Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell. The amount and type of solvent mix with the fragrance oil dictates whether a perfume is considered a perfume extract, Eau de parfum, Eau de toilette, or Eau de Cologne.
Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began in ancient Egypt but was developed and further refined by the Romans and the Arabs. Although perfume and perfumery also existed in East Asia, much of its fragrances are Incense based.
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Arab culture contributed significantly in the development of western perfumery in both perfecting the extraction of fragrances through steam distillation and introducing new, raw ingredients. Both of the raw ingredients and distillation technology significantly influenced western perfumery and scientific developments, specifically Chemistry. As traders, the Arabs and Persians had wider access to different spices, herbals, and other frangrance material. In addition to trading them, many of these exotic materials were cultivated by the muslims such that they can be successfully grown outside of their native climates. |
Two examples of this include jasmine, which is native to South and Southeast Asia, and various citrus, which are native to East Asia. Both of these ingrediants are still highly important in modern perfumery. In Arab culture, perfume usage has been documented as far back as the 6th century.
Knowledge of perfumery came to Europe as early as the 14th century due partially to arab influences as well as knowledge from the Ancient Romans. During the Renaissance period, perfumes were used primarily by royalty and the wealthy to mask bodily odors resulting from the sanitary practices of the day. Partly due to this patronage, the western perfumery industry was created. By the 18th century, aromatic plants were being grown in the Grasse region of France to provide the growing perfume industry with raw materials. Even today, France remains the centre of the European perfume design and trade. Perfumers were also known to create poisons; for instance, a French duchess was murdered when a perfume/poison was rubbed into her gloves and was slowly absorbed into her skin.
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