Perfume comes from the Latin word “Perfumare”, which means “to smoke through'' .It is usually a liquid product which is a mixture of aroma compounds, solvents, and fixatives that are used to give a pleasant smell to humans, animals, or any other living or non-living things. In the past archeologists research show that there is the use of perfume in the old civilizations of the world. In the south asian region means Indian area perfumes are present and developed in the indus Valley Civilization.
Origin of Perfume
According to the ancient history, Egyptians were the ones who invented the perfume. Egyptians used perfumes for various purposes. Later, the Romans, Germans got acquainted with it and in 1190, Paris started making perfumes on a large scale for commercial purposes.
There is a story behind the origin of perfume, and it is all about the flowers that perfume is made from. The story goes that in the early times, men used flowers to give sense to their loved ones. They even married women whose fathers used to make perfume for them! With time however, with the industrial revolution and the discovery of perfume plants as well as their fragrances, it became more popular for women to make perfume on their own.
According to the ancient records, the perfume actually began as an attempt to honor the gods. It represents inviolable and sacred, which means only average people can use it. Only Roman women enjoy using it, because it represents luxury, which is considered to be masculine, and therefore, inviolable. In the perfume courts, people would try to outdo each other in terms of making the most complex and expensive perfume.
Later on, during the middle Ages, it was common for women from the upper class to wear these heavenly scents on a regular basis, not only to please their husbands or partners, but also to defend themselves from any bad fortune that may come their way. This was considered necessary, especially since perfume was thought to ward off evil spirits. As the years went by, it became even more popular and acceptable for women from the middle class to enjoy wearing perfume. They would even go as far as hiring professional perfume makers to create unique and exotic aromas for them to enjoy.
How Perfume is made?
Making a sweet smelling perfume takes a lot of work and time, just like wine. It includes collecting the ingredients, extraction, blending, aging, and many more steps.
1. Extraction: - To make perfume from natural ingredients, one has to extract the oil. The extraction of the oil can be done in several ways: -
a) Solvent Extraction: - In this method, the plants are put in a large drum. The plants are properly wrapped with benzene, and the drum is rotated. Gradually, the parts of the plant get dissolved and a waxy substance is left. The waxy substance is placed in ethyl alcohol, and the oil gets dissolved in the ethyl alcohol. Later, it is burnt which leaves the perfume oil.
b) Enfleurage: - In this process, the plants are spread over a large glass sheet that is coated with grease. The glass sheets are placed in tiers, and the flowers are moved manually until all the fragrance is absorbed by the grease.
c) Expression: - Expression, is the oldest and the simplest form of extraction, in which the plant is pressed either by hand or by machine until all the oil is extracted.
d) Maceration: - Maceration process is similar to enfleurage, but in this case fats (warmed) are used instead of grease. The fats are dissolved in alcohol to obtain the oil.
2. Blending: - After gathering all the ingredients and extracting the oil, it is necessary to blend all the ingredients. It is blended according to the formula given in the perfume industry. Perfume ingredients come from plants and animals. Animal ingredients are commonly used as fixatives. Fixatives enable the perfume to evaporate at a slow rate and helps to emit an odor for a longer duration.
3. Aging: - To make premium quality and pure perfumes, the scent after getting blended is left foraging for months and sometimes even for years. This ensures that the perfume has been properly blended and a proper sweet scent is created.
4. Quality Control: - It is very important to ensure that the final perfume does not contain any hazardous ingredient which can ruin the brand’s reputation and deteriorate public health.
