The Perfume - Worlds In A Bottle
Welcome to the mysterious world of fragrances! The perfume is one of the most fascinating inventions of mankind. Let's explore it together!
What is perfume? Dictionaries tell us that perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or fragrances, fixatives, and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living spaces an agreeable scent. But perfume is much more.
Perfume is about humans longing for beauty, and harmony, sometimes perfume is about seduction and delight. Parfume is about the scent of the woman one loves. Perfume is the trigger that may send you to the middle of a scented forest where colorful flowers "sing" in the wind, or back in the past, opening doors to immortal memories.
A certain fragrance may send you back to the arms of the love of your life or can remind you of the sweet perfume of your mother when giving you the good night kiss as a child.
Perfumes Are Worlds And Fairy Tales In A Bottle
Perfume has a history of thousands of years. The first pieces of evidence of the existence of perfume date back to Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Cyprus. The kings of France used perfume in excess, to hide the lack of hygiene, and the ladies of the high society of England used beautiful fragrances to seduce.
The word "perfume" comes from the Latin "per fumus" and means "through smoke", as the burning of incense and other aromatics was an important part of religious ceremonies in many ancient cultures, including Rome.
The history of perfume is almost as old as that of mankind, evidence of the existence of perfume dates back to ancient times.
The ancient Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture, followed by the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans.
The oldest perfumes ever found were discovered by archaeologists in Cyprus and the relics date back more than 4,000 years. A cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia, over 3,000 years old, identifies a woman named Tapputi as the first perfume maker.
Tapputi - The First Perfume Creator
Around 1200 BC, in Mesopotamia, a woman named Tapputi combined oils, flowers, and plants such as myrrh or cypress and, after distillation, obtained aromatic oils. Tapputi remained in history because she developed original methods of distilling perfumes, being considered the first woman chemist.
In the same period, as archaeological research has shown, perfumes were also used in India.
In the Ancient Era, perfumes were not necessarily for seduction and delight of the senses, but people thought that aromatic oils can protect the wearer from evil. For ancient people, aromatic oils were also a way to show their reverence for the gods. The animals offered as sacrificial offerings to the gods were accompanied by aromatic oils obtained from frankincense, myrrh, or basil.
The Egyptians Invented The Perfume Bottle
It is believed that the first perfume bottle was invented in Egypt. The Egyptians used perfumes in religious rituals and funeral ceremonies. Egyptian priests used aromatic resins to sweeten the smell of sacrificial offerings. Ancient Egyptians believed that burning incense connected them to the gods.
Egypt was famous for its luxury and exotic perfumes throughout the ancient world, where perfumes were traditionally named after their town of origin such as "The Mendesian", or their main ingredients such as lily perfume. One perfume was simply called "The Egyptian". To the ancient Egyptians incense, another form of perfume was the "Eye of Horus" and the fragrance released from burning it, the divine presence, with vast quantities thereof being required for use in temples, rituals, ceremonies, and festivals.
The Perfume Of The Old Greeks
According to Homer's legend, the gods of Olympus would have taught people the secrets of making perfumes. In Greek mythology, there are numerous scenes in which goddesses or nymphs prepare beautifully smelling essences. An old legend says that the rose was initially a white flower without perfume until Venus pierced her fingers with sharp thorns and stained the rose with blood.
The blood of the goddess gave the red color to the rose. Cupid kissed the flower and the rose gained fragrance.
Greece was the first country where a true perfume industry developed. The first perfume traders appeared also in Greece. They sold their goods in the Greek markets or went from house to house.
According to perfumesociety.org, the Greeks played a crucial role in the development of perfumery. Not content with burning fragrance ingredients, they ground aromatic plants and resins and suspended them in oil, creating the first perfumes for wearing on the skin. And what else helped fragrance to "catch on" in Ancient Greece was the newfound interest in hygiene.
Hippocrates – "the father of medicine" – used to prescribe fumigation and the use of perfumes to help prevent disease. The Greeks embraced aromatherapy, making it practical and scientific rather than mystical. Both men and women became obsessed with "the cult of the body": women, at dressing tables in their private quarters (known as the "gynaeceum"), men more publicly, anointing themselves at the public baths, after exercise.
It was the Greeks who brought the perfumes to Rome. Initially used only by nobles and aristocrats, the perfume became over time also accessible to the masses. It is said that in Rome, at the time when the city was rich and prosperous, the perfumed fountains in the squares were a symbol of luxury.
The Romans used perfumes for personal use and religious ceremonies, freshening the smell of rooms, or even perfuming animals.
"The Queen Of Hungary's Water"
The first modern perfume in the world was created in 1370. Queen Elizabeth of Hungary was the one who requested the creation of the essence and the one who gave the name of the perfume that has remained in history. Legend says that the perfume was requested by the queen to seduce the king of Poland, whom she later married.
The perfume was primarily made with rosemary and the oldest surviving recipes call for distilling fresh rosemary and thyme with brandy, while later formulations contain wine, lavender, mint, sage, marjoram, costus, orange blossom, and lemon.
This first modern perfume was more than a nice-smelling essence, having a therapeutic role as well. It was used to treat rheumatism. It was believed to have many uses such as helping to relieve a headache, toothache, or ringing ears. It was also used to help cleanse the body by clearing out several of the vital organs of impurities. Some even believed that it helped reduce blindness and the inability to hear.
During the Renaissance, Venice and Florence were the capitals of perfumes. The famous Medici family remained in history for its appetite for beautifully smelling essences. It is said about Caterina de Medici that she had a true obsession with perfume.
He had a personal perfumer, Renato from Florence whom he brought to France where he opened the first perfume shop in Paris. Legend has it that the famous Caterina de Medici used perfumes for diabolical purposes, asking her personal alchemist to create jewels in which poisons were hidden under fragrant aromas
The Perfume Hid The Lack Of Hygiene Of The Kings Of France
The perfume was used excessively at the courts of the kings of France. It is said that kings like Louis XIV or Louis XV did not bathe too often for fear of diseases, and the nobles masked the lack of hygiene and the bad smell with impressive amounts of perfume.
The court of King Louis XV was called the "perfumed court" because perfumes were excessively used both on the courtiers and on the furniture in the rooms, clothes, or animals.
And Napoleon was a big fan of perfumes. Legends say that he "consumed" two liters of violet cologne weekly and used sixty bottles of jasmine extract every month.
It is believed that empress Josephine also loved perfumes to excess, musk being her favorite aroma. It is said that she used so much musk perfume that even 60 years after her death her boudoir smelled of musk.
Queen Elizabeth I of England could not stand unpleasant smells and demanded that the public places where she went out to be perfumed. In that era, the appetite for perfume among society ladies had grown to excess. Ladies used to seduce men using perfumed oils.
In 1770, the Parliament passed an act by which women who abused perfume to seduce men were condemned.
The Best-Selling Perfume In The World - Chanel No 5
Today, perfumes are widely used, and not only among women. The best-selling perfume in the world was created in 1921.
The fashion designer Chanel launched her own brand of perfume which she called Chanel no 5 and whose main essences are May roses, jasmine, and synthetic musk. The number "5" was not chosen by chance. In 1920, when presented with small glass vials containing sample scents numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her assessment, she chose the fifth vial.
Chanel told her master perfumer, Ernest Beaux, whom she had commissioned to develop a new fragrance, "I present my dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck." And it did.
Read Our Interesting Facts Articles
What is perfume? Dictionaries tell us that perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or fragrances, fixatives, and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living spaces an agreeable scent. But perfume is much more.
Perfume is about humans longing for beauty, and harmony, sometimes perfume is about seduction and delight. Parfume is about the scent of the woman one loves. Perfume is the trigger that may send you to the middle of a scented forest where colorful flowers "sing" in the wind, or back in the past, opening doors to immortal memories.
A certain fragrance may send you back to the arms of the love of your life or can remind you of the sweet perfume of your mother when giving you the good night kiss as a child.
Perfumes Are Worlds And Fairy Tales In A Bottle
Perfume has a history of thousands of years. The first pieces of evidence of the existence of perfume date back to Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Cyprus. The kings of France used perfume in excess, to hide the lack of hygiene, and the ladies of the high society of England used beautiful fragrances to seduce.
The word "perfume" comes from the Latin "per fumus" and means "through smoke", as the burning of incense and other aromatics was an important part of religious ceremonies in many ancient cultures, including Rome.
The history of perfume is almost as old as that of mankind, evidence of the existence of perfume dates back to ancient times.
The ancient Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture, followed by the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans.
The oldest perfumes ever found were discovered by archaeologists in Cyprus and the relics date back more than 4,000 years. A cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia, over 3,000 years old, identifies a woman named Tapputi as the first perfume maker.
Tapputi - The First Perfume Creator
Around 1200 BC, in Mesopotamia, a woman named Tapputi combined oils, flowers, and plants such as myrrh or cypress and, after distillation, obtained aromatic oils. Tapputi remained in history because she developed original methods of distilling perfumes, being considered the first woman chemist.
In the same period, as archaeological research has shown, perfumes were also used in India.
In the Ancient Era, perfumes were not necessarily for seduction and delight of the senses, but people thought that aromatic oils can protect the wearer from evil. For ancient people, aromatic oils were also a way to show their reverence for the gods. The animals offered as sacrificial offerings to the gods were accompanied by aromatic oils obtained from frankincense, myrrh, or basil.
The Egyptians Invented The Perfume Bottle
It is believed that the first perfume bottle was invented in Egypt. The Egyptians used perfumes in religious rituals and funeral ceremonies. Egyptian priests used aromatic resins to sweeten the smell of sacrificial offerings. Ancient Egyptians believed that burning incense connected them to the gods.
Egypt was famous for its luxury and exotic perfumes throughout the ancient world, where perfumes were traditionally named after their town of origin such as "The Mendesian", or their main ingredients such as lily perfume. One perfume was simply called "The Egyptian". To the ancient Egyptians incense, another form of perfume was the "Eye of Horus" and the fragrance released from burning it, the divine presence, with vast quantities thereof being required for use in temples, rituals, ceremonies, and festivals.
The Perfume Of The Old Greeks
According to Homer's legend, the gods of Olympus would have taught people the secrets of making perfumes. In Greek mythology, there are numerous scenes in which goddesses or nymphs prepare beautifully smelling essences. An old legend says that the rose was initially a white flower without perfume until Venus pierced her fingers with sharp thorns and stained the rose with blood.
The blood of the goddess gave the red color to the rose. Cupid kissed the flower and the rose gained fragrance.
Greece was the first country where a true perfume industry developed. The first perfume traders appeared also in Greece. They sold their goods in the Greek markets or went from house to house.
According to perfumesociety.org, the Greeks played a crucial role in the development of perfumery. Not content with burning fragrance ingredients, they ground aromatic plants and resins and suspended them in oil, creating the first perfumes for wearing on the skin. And what else helped fragrance to "catch on" in Ancient Greece was the newfound interest in hygiene.
Hippocrates – "the father of medicine" – used to prescribe fumigation and the use of perfumes to help prevent disease. The Greeks embraced aromatherapy, making it practical and scientific rather than mystical. Both men and women became obsessed with "the cult of the body": women, at dressing tables in their private quarters (known as the "gynaeceum"), men more publicly, anointing themselves at the public baths, after exercise.
It was the Greeks who brought the perfumes to Rome. Initially used only by nobles and aristocrats, the perfume became over time also accessible to the masses. It is said that in Rome, at the time when the city was rich and prosperous, the perfumed fountains in the squares were a symbol of luxury.
The Romans used perfumes for personal use and religious ceremonies, freshening the smell of rooms, or even perfuming animals.
"The Queen Of Hungary's Water"
The first modern perfume in the world was created in 1370. Queen Elizabeth of Hungary was the one who requested the creation of the essence and the one who gave the name of the perfume that has remained in history. Legend says that the perfume was requested by the queen to seduce the king of Poland, whom she later married.
The perfume was primarily made with rosemary and the oldest surviving recipes call for distilling fresh rosemary and thyme with brandy, while later formulations contain wine, lavender, mint, sage, marjoram, costus, orange blossom, and lemon.
This first modern perfume was more than a nice-smelling essence, having a therapeutic role as well. It was used to treat rheumatism. It was believed to have many uses such as helping to relieve a headache, toothache, or ringing ears. It was also used to help cleanse the body by clearing out several of the vital organs of impurities. Some even believed that it helped reduce blindness and the inability to hear.
During the Renaissance, Venice and Florence were the capitals of perfumes. The famous Medici family remained in history for its appetite for beautifully smelling essences. It is said about Caterina de Medici that she had a true obsession with perfume.
He had a personal perfumer, Renato from Florence whom he brought to France where he opened the first perfume shop in Paris. Legend has it that the famous Caterina de Medici used perfumes for diabolical purposes, asking her personal alchemist to create jewels in which poisons were hidden under fragrant aromas
The Perfume Hid The Lack Of Hygiene Of The Kings Of France
The perfume was used excessively at the courts of the kings of France. It is said that kings like Louis XIV or Louis XV did not bathe too often for fear of diseases, and the nobles masked the lack of hygiene and the bad smell with impressive amounts of perfume.
The court of King Louis XV was called the "perfumed court" because perfumes were excessively used both on the courtiers and on the furniture in the rooms, clothes, or animals.
And Napoleon was a big fan of perfumes. Legends say that he "consumed" two liters of violet cologne weekly and used sixty bottles of jasmine extract every month.
It is believed that empress Josephine also loved perfumes to excess, musk being her favorite aroma. It is said that she used so much musk perfume that even 60 years after her death her boudoir smelled of musk.
Queen Elizabeth I of England could not stand unpleasant smells and demanded that the public places where she went out to be perfumed. In that era, the appetite for perfume among society ladies had grown to excess. Ladies used to seduce men using perfumed oils.
In 1770, the Parliament passed an act by which women who abused perfume to seduce men were condemned.
The Best-Selling Perfume In The World - Chanel No 5
Today, perfumes are widely used, and not only among women. The best-selling perfume in the world was created in 1921.
The fashion designer Chanel launched her own brand of perfume which she called Chanel no 5 and whose main essences are May roses, jasmine, and synthetic musk. The number "5" was not chosen by chance. In 1920, when presented with small glass vials containing sample scents numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her assessment, she chose the fifth vial.
Chanel told her master perfumer, Ernest Beaux, whom she had commissioned to develop a new fragrance, "I present my dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck." And it did.
