The Sweet smell: Perfume

Mary Bellis the Top head at About.com believes that perfume
is decades old and the word “perfume” was derived from the
Latin word per fume meaning “through smoke”. Perfumes in
the old days came in the form of burning incense and
aromatic herbs for religious services, frequently the
aromatic gums, frankincense and myrrh, gathered from trees.
Egyptians were the first to combine perfume in their
culture. The ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites,
Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans followed them. The
earliest use of perfume bottles is Egyptian and dates to
around 1000 B.C.

Studies reveal that during Queen Sheba’s rule [queen of
Yemen and Ethiopia], perfume was fused together with
culture. Perfumes were used for religious ceremonies and
for embalming the dead, it became an integral part of the
Egyptian life. “The most significant perfume used by the
Egyptians was the kyphi. Scholars claim when tomb of
Tutankhamen was throw wide open it was this odor present in
the tomb.” Scents like the aromatic myrrh were considered
more expensive than gold. In the Bible, one of the Three
Wise Men brought this gift to the newborn Christ.

After defeating Darius III of persia, when Alexander the
Great moved in Egypt he learnt about perfumes. It was said
that the floors were sprinkled with scented waters and his
clothes were imprinted with perfumes of fragrant resins
and myrrh. However, it’s the Greeks who brought about the
science of perfume by categorizing them by the part of the
plant from which they were made and documenting their
compositions.

Mary Bellis (About.com) suggests that the art of perfume is
often compared to music; with different notes all combining
to create harmony. Perfumes were composed of three notes:
notes of the head (top notes), notes of the heart (middle
notes), and notes of depth (base notes). The top notes are
the most volatile and evaporate the fastest, hence the name
“notes of the head”. Each of the notes creates is its own
scent, yet blends with the others to create a smell, an
emotion.

Kim Draper gives us an insight on perfume making: “The
strength of your aromatic liquid or perfume depends on the
ratio of essential oils to water and alcohol. Perfume is
the strongest formula: 15-30 percent essential oil, 70-85
percent alcohol, and the remainder or at least 5 percent
water. Use bottled, distilled or spring water
only. 100 proof Vodka should be used for the alcohol, you
may also use Brandy, but it has a distinct aroma of its own
and sometimes gets in the way of blending in the essential
oils.”

“If you want to add color,” Draper continues, “use a high
quality, natural, vegetable food dye. You will also need
sterilized bottles to put your creations in, and as much as
you want to use the pretty clear cut glass bottles, please
don’t. They attract perfume’s worst enemy: the sun.”