Perfume the Magic, the History and the Details

“Perfume is that last and best reserve of the past, the one which when all our tears have run dry, can make us cry again!”Marcel Proust
“Perfume is the art that makes memory speak.” Francis Kurkdjian

The history of perfume

The word perfume comes from the obsolete Latin word perfumare, which means to smoke through. It signifies pleasant-smelling smoke from a smoldering element.

The origins of perfumery can be traced to ancient Egypt & Mesopotamia. The perfume was first made in the form of incense and it was mainly used by priests to honor ceremonies and religious rituals by burning essential oils, wood & aromatic resins. Over time, the perfume became available to more people. It was used outside the religious scope and well-integrated in people’s hygiene. Egyptians would take baths in aromatic oils. Pure Extravaganza!

Ancient Egyptian perfume vase in shape of an amphoriskos — Ancient Egyptian perfume vase in the shape of an amphoriskos

Arab chemists introduced the process of distillation which led to the manufacturing of perfume at larger scales. The recipes of perfume included aromatic oils, water, and ointments.

Perfumes became a demanded commodity by the wealthy in Europe between 16^th and 17^th centuries, it was predominantly used to mask the repulsive body smells. France and Italy quickly became the leaders in cultivating aromatic plants which were used as raw materials in perfume making.

Perfume Classifications/ Dilution Types:

Parfum / Perfume oil or Extrait de parfum: All these terms actually indicate the same thing means the perfume is 15-40% (typically 20%) fragrance oil and they are the strongest of all perfume dilutions.
Esprit de parfum(ESdP): It is a rarely used dilution format,it means a dilution percentage is 15-30%
Eau de parfum(EdP)/parfum de toilette(PdT)/ millésime :This is a standard dilution level for fragrances with 10-20% fragrance oil(typically less than 15%)
Eau de toilette(EdT):5-15% fragrance oil (typically less than 10%) is a popular format for everyday wear and it is the standard for most masculine perfumes.
Eau de Cologne(EdC): It has typically 5%, with a range of 3-8% aromatic compounds
Eau Fraiche/Body Splash/Aftershave: These are the most dilute forms with 1-3% fragrance oil.

Perfume Classification	Longevity	Recommended Usage
Special Occasion	Evening Wear	Daily Wear	Office Wear
Parfum	6-8 hours	x	x
Eau de parfum(EdP)/	4-5 hours	x	x	x
Eau de toilette(EdT)	2-3 hours	x	x	x	x
Eau de Cologne(EdC):	Up to 2 hours			x	x

Christina Gurunian opening eponymous scent by Lusin Selective Perfumes

Sonia Rykiel also swears by the lasting effect of fragrance: “Perfume follows you; it chases you and lingers behind you. It’s a reference mark. Perfume makes silence talk.”

Fragrance Notes:

These notes are designed precisely with understanding of the vaporization of the perfumes.

Top notes: Also known as the headnotes. The smells are felt instantly on the application of a perfume. Top notes evaporate quickly and they are the first impression a person gets from perfumes.
Middle notes: Also known as heart notes. These the smells that emerge after top notes.
Base notes The aroma of a perfume that emerges close to the disappearance of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of perfumes.

Olfactive Families

Classifying scents can certainly not be a totally impartial or conclusive procedure. Many of them contain facets of different families.

Since 1945, due to big innovations in the technology of perfume creation ,new categories have emerged to describe modern scents:

Bright Floral: blending the traditional Single Floral & Floral Bouquet categories. A good example would be Estée Lauder’s Beautiful.

Green: a softer and contemporary version of the Chypre type, with noticeable cut grass, crushed green leaf, and cucumber-like scents. Examples include Estée Lauder’s Aliage, Sisley’s Eau de Campagne, and Calvin Klein’s Eternity.

Aquatic, Oceanic, or Ozonic: the newest category, first appearing in 1988 Davidoff Cool Water (1988), Christian Dior’s Dune (1991), and many others. A fresh smell suggestive of the ocean, prominent to many of the modern androgynous perfumes.

Citrus: An old fragrance family that until recently consisted mainly of “freshening” eau de colognes, due to the low persistence of citrus scents. The development of newer fragrance compounds has allowed for the creation of primarily citrus fragrances. A good example here would be Faberge Brut.

Fruity: featuring the aromas of fruits other than citruses, such as peach, cassis (black currant), mango, passion fruit, and others. A modern example here would be Ginestet Botrytis.

Gourmand (French): scents with “edible” or “dessert” like qualities. These often contain notes like vanilla, tonka bean, and coumarin, as well as synthetic components designed to resemble food flavors. A sweet example is Thierry Mugler’s Angel.

Fragrance wheel