Perfumes Available

Copyright (c) 2008 Matt Ridlerexperimented with the rose. Until his discovery, liquid
The word perfume used today derives from theperfumes were mixtures of oil and crushed herbs, or
Latin "per fumum", meaning through smoke.petals which made a strong blend. Rose water was
Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began inmore delicate, and immediately became popular. Both
ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt but was developedof the raw ingredients and distillation technology
and further refined by the Romans and Persians.significantly influenced western perfumery and
Although perfume and perfumery also existed in Eastscientific developments, particularly chemistry.
Asia, much of its fragrances are incense based.Knowledge of perfumery came to Europe as early as
The world's first recorded chemist is considered tothe 14th century due partially to the spread of Islam.
be a person named Tapputi, a perfume maker whoBut it was the Hungarians who ultimately introduced
was mentioned in a cuneiform tablet from thethe first modern perfume. Made of scented oils
second millennium BC in Mesopotamia . Recently,blended in an alcohol solution, the first modern
archaeologists have uncovered what is believed to beperfume was made in 1370 at the command of
the world's oldest perfumes in Pyrgos, Cyprus. TheQueen Elizabeth of Hungary and was known
perfumes date back more than 4,000 years. Thethroughout Europe as Hungary Water. The art of
perfumes were discovered in an ancient perfumeryperfumery prospered in Renaissance Italy, and in the
factory. At least 60 distilling stills, mixing bowls,16th century, Italian refinements were taken to
funnels and perfume bottles were found in theFrance by Catherine de' Medici's personal perfumer,
43,000-square-foot (4,000 m2) factory. In ancientRene le Florentin. His laboratory was connected with
times people used herbs and spices, like almond,her apartments by a secret passageway, so that no
coriander, myrtle, conifer resin, bergamot, but notformulas could be stolen en route. France quickly
flowers.became the European center of perfume and
The Arabian chemist, Al-Kindi (Alkindus), wrote in thecosmetic manufacture. Cultivation of flowers for their
9th century a book on perfumes which he namedperfume essence, which had begun in the 14th
'Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations. Itcentury, grew into a major industry in the south of
contained more than hundred recipes for fragrant oils,France. During the Renaissance period, perfumes
salves, aromatic waters and substitutes or imitationswere used primarily by royalty and the wealthy to
of costly drugs. The book also described one hundredmask body odors resulting from the sanitary
and seven methods and recipes for perfume-making,practices of the day. Partly due to this patronage,
and even the perfume making equipment, like thethe western perfumery industry was created. By the
alembic, still bears its Arabic name.18th century, aromatic plants were being grown in
The Persian Muslim doctor and chemist Avicenna (alsothe Grasse region of France to provide the growing
known as Ibn Sina) introduced the process ofperfume industry with raw materials. Even today,
extracting oils from flowers by means of distillation,France remains the centre of the European perfume
the procedure most commonly used today. He firstdesign and trade.