Perfume is a chemical blend of natural or synthetic aromatic oils or extracts, fixatives that reduce the evaporation rate, increase perceived odour strength and stability, and solvents that allow the oil to dissolve in a solution. Modern perfumes typically contain from tens to hundreds of ingredients. The five major fragrance families are floral, oriental, woody, chypre and aromatic fougère. In some cases, a perfume may belong to multiple groups because of subtle similarities between them. The classification of a perfume is subjective, and it is impossible to completely define a perfume by its family. A perfume brief, which is the designer’s instruction to the perfumer on what he or she should create, often uses imaginative and vague terms to describe what a perfume should smell like.
The earliest perfumes were used to scent the air, usually with aromatic resins and oils that were burned to release their aromas. Once perfume production was mastered through distillation, the scents could be applied directly to the skin. By the Middle Ages, the use of perfume had become a status symbol, with the wealthy wearing the scent of their wealth. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria’s ideals of modesty led to a decline in the use of perfumes, with men of respectable social standing expected to smell of clean skin and tobacco. In the same period, colognes were introduced as a light alternative to heavier perfumes and became very popular.
Perfumes can be diluted to different concentrations to produce a variety of products, from pure perfumes known as parfums or extraits that have between 20 and 40% fragrance concentrate to eau de toilettes (usually referred to as simply toilette) and shower gels that are generally formulated with lower concentrations of fragrance oils. Other products include colognes, aftershave lotions, and splash colognes.