Perfume A Favorite Gift For Thousands Of Years

It is safe to assume that probably 9 out 10 people use perfume on an
everyday basis. Be it to the office, to keep fresh or for a wild night
out, perfumes have become part of our daily lives. When did the
perfume make its first appearance? This is something that we like to
find out.

It is believed that the perfumes first started way back in the 10th
Century BC among the Medes and Persians, primarily to hide their bad
hygiene. During that time, scented waters and aromatic lotions were
made out of rose, fig, absinthe and nard. These were also served as
aromatic wines. The Egyptians also used perfumes for the purpose of
mummification. In fact, research has shown that the Egyptians even
considered perfumes to be part of worship. Their perfumes were made
from flowers and spices like saffron, irises, cinnamon, heliotrope,
myrrh and cedar oil. Egypt was probably the first lead for perfume in
the ancient world. The Greeks and Romans also had an equal love for
fragrances in the ancient world.

During the arrival of Christianity in the period of Galo-Romans to
Gothic Era, churches were known to have used perfumed wax candles and
fragrant incense. The essence of perfume stretched all the way to the
period of monarchy of Valois Kings, Renaissance and Bourbons Kings. At
these times, perfumes were even used as magic potions and whatnots to
entice and deceive – totally different reason and purpose compared to
modern times.

The modern perfume revolution came into full swing when perfumer Paul
Parquet created the first modern perfume for Houbigant in 1882 under
the name of “Fougere Royale”. A method known as enfleurage was used to
process the natural ingredients. This method produces very fine
tuberose and jasmine oil but in small amounts hence making them
extremely costly. During the industrial revolution, powerful European
chemical companies made a breakthrough discovery in aroma-chemical
such as heliotropine, coumarin, artificial musk, vanillin, ionone

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