A perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds, fixatives and solvents in liquid form used to give the human body, objects, food and living spaces an agreeable scent. Fragrance is a complex mixture, composed of several thousand chemical components that change over time and are dependent on temperature, humidity, skin condition and other factors. The chemistry of perfume is a fascinating area of study.
The art of blending these substances, which are called notes, is one of the great accomplishments of perfumery. It takes a great deal of training and years of practice to master the skill of recognizing and blending these essences. One might think of it as a musical composition, with its different parts: the top notes, which are the first to be detected; the middle, or heart, notes, which mellow and soften with wear; and the base notes, which linger for hours after spraying on the skin.
It is also possible to create perfumes by distilling and purifying specific animal products, such as musk from male musk deer; castoreum, from the glands of a beaver or civet cat; or ambergris, extracted from the sperm whale. This is the basis of many industrial fragrances, which are added to talcum powders, face powders, soaps, deodorants and other cosmetic products.
In the past, perfume was a common item of daily personal hygiene for both men and women. By the nineteenth century, with the rise of germ theory and the idea that odors carried disease, perfume began to take on a more muted public image, and wearing scent became a more rare luxury for both men and women. Sweet floral blends became considered exclusively feminine, while more masculine fragrances containing pine, oak or cedar were associated with masculinity.