they will not tolerate the hit-and-miss nature of some ingredients. Although the "all natural " movement has had some impact in the perfume industry, chemically created scents are the stock and trade of the perfumist's ability to be creative and effective. Natural elements, unlike chemical ones, are not consistent or uniform in quality. That is why the chemist/perfumist is quite content working in a science lab. Surprisingly, an artificial scent can be just as aromatic as a natural one, and much more dependable.

Qualifications

Perfumists are required to have a degree in chemistry, and often, to serve an apprenticeship with a master perfumist. They may work in an independent lab or for a big perfume, cosmetic or cleaning product company. Someone has to create the chemical formulas for fragrance in a new deodorant soap, toilet cleaner or detergent. Someone makes those shampoos, lotions and conditioners we use that smell wonderful. We even expect our dishwashing liquids to smell good. And it takes a perfumist to make it happen, in the lab. There are only a thousand or so perfumists in the country, so there is a good chance that one of them will come up with the next "hit" fragrance. In that case, income potential could go in the high six figures.

Resources

• Fast perfume history
• Crystal vanity set with perfume bottle
• More about a perfumist's potential income