One of the oldest beauty products, civilizations around the world have been using fragrances for over 4000 years. Although the methods to produce and apply perfume are different today, the purpose is still very much the same.
Let’s start at the beginning - the word, ‘perfume’ comes from the Latin word, ‘per fumus,’ which means ‘through smoke.’ This name is thought to have been given due to earlier forms of perfumes, which were traditionally incense burned during ceremonies. Many Asian cultures had versions of perfume, with most based around incense. However, we’ll focus on the story of how perfume came to Europe and developed into the product that it is today.
1. Mesopotamia (2000 BC)
Considered to be the cradle of civilization during the Bronze Age, Mesopotamia was located in modern day Iraq, Syria, Iran and parts of Turkey. This civilization is known to be first to speak of their use of fragrance, with a tablet dated at 2000 BC referring to the first chemist and perfumer, a woman named Tapputi, as well as the use of distillation.
2. Egypt (1500 BC)
An Egyptian Pharaoh who commanded foreign expeditions looking for spices and exotic materials, Queen Hasphepsut embraced the use of fragranced products among her subjects. Fragrant cone-shaped waxes were used to melt into hair and skin by the wealthy and privileged, before trickling down to use in everyone’s bathing routines. The Egyptians stored their fragrances in luxurious vessels crafted using alabaster, ebony and glass (often considered more precious than gold).
3. Greece and Rome (300 BC)
After Alexander the Great’s invasion, perfume from Persia and Egypt was brought back to his native Greece in 325 BC. It was fully embraced by the Greeks and Romans, with fragrant waxes and oils being regularly used in bathing rituals.
4. Persia (720 AD)
The father of modern chemistry and the creator of alembic distillation, Jabir Ibn Hayyan from Persia helped modernize the creation of fragrance. Alembic distillation led to pot or still batch distillation, which is used to extract and purify many raw materials used in fragrance creation.
5. Poland (1305 - 1380)
After marrying King Charles I of Hungary, Elisabeth of Poland became the Queen consort. She is credited as the one who introduced perfume to the rest of Europe and the Western world as well as the first one to mix fragrance oils and alcohol. Originally known as ‘Hungary water,’ this unique fragrance soon paved the way for modern perfumery.
Italy and France (1500s)
A noble woman from Florence who married King Henry II of France, Catherine De Medici had sophisticated tastes and brought them with her to France. In addition to bringing fragranced leather gloves, forks and heels to court, she also brought her personal perfumer, Rene La Florentine. This occurred during the Renaissance Period, a time of luxury and indulgence, which helped contribute to its popularity. Fragranced gloves became popular among the wealthy in addition to perfumes to mask the body odors and other smells from poor sanitation practices. Grasse became the heart of the perfume industry due to its rich history in leather tanning and the micro-climate at the time. In addition, the Glove and Perfume-Makers Guild was founded in 1656 due to the unique relationship between perfume and leather gloves.
The Structured Perfumery Era
Perfume continued to remain a luxury for the wealthy due to its high prices from highly-prized ingredients, including rose, jasmine and musk, that require long extraction processes. It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that the first nature-identical molecules were synthesized, allowing for more widespread and affordable access to fragrances.
