Perfume is used by individuals to give a pleasant smell to their bodies. Perfume is essentially a mixture of aromatic compounds and fragrant oils. The word perfume is derived from the Latin word "per fumum" which means 'through smoke.' Perfumes were first made by Egyptians. The art of perfume making was later developed by Persians and Romans. Persian doctor and chemist Avicenna made world's first scent that used rose oil as floral extract. Hungarians introduced the first modern perfume in Europe during the fourteenth century.
Fragrances are categorised according to their concentration level, notes and the family. There are three popular methods of classifying scents, the traditional and modern and fragrance wheel. In traditional methods, fragrances are classified according to their dominant scent like floral bouquet, chypre and ambery. Modern method of classification of fragrances was started in 1945. The classification introduced many new categories of scents like oceanic, gourmand and fruity. Fragrance wheel method was introduced by perfume consultant Michael Edwards in 1983. This method categorises perfumes in five groups - floral, oriental, fresh, fougere and woody.
A diluted solution of ethanol is most commonly used as a solvent for perfumes. Some manufacturers also use lipids like jojoba or fractionated coconut oil as solvent for scents. The intensity and longevity of a perfume increases in direct proportion to the percentage of aromatic compounds used in it. Fragrances are typically made of three notes, the top, the middle and the base that unfold themselves gradually as one applies scent on her or his body. The top note leaves an immediate impression while middle and base notes gradually appear later. Raw material for scents can be sourced from plants and animals or they can be synthesized artificially as well.
Plant sources could include flowers, fruits and bulbs while animal sources typically include civet musk, honeycomb and ambergris. Rare and expensive aromatic compounds like coumarin and linalool are generally synthesized artificially. Companies like Givaudan, Symrise and Takasago are the leading manufacturers of artificially synthesized perfumes. Different types of fragrant extracts like absolute, tincture and pomade are used to manufacture scents. Fragrant extracts are commonly known as essential oils.
Fragrances require proper upkeep and preservation. Most of them will degrade in the presence of strong heat and light. Therefore, they should be kept away from a heat source or strong light. Scents can usually maintain their aroma for about a year if left open. An almost empty bottle of scent will degrade faster than an almost full bottle as oxygen increases the rate of scent degradation.
Many modern cologne and men perfumes are made using different combinations of fragrance bases. A fragrance base is essentially a modular perfume which has been blended with aromatic chemicals and essential oils. Perfumes usually contain tens of thousands of ingredients and it may be quite difficult to analyze their formula. However, generally all scents use four groups of ingredients that are combined in different proportions. These four basic ingredient groups are primary scents, blenders, modifiers and fixatives. Men perfumes vary to a great extent in their composition and also use different ingredients. Keeping in mind the interests of fashion conscious men, leading manufacturers of scents have rolled out a range of men perfumes into the markets in past few years.
