The History of Perfume

For the second half of my first year at university, we are working on a project to create our own hypothetical perfume brand. In which we come up with a new product in which we focus on everything from the concept, to the launch.

To get me inspired I thought a good way to start was to look into the history of perfume...

 



Perfume was first used by the Egyptians as part of their religious rituals. The two principal methods of use at this time was the burning of incense and the application of balms and ointments.

Perfumed oils were applied to the skin for either cosmetic or medicinal purposes. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, perfumes were reserved exclusively for religious rituals such as cleansing ceremonies. Then during the New Kingdom (1580-1085 BC) they were used during festivals and Egyptian women also used perfumed creams and oils as toiletries and cosmetics and as preludes to love-making.

The use of perfume then spread to Greece, Rome, and the Islamic world. Perfume enjoyed huge success during the seventeenth century. Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656 and the use of perfume in France grew steadily.

Changing tastes and the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations of perfumery as we know it today. Alchemy gave way to chemistry and new fragrances were created. The French Revolution had in no way diminished the taste for perfume, there was even a fragrance called "Parfum a la Guillotine." Under the post-revolutionary government, people once again dared to express a penchant for luxury goods, including perfume. A profusion of vanity boxes containing perfumes appeared in the 19th century.

In 1921- Couturier Gabrielle Chanel launched her own brand of perfume, created by Ernest Beaux, she calls it Chanel No.5 because it was the fifth in a line of fragrances Ernest Beaux presented her. Ernest Beaux was the first perfumer to use aldehydes regularly in perfumery

The 1930's saw the arrival of the leather fragrances, and florals, also became quite popular with the emergence of Worth's Je Reviens (1932), Caron's Fleurs de Rocaille (1933) and Jean Patou's Joy perfume (1935). With French perfumery at it's peak in the 1950's, other designers such as Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Nina Ricci perfume, Pierre Balmain and so on, started creating their own scents.

The recent popularity of celebrity fragrances has also made an impact on the industry although most experts do not expect the trend to last. Today there are over 30,000 designer perfumes on the market and perfumes are no longer for the wealthy. The perfume industry has undergone several changes in technique, material and style. All of which have created the modern fragrance industry, one that still incorporates creativity, mystique and romance along with marketing to appeal to the masses.