The Introduction Into Perfume

You've got your favorite outfit on, your hair looks spectacular, and the shoes are to die for: what's missing? Did you forget the perfume? Perfume gives an atmosphere to who you are. Just like you can find clothing that expresses who you are, you can select a perfume that fits your own unique style. You can choose a citrus scent, floral, musk, fruity, woodsy; there are many different choices.The word perfume comes from the Latin word 'parfumare', which means 'through smoke'. Perfume started long before there were fancy spray bottles to place it in, and movie stars to endorse it. Long ago, essential oils, flowers, herbs, and many other things were used to create perfume for religious ceremonies and rituals, and celebratory events like weddings and births, and even deaths.Some of the most famous perfume designers are Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, Estee Lauder, and Calvin Klein. These designers create higher quality scents for men and women, and are believed to be the most popular perfume designers even today. Some of their scents include Chanel No. 5, Calvin Klein's Eternity, and TommyGirl.When trying to choose the right perfume for you, there are a few things you want to remember. Depending on your body's own chemistry, a certain scent may smell differently on you than it will someone else. That's because the perfume blends with your body's scents and chemistry to create a unique fragrance.See if you can obtain a sample, and wear it for a few days. By the end of the second or third day, the perfume will have mixed with your own natural scents, and you can decide if you will be satisfied for that scent or not. You can also choose scents by which type of scents they are.Do you prefer fruity scents, flower scents, or something else? Narrow your choices down by choosing the category you are most fond of, and then trying those. Another thing you want to remember is that a different perfume for a different event may be needed. What you would normally wear to work might be different than what you would wear to go out. It's okay to have different types of perfume.Wearing perfume is sexy, especially when you are getting close with someone. It should be light enough so that they have to lean in just a bit to smell it. You don't want the entire neighborhood to smell your perfume, so take care if it's a strong scent. Dabbing or spritzing on perfume after you've gotten dressed and ready is like putting the icing on the cake. Use the tips and ideas above to find the right perfume for you.

From the beginning of humanity, human beings have had physical faculties that are divided into five sense. However, the faculty of smell seems to have the least value and attention. Let's go back to the beginning and try to understand why.

What is scent?

Our five physical faculties include the sense of sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. According to Septimus in The Art of Perfumery, "Of the five senses, that of smelling is the least valued, and, as a consequence, is the least tutored." This simply means that we do not pay enough attention to the sense of smell and the ways it can have an impact on our welfare and happiness.

However, what was true in 1857 when Septimus' book was published, is no longer applicable today. The art of perfumery has evolved over the years to become a multi-billion industry with countless amount of fragrances being created every day.

According to the dictionary, perfume is a fragrant liquid, typically made from essential oils extracted from flowers and spices used to impart a pleasant smell to one's body or clothes." This definition is literal and does not tell the story of perfume which is so much more than a collection of scents designed to make us smell good.

Perfume is associated with memory. The scent of rain for example, will always take me back to my childhood. A time when at six or seven I was allowed to play barefoot outside, feel the wetness of the rain on my face, twirling in freedom as to make it last forever without a care in the world. It's pure joy. And I get this sweet memory just from a smell.

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Perfume is associated with memory. The scent of rain for example, will always take me back to my childhood

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Science says our sense of smell does not deteriorate with age like our hearing and other senses. In fact, it is the only sense which cells regenerate every twenty-four days and it is capable of recognizing and storing more the 600,000 scents. In Perfume: the Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, the main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille can literally smell anything miles away. He does not need to enter a room or a city to recognize all the odors it encompasses. He does not even need his eyesight as his extraordinary sense of smell guides him to the deepest parts of the cities he visits.

Origins

Perfume is as old as the world. But it started being identify and given a name during religious observances or ceremonies where incense was burned to honor divinities. Perfumes were also mixed in oil and wax for the lamps and lights in churches.

Perfumes were then used as luxuries by the Greek and later by the Romans. A Roman noble named Frangipani invented perfume in the form we use today, thus the name Fragrance.

Perfume making used to be a very secretive world. But today the industry has evolved and anyone can compose and make their own scent from natural essential oils. Most famous perfumes heavily contain synthetics. Today, there is a strong desire to meet consumer demands and create perfumes from natural ingredients that minimize the damaging effect on the environment. More than that, people are looking for a scent that is more personal and speak to their journeys and aspirations, a scent that is calming, restorative, relaxing and aromatherapy. This is very achievable from the comfort of your home and does not need to come in a package, although more and more well-known perfumers are taking notice and adapting.

Photography by Zanou Nelie

Ref: Septimus, George William, The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants." A Public Domain Book.