Perfume

History reveals itself through the small activities of everyday human activities. Today, entire museums are devoted to history in perfume bottles! Halls and halls are devoted to exotic fragrance bottles from ancient China to today’s typical drug store selection. The use of perfume has been documented throughout recorded history and continues to be a part of every culture.

Perfume, as a manufactured item, has been in existence since the times of the ancient Egyptians. Archeologists continue to find artifacts of ancient perfume bottles in this area. Those artifacts include remnants of wall paintings that illustrate the use of the lotus flower as a perfume.

Perfumes have been created in the great civilizations all over the world in places like Egypt, Rome, Asia, and the Middle East. Before this commercial use, perfumes were used as incense burned as part of religious ceremonies, a practice still that still continues in modern religious practices.

In the 1300’s, perfume making began in Europe. During the Renaissance, they were articles of royalty, generally used to mask odors brought about by their less than desirable personal and community sanitation practices.

Hungary’s Queen Elizabeth wore the first perfume made with alcohol, ‘Hungary Water’. Because she retained her loveliness even into her 70s, it was rumored that this particular perfume preserved her beauty.

Two centuries later, Italy’s Catherine de Medici brought perfumers from Italy to the French court in an area known for the aromatic plant life necessary to the perfume industry.

During the 1600’s, both perfume and hand wear were often combined as one. When royalty traveled away from their courts, they could simply lift gloved hand to nose to ward off unpleasant odors. France’s King Louis XIV furthered the use of cologne by requiring his court members wear it everyday. He is remembered as the ‘Perfume King’.

The 1700’s brought the first of the Jean Maria Farina’s who is credited by some with the modern production of fragrances. He became known for his ‘Eau de Cologne’, which later became the generic name for his kind of preparation. He used water, alcohol, and the essential oils of rosemary, lemon, and bergamot oils in a formula that created his exclusive scents. Most manufacturers continue to use these ingredients.

In 1806, a later Jean Maria Farina moved to France with his inherited secret formula. This original perfume is still available today from Roger and Gallet in several Eau de Cologne products.

It was only in the early 20th century that French fragrances begin to infiltrate into common use in the United States. That use correlated with the inception of U.S. production of perfumes and other fragrances.

A great surge of interest in perfume occurred during the 1960’s. During the 1970’s, designer colognes entered the market, giving us an American twist on preferred fragrances and the popular perfume fads of the moment.

Where fragrances were once used as an indicator of status, today colognes like Givenchy and perfumes such as Liz Claiborne project a certain image. The history of perfume has come a long way from the days when fragrances were worn to cover up odors in an unsanitary, unpleasant environment to their primary role to attract notice today.