How Is Perfume Produced?

General Overview

Perfumes and colognes have been around in some shape or form since ancient times. In ancient Egypt, people used sweet-smelling oils on their bodies and even in their hair. Popular scents like frankincense, peppermint and rose were used during religious ceremonies by ancient worshipers. Today, perfume-making is a billion dollar cosmetics endeavor that continues to grow. Major fashion houses, beauty companies and even a few celebrities regularly create and market signature scents to the public.

How It's Made

Most perfumes are made from 80 to 95 percent specially formulated alcohol and about 5 to 20 percent essential oils. Essential oils are carefully extracted from various raw materials such as vanilla, cinnamon, roses, citrus plants, sandalwood, violet, bergamot, ylang ylang, magnolia, lilies, musk and licorice. These extracted essential oils are then mixed in with the ethyl alcohol and heated in a tube to ensure complete mixing of the two major ingredients. This mixture is then diluted with a solvent in order to reduce undesired chemical and allergic reactions. A perfume with a high percentage of essential oils (about 15 percent or more) often has a powerful scent that lasts much longer on the wearer than perfume that has been diluted too much.

Types of Perfume

Based on the concentrations of essential oils within them, perfumes are classified into four groups: parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette and eau de cologne. Parfum is the type of perfume with the highest concentration of essential oils, up to 20 percent and sometimes even reaching 22 percent. Eau de parfum contains about 10 to 15 percent essential oils and is slightly less powerful than a parfum. Eau de toilette is highly diluted and contains about 5 to 8 percent essential oils, giving it a much lighter, less overpowering scent. Finally, eau de colognes contain about a 4 percent or less concentration of essential oils.