#steem-perfume project: Understanding Perfume

Perfume History:

Perfume did exist for over 4,000 years ago. The word perfume comes from the Latin per fume, which means "through smoke". And one of the oldest uses of perfumes is in the form of burning incense and aromatic herd, often the aromatic gums, frankincense and myrrh, usually it comes from the trees.

The Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into culture followed by the Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians. Arabs, Greeks and Romans. While the earliest use of perfume bottles was trace with the Egyptians dated to around 1000 BC (Before Christ). The Egyptians invented glass and perfume bottles were one of the first common uses for glass.

Perfume huge success was trace way back seventeenth century. Perfumed gloves become so popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established. The use of perfume in France grew steadily. The court of Louis XV was even named "The Perfumed Court" due to the scents that were applied daily not only to skin but also to clothing, fans and furniture.

Chemical Advances in Perfumery

In the late 19th century was the first real era of perfume as we know it when new scents were created because of advances in organic chemistry. Synthetic perfume products were used in place of certain hard to find or expensive natural ingredients.

Grasse in Provence, France became a center for flower and herb growing for the perfume industry. The men who treated leathers in the same area found the smells so bad, therefore they perfumed themselves and the leathers. They were knowledgeable about making the botanical essences and were the early perfume noses. But it was only in 20th century that scents and designer perfumes were really mass produced.

Perfume Notes

Before we go into procedural details, it is important that you learn some essential knowledge in perfumery. Lets talk about the most important ingredient, and the fragrance oil.

Fragrance oil is a complex blend of natural essential oils and aroma chemicals. Perfumers create a unique combination of anywhere from 10 to 100 ingredients to meet a defined fragrance profile intended for a certain target market.

Using a musical metaphor, every blend of fragrance oil is said to have three notes. The top notes, body or middle notes, and the base or bottom notes which form the harmonious chord of the scent.

The notes unfold over time, with the immediate impression of the top note leading to the deeper middle notes and the base notes gradually appearing as the final stage. These notes are created carefully with knowledge of the evaporation speed of the different scents used in perfume.

The Top Notes

These are the first perceptible notes or scents out of the bottle. These are also known as "head notes". These are made up of the molecules that evaporate the quickest. Usually citrus and greens.

Citrus - this is popularly used in perfumery, usually oils from bergamot, grapefruit, lime, lemon, mandarin and tangerine.

Green - this is the odor of fresh cut grass, vines, and leaves. Green notes add lift and vibrancy to a fragrance composition and appear in most combinations to add naturalness. The oil of tomato leaf, for example, maybe described as a "green" note. Camphor falls into this category, as do pine and mint. Lavander lies somewhere between green and floral. Other examples are, styrallyl acetate which comes with a powerful penetrating sweet green floral gardenia note. Galbanum oil on the other hand comes with several species of tress growing wild in Iran and the near East. Its green odor is reminiscent of tossed green salad or green pepper.

The Middle Notes

These are the main and characteristic overall aroma of the perfume. They last longer on the skin than the top notes. These are also known as the "heart notes" because they form the main body of the perfume. They emerge as the top notes dissipate.

Aldehydic - this is an important ingredient used in perfumery to enhance and support floral odors. Synthetic aldehyde bases are more commonly used now. Others are;

Herby - best described as grassy and pungent. Popular herbs used are rosemary, thyme, lemongrass, and sage which are familiar cooking ingredients.

Tarragon Oil - this is from the Tarragon plant grown in Europe and Asia. It is an herb with a sweet anise and celery leaf odor.

Armoise Essence - this is from a plant grown in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It gives a powerful and somewhat green bittersweet cedar leaf odor. It is not commonly used but gives an excellent impression when used with other herbal notes.

Wormwood Oil - this is from the dried leaves called Mugwort, a plant native to Southern Europe. It gives a warm long lasting note, very green and herbaceous.

Clary Sage Oil - it comes from the flowering tops of the sage plant in Southern Europe. It gives a tea or tobacco impression. It is very tenacious and has an excellent fixative property.

Spearmint Oil - comes from flower tops of Mentha spicata form the Mediterranean area. Contains much less menthol than peppermint.

Floral

This are flower oils produced by extraction and may be obtained from the flower or the leaf. And the best example are chamomile, hibiscus, plumeria, jasmine, lavender, lily of the valley, neroli, rose and ylang ylang (ilang-ilang).

The Base Notes

The main theme of the perfume is made up of the middle notes and the base notes together. The base notes emerge as the middle notes dissipate. The base notes are said to bring depth and solidity to a perfume. They are not perceived until 30 minutes after the perfume is applied and last for several hours.

Spicy - it described as agreeably pungent odors or piquant notes. Best examples are cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, and cumin.

Woody - this is generally described as the aroma of freshly cut dry woods or roots. Best example are sandalwood, indisan, patchouli, and vetiver.

Animal - There are four main animal ingredients used in perfume. Civet from civet cat, musk from musk deer, castoreum from the beaver and ambergris from the sperm whale.

Mossy or Lichens - is an ingredient used extensively in perfumery to give naturalist, rich undertones and high fixation. The best example is oakmoss or mousse de chene. This lichen grows mostly on oak trees. It is collected in Central and Southern Europe and gives a very lasting typical mossy note. The absolute grade is the highest possible concentration and used only in high-end perfumes.

Resinous or resin - is a natural exudation from plants and trees, not powerfully odorous but usually good as a stabilizer. Best examples are labdanum, myrrh and frankincense.

Musky - is an important animal fixative, which is from the musk deer. Natural musk, being symbol of lasting, penetrating odor has given its name to a whole series of aromatic chemicals that are not constituents of natural musk but have similar odor and lasting qualities. These are as follows, musk ketone, galaxolide, vanilin, coumarin and heliotropin.

Making sense of your scents

If you are new to perfumery, you may be overwhelmed by these myriad of details. Later on, you will find yourself going back to these sections as you try to understand the olfactive descriptions of popular fragrance oils. Olfactive descriptions will be your guide in deciding which of the fragrance oils will best fit the needs of your target market. To make assumptions on what you market wants can be a costly trial and error exercise.

You will need this perfumery knowledge as well when you try to create original scents from essential oils, sample recipes of which are described in the next post under the #steem-perfume.