In ancient Egypt, perfume was used when making sacrifices to the gods. It was the ancient Egyptians who created the art of perfumery in this way. In addition, even the Bible mentions the use of various aromatic oils.
The first perfumer in the world was a woman named Taputi who lived in BC. In the 10th century in Mesopotamia, he created different aromas as a result of chemical experiments with flowers and oils. He is mentioned in preserved ancient scrolls.
Archaeologists have discovered an ancient workshop on the territory of the island of Cyprus , where old bottles have been preserved, proving that the locals once practiced the art of creating perfumes. By the way, those vials, which contained various herbs, flowers, spices, fruits, conifers and magical almond resin mixtures, are more than 4000 years old.
In the 9th century, the first “Book of Perfumes” was written by an Arab archaeologist, which presented more than 100 recipes for perfumes and many ways to obtain fragrance. Perfumes came to Europe much later than the Islamic world, only in the 14th century.
In 1370, for the first time in Hungary, they began to make perfume, by order of the queen. The scented water had already become famous all over the continent. Thanks to the Medici, the Italians started making perfume. It was they who invited a famous perfumer from France to Italy to create a perfume that would hide the unpleasant body odor.
In the vicinity of the French city of Grasse, special flowers were cultivated and grown, which later turned into a whole perfume production. France is still considered the world center of the perfume industry.
In the 18th century, men began to use perfume en masse. They anointed their accessories and underwear with aromatic substances. People who hired their own perfumer to create a unique personal scent for the customer were considered unique.
In this period, scents made with light materials such as bergamot and lemon were popular. Hygienic procedures were no longer replaced by aromas, but combined with them. Perfumes were added to baths, mouthwashes, and laundry detergents.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a new need was felt in the field of the use of fragrances: moderation. Anointing handkerchiefs and gloves with perfume was welcome, but the touch of perfume on the body had become an undesirable phenomenon.
At the end of the 19th century, perfume received a gender distinction. women’s scents usually had fruity-floral tones, while men’s perfumes contained citrus, woods.
In the 20th century, perfumes designed for special seasons or times of the day are produced. The winter scents had slightly spicy, warm undertones as well as a high resin concentration. Summer compositions contained such tones as cucumber, watermelon, as well as sea and fresh mountain air. Gender discrimination still exists today, but many people simply choose and use what they really like today.
