🌹 The art of perfume 🌹
"A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future."
Coco Chanel
History of perfume
The history of perfume is definitely not recent.The term perfume comes from the Latin "per fumum", which means "through smoke". The origin of perfume is commonly attributed to the ancient Egyptians. They utilized scents to celebrate prayers and religious ceremony by burning essential oils, resin, and perfumed unguents.
The ancient Greeks can take credit for the first liquid perfume. But it was the development of distillation by the Arabs that made perfume manufacture viable. Perfume enjoyed huge success during the seventeenth century, especially in France
Perfume notes
In fact, most perfumes are engineered to have a three-part smell, which unfolds after you apply it to your skin.
At the beginning, you smell the top notes, also called the "head notes". That odor is perceived immediately upon applying a perfume (within the first 15 minutes). They are made up of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly.
- Common fragrance top notes include citrus (lemon, orange zest, bergamot), light fruits (grapefruit, berries) and herbs (clary sage, lavender) etc.
- Average duration: 5 – 15 minutes
The second part are the middle notes also called "heart notes". These are the fragrance notes you perceive once the top notes have disappeared.
They ensure the continuity of the top notes and prepare for a smooth transition into the base notes. Considered the “soul”, or personality, of a perfume, heart notes make up the majority of a fragrance’s scent. They're probably what you remember about the perfume.
- Popular top notes: jasmine, ylang-ylang, violet, rose etc.
- Average duration: 20 – 60 minutes
Finally, the base notes tend to add depth and resonance which help build the foundation of a perfume. These notes appear more gradually but also evaporate more gradually. Base notes stick stubbornly to your skin.
- Popular top notes: vanilla, amber, musk, patchouli, sandalwood, cedarwood
- You smell them within 5 to 8 hours of application