A Guide to Perfumes
Long before department stores existed, perfume was part of human culture. The earliest perfumes were derived by simply rubbing fragrant plants directly on the skin. In the 21st century, many perfumes are still manufactured with natural plant essences. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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While people have been using scent since their earliest days, the modern perfume business was born at the end of the 19th century. From the beginning, perfume makers have been secretive about their formulas and production methods. Prior to the Internet, there was no real critical forum for perfume scents, but the Web is changing the way the perfume industry works. Rather than information about perfumes coming mainly from magazines, where perfume manufacturers were some of the biggest advertisers, people post honest, unbiased reviews on the Internet.
Ingredients
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The scent in perfume can come from natural or synthetic sources. Essential oils are the most common source of natural fragrance. Resins, balsams, concretes and absolutes are other natural matter that scent perfume. All scents must have carriers into which the scents are mixed. In most cases this is ethyl alcohol.
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Scent Combinations
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Most perfumes are composed of a combination of scents. Different perfume makers and critics visualize scent in different ways. Some compare it to a musical scale, while others associate scents with particular colors. Creating pleasant perfumes is a matter of combining scents that complement each other.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit perfume image by blacklight from Fotolia.com
