Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds and fixatives in liquid form, used to give the human body, clothing, food, animals and living spaces a pleasing and lasting scent. A perfume’s odor can be altered by the chemistry of your skin as well as the raw materials used to make it. For this reason, perfumes tend to change as they are worn throughout the day. Most perfumes are designed to have three layered smells that your nose experiences: top notes (the first smells the fragrance hits you with), heart notes and base notes (the lingering scents that last the longest). Perfumes are often marketed with different French names that correlate with their oil concentration. A woman’s perfume is typically referred to as an “eau de parfum” while men’s fragrances are referred to as an “eau de toilette.”
Many cultures have long used fragrances to enhance beauty and communicate status and social standing. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all created perfume. The perfume industry in the modern world was revolutionized in 1921 with Chanel No 5, a combination of natural and synthetic ingredients that became associated with luxury, sexiness and sophistication.
Making perfume is a complex process of gathering ingredients, extracting oils, blending, testing and quality control. The earliest methods of perfumery involved extracting oils from plants, fruit, woods and animal secretions. The oils could be extracted using a variety of techniques like expression, steam distillation, enfleurage and maceration.