Every single perfume has a unique story. A perfume „talks” not only to our nose but to our souls as well. This little, but precious element of our everyday life changes our mood, it gives us confidence and power. Perfume has a very long and fascinating history. In this info-graphic you can learn how perfume became the most important „invisible accessory” for women and men too.

1. 9 Interesting Facts About Perfumes
Perfumes have been a very
important part of culture since
ancient times. Not only were
the perfumes valuable, but so
were the containers that held
them. The oldest known
perfume bottles came from
the Ancient EEggyyppttiiaannss.. TThheeyy
used containers made of stone
and alabaster which kept the
perfume cool, and did not leak
the precious liquids. They also
used clay pots made into sculp-tures
of people and animals.
They were very creative in
their designs.
Many perfume containers
have been found in tombs.
Perfume was an important
part of the Egyptians prepara-tion
of the dead. Containers
have been found made of
wood with different compart-ments
for each perfume.
2.
Perhaps the most famous
ruler of Egypt was Cleopatra.
She was familiar with the
power of scent and was lavish
in her use of perfume. After
the assassination of Julius
Caesar, she left Rome to
bbeeccoommee tthhee qquueeeenn ooff EEggyypptt..
There she greeted Mark
Antony, a Roman politician, on
a ship with perfumed sails.
Cleopatra's arrival was
announced by clouds of
perfume before her barge
ccaammee iinnttoo vviieeww..
5.
During the reign of Catherine
de Medici in France perfumes
flourished. Catherine brought
her own perfumer, Rene le
Florentin from Italy, with her.
His laboratory was connected
with her apartments by a
sseeccrreett ppaassssaaggeewwaayy,, ssoo tthhaatt nnoo
formulas could be stolen on
the way.
8.
In early America, the first
scents were colognes and
scented water. Florida water,
an uncomplicated mixture of
eau de cologne with a dash of
oil of cloves, cassia, and lemon-grass,
was popular. At the turn
ooff tthhee cceennttuurryy,, ppeerrffuummee wwaass aa
single-flower fragrance. Rose,
violet, lilac, and lily of the
valley were in high demand.
Floral bouquet scents were
introduced toward the end of
the first decade. Later,
aabbssttrraacctt ffrraaggrraanncceess wwhhiicchh hhaadd
no relation to the single floral
or bouquet group were intro-duced.
This advancement
revolutionized the industry.
Today, perfumes are
becoming more complex, with
mmaannyy nnootteess aanndd oovveerrttoonneess
unheard of before the discov-ery
of aroma chemicals.
4.
Linking the past and present
of the perfume industry are
the Arabs. The process of
extracting oils from flowers by
means of distillation, the
procedure most commonly
used today, was developed by
AAvviicceennnnaa,, tthhee AArraabbiiaann ddooccttoorr
unto was also a chemist. He
first experimented with the
rose. Until his discovery, liquid
perfumes were mixtures of oil
and crushed herbs, or petals
which made a strong blend.
RRoossee wwaatteerr wwaass mmoorree
delicate, and immediately
became popular.
7.
Perfume reached its peak in
England during the reigns of
Henry VIII and Queen Eliza-beth
I. All public places were
scented after the queen’s rule,
since she could not tolerate
bad smells. Ladies of the day
ttooookk ggrreeaatt pprriiddee iinn ccrreeaattiinngg
delightful fragrances and they
displayed their skill in mixing
scents.
3.
Perfume shops were popular
meeting places for almost
everyone and the daily bath
was an important activity of
the Greek citizen. Different
kinds of unguents were used
simultaneously, with certain
sscceennttss rreesseerrvveedd ffoorr ppaarrttiiccuullaarr
parts of the body.
6.
After Napoleon came to
power, exorbitant expendi-tures
for perfume continued.
Two quarts of violet cologne
were delivered to him each
week, and he is said to have
used sixty bottles of double
eexxttrraacctt ooff jjaassmmiinnee eevveerryy
month. Josephine had
stronger perfume prefer-ences.
She was partial to
musk, and she used so much
that sixty years after her
death the scent still lingered
in her boudoir.
9.
Europeans used many differ-ent
containers to store their
perfumes. They used glass,
gold, silver, porcelain,
semi-precious stones and
shells. Perfume was
commonly used in the form of
iinncceennssee..
Some perfume containers
were designed to be worn, or
displayed on a table. Semi-pre-cious
stones held perfumes
and were pinned to clothing.
Silver earrings were worn that
contained perfume soaked
ffaabbrriicc iinnssiiddee tthheemm.. MMaannyy
containers were designed to
be hung around the neck, from
a belt, or from a finger ring.
1.
Every single perfume has a unique story. A perfume „talks”
not only to our nose but to our souls as well. This little, but
precious element of our everyday life changes our mood, it
gives us confidence and power. Perfume has a very long
and fascinating history. In this info-graphic you can learn
how perfume became the most important „invisible acces-sory”
for women and men too.