The History of Perfume: 5,000 Years of Evolution & Luxury Status

The word perfume symbolizes refinement and class and comes from a background that connected with the cultures of many societies of the world. Unearthed from antiquity through the renaissance to contemporary glamour and sophistication, geography of perfume is history of humanity. This paper aims to discuss the history of scents and passage through various periods of one of the most valuable gifts- perfume.

The Origins of Perfume

There evidence that reaching back to ancient history, fragrances have been used for a variety of purposes. The very word “perfume” is origin from the Latin “per fumum” translating literally as “through smoke”. This is appropriate, because many primitive civilizations did employ aromatic compounds in their performances, worship services, and daily usage.

Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians have perhaps been attributed to practice some of the earliest techniques of perfumery. They did respect scent as the quality which can help to reveal their gods, link them with paragods. They started to use essential oils at around the year 3000 BCE and started to mix the oils with other materials in order to constitute perfumes. Most aromatic herbs and oils that were employed in the rites were contained in the famed “kykeon.”

Objects such as perfumes were also used in the burial, during the embalment process aromatic resins such as myrrh and frankincense were used. From the case of women oils made from flowers and spices was used in daily use, while embodying their status, beauty, and social class. Hieroglyphic texts proving recipes for perfumes depicted on temple walls give proof to the importance of scent in the culture of the country.

The Ancient Near East

Others contributors to the development of perfumery include societies of Mesopotamia and Persia of the ancient world. They incorporated myrrh, cedar, and some other necessary material derived from plants and they performed distillation which formed the basic framework for distillery practiced today. Sumerians have also included recipes for making of these scented compounds in their archives; the perfumes were usually in religious rites.

Despite the fact that Babylonians and Assyrians enjoyed fragrant oils, there is little evidence that they imported resources of this kind from any great distance. During the later ancient period perfumery evolved to a level of craftsmanship where recipes also started to develop the concept of specialized perfumers.

Ancient Greece and Rome

Gradually, perfume incorporated into the aspects of Greek culture and life. It was popular among Greeks; the scent was evidently valued and incorporated into combats and parties. Specific scented products such as perfumes and fragrances were made from local flowers and herbs and could be packed in style.

The progression of the Romans entailed that they moved a notch higher when it came to the value they placed on scent but would go ahead to come up with perfumes at the higher stratum of the society. They also proposed for the existence of the ‘aromatarium’ a room for smelt, where many kinds of oil and resin are retrieved. During the growth of the Roman Empire the trade in exotic perfumes soon developed, drawing on influences eastern and North African.

Cross-Cultural History of Perfume

With the change in the societies, different techniques and imbroganios on the art of perfumery were also transformed. This shows that various cultures came up with their ways of adding some ingredients, technique and/or philosophy into the scent.

The Middle Ages

After the Roman empire’s decline, Europe for many centuries had a so called dark age. Fortunately, the elements of perfumery remained a permanent feature of the Islamic world. Other developers that served the distillation process where oil of different types can be extracted include climber Avicenna. The new entries like rose and jasmine added a varied choice in the comparison with previous days perfumery.

In the middle age, fragrance was associated with cleanliness. When bathing less frequent perfumes were used to conceal body odors and indicated someone’s social position. Trade in aromatic substances from the East continued and Europe was again made acquainted with the art of perfumery.

The Renaissance

Renaissance reforms are known as the revival of classical learning, literature, arts, sciences and philosophy. Soap became popular when nobles wanted to demonstrate their elegance, thus perfume also regained popularity. France is another country that was among the leaders in the perfumery and Grasse became the focus of the fragrance business. Here rose growing was popular leading to development of some of the well-known perfumes such as lavender, rosemary and jasmine.

The advent of glass bottles also shifted the industry in the new direction, making the packaging as good as the product featured inside the bottles. In the course of renaissance, perfume emerged into being indispensable commodity of European nobility, and of individuality as well.

The 18th and 19th Centuries

Today’s methods for creating perfumes are thought to have evolved in the eighteenth century. In the course of the 19th century the choice of components that could be used in perfumery was greatly enriched with the help of synthetic compounds. Scentz could be produced that were hitherto unattainable through raw materials only.

At this time works like those from Patrick Süskind’s novel, ‘Perfume,’ with the main character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille,” illustrated societies obsession with this sense. Despite being a work of fiction the novel gives an insight of the preoccupation and desire for peculiar scents that the period featured.

Some of the high level houses that emerged include Guerlain, Chanel to mention but a few, hence resulting into commercial production. Coco Chanel in the year 1921 released what has been recognizable even today; Chanel No. 5, famously used by women of high status. It was this perfume not only reforming the category but also setting down the fragrances as a luxury product.

Perfume as a Luxury Item

In the twentieth century perfume became a necessity item closely related to fashion, celeb, and status. Since the international business relations developed, the variety of perfumes increased significantly, and the number of brands appeared.

Marketing and Celebrity Endorsement

Many factors contributed to the general commercialization of perfume, but primarily, there are the introduction of advertisement in the twentieth century. Prestige brands started selling more than just the perfume, they began selling the image, the life that went with it. Some ad campaigns starred sexy models with a suggestion that using the scent in question might improve a person’s status.

It became important for the perfumes to be linked with celebrities. Some of the legendary Hollywood celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe apart from wearing fragrances also advertised them associating their personalities with the fragrances sold. This has continued today, where modern celebrities have continued to release their own perfumes making sure that the glamour of scent is firmly linked to celebrities.

Today’s luxury consumer marketplace

Nowadays, more and more companies began paying attention to sustainability and the ethical origin of materials used in making of fragrances. The luxury market extends to becoming more transparent with consumers focusing more on the origin of the raw material used in their scents. Third party and premium perfumeries have firmed up with specialty and niche fragrances that are not mainstream.

Safe, personalization in luxury goods has impacted the perfume vertical as well. ‘’Each person is their own boss and so they are able to design the perfume that they want by having a brief look at the list’’ Custom product, enabling people to design their fragrances are common hence personalizing fragrance is common among people.

Conclusion

The timeline of perfume is one of the most interesting aspects of human existence and that of civilizations. Compact with our existence, with our joys and vices, with our aspirations and philosophies, perfume has been part and parcel of our journey from Egyptian death rituals to sophisticated fragranced body splendor.

In our search for identity in today’s fast-paced world we do hold on to smell for the years that keep on reminding us of our past, and good taste that keep on searching for beauty and art. Not only is the advancement of perfume anchored in the given definition of state, but also the transformation of concrete cultural, social and individual geography. stay tuned for more fragrances related content.