Info about Perfume
Womens Perfume – The History of Scent
The word perfume derives from the Latin word “parfumare”, which means through smoke. Early Egyptians began using perfume balms for religious ceremonies and for their love making preparations. The Egyptians believed they could conjure up and speak to the spirits by raising scented smoke to the heavens above. Typical scents included myrrh and frankincense but soon rose and peppermint were added to the oils and essences. The Egyptians fabricated glass and used this to store their creations in. This action prompted the discovery and use of women’s perfume.
The ancient civilizations used oil as a base in perfume for women while modern day mixtures' main base is alcohol. Perfumes created in ancient times were also used for embalming, medicinal reasons and for offerings during religious ceremonies. Since religious uses were so popular, large sanctuaries were built and had special rooms, a house perfumery, created purposely for creating perfumes.
Until the 1920's, perfumes consisted of natural products form animal and plant extracts. During the Industrial Revolution, natural essences were replaced by synthetic extracts to make the process simpler. Because synthetic sources are now used, women’s perfume wearers need to be careful of harmful chemicals found in the fragrance.
There are different forms of perfume for women from Eau de parfum to Eau de Cologne (water from Cologne). Perfume itself is the costliest of the forms and has 22-percent of essentials oils while the weakest scented and most inexpensive form is Eau de Cologne with only four-percent essential oils.
Common ingredients in present day women’s perfume include cinnamon, jasmine, fruit extracts, lavender, violets, nutmeg, cocoa, and a variety of other spices. Until the twentieth century, musk oil was used until it was determined this was an unethical and legal issue.
To date, the top selling women’s perfume are Coco Chanel No. 5, Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, and Joy by Jean Patou. The top selling women’s perfume, Coco Chanel No. 5, was created in 1921 by Parisian designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and Ernest Beaux. The main scents in the women’s perfume is yiang, neroli, grasse jasmine, may rose, sandalwood, and vanilla. In 1953, Estee Lauder broke into the business with women’s perfume but it was sold as bath oil instead of cologne or perfume.
Women’s perfume is a top selling item for holidays and Mother's Day and is a welcome addition to any women’s cosmetic collection. With so many fragrances available every woman has a scent just right for them. Accessibility to purchasing the gift is easy whether you head to your local mall, purchase online or through door to door sales.
Women are advised to place the scent in their creases, elbows, behind their knees and on their neckline, where the aroma can filter in other's senses. It was once believe that women placed the scent oils where they wanted to be kissed. The best way to make the scent last throughout the day is to layer the fragrance starting with lotion and talc and then the women’s perfume as the top layer.