7 June: Perfume

This week is National fragrance week. 10 things you didn't know about perfume:

1. The word perfume comes from the Latin world ‘per fumum’ which literally translates as ‘through smoke’, since early fragrances usually came from the burning of ingredients.
2. Talking of the ingredients, many things used to make perfumes are pretty gross. Ambergris is one of the most valuable raw materials in perfumery – it sometimes washes up on beaches and if you happen to find some, you could sell it for a lot of money. In due course, people worked out what this stuff was – sperm Whale vomit. Musk is a secretion from male musk Deer. Hyraceum, commonly known as "Africa stone", is petrified rock hyrax poo. Castoreum comes from the anal glands of Beavers. Civet is a secretion from the anal glands of the civet cat. However, used in small concentrations it actually smells good. In modern times, these fragrances can be produced in a lab, removing the need to kill animals to get it. It's not just animals, either. Jasmine notes in some fragrances are produced using a synthetic material named Indole, which is derived from coal tar. It Takes 1,600,000 Rose Blossoms, four tonnes of roses to Create 1kg of Rose Oil. One bottle of Chanel No. 5 reportedly takes 1,000 jasmine flowers—all picked by hand.
3. The first recorded chemist in the world was a perfume maker. A cuneiform tablet from Babylon in 1200 BC mentions a woman named Tapputi, who made the perfumes used to scent the royal court. She added Water and other solvents to flowers, oils, grasses, Myrrh, and balsam to create her scents. The same tablet has the earliest reference to a still. It also mentions that she had a female assistant, although damage to the tablet means her name isn't known.
4. The earliest perfume factory discovered is in Cyprus. It dates back 4,000 years and was large enough for archaeologists to conclude that they would have been making perfumes for export. The complex also contained evidence of other industries: Wine making, Copper smelting, and Olive presses. While it may seem odd to have all these things together, it does make sense, since all of them make use of the same natural resource: olive oil.
5. Smearing yourself with perfumed olive oil in the morning may not appeal to most people. There was a shift, however, when it became possible to distil alcohol. Perfumes dissolved in alcohol didn't leave an oily residue. An early alcohol based perfume was known as the Queen of Hungary’s Water, or simply Hungary water. This perfume was first made in the 14th century for either a Hungarian saint or a Queen. The origin of the recipe is lost to time, but it was in use all over Europe and there were some variations in how it was made. In general, though, it involved steeping herbs in brandy. While it was used as a perfume and dabbed behind ears to make people smell nice, it also got used as a bath scent. People even used to drink it, as a remedy for all manner of ailments. Or perhaps just because it was basically booze.
6. The ancient Egyptians believed that perfume was the sweat of the sun god Ra. They had a god of perfume as well, Nefertum, who was responsible for the art of creating scents.
7. Becoming a perfumer, or a connoisseur of fragrances, involves up to seven years' training. At the end of it, they must pass a test to show that they can distinguish at least 250 different scents. This is so difficult that there are actually only about 50 fully qualified perfumers in the world. Jean Carles, a famed French perfumer was said to have insured his nose for one million dollars.
8. Perfumes smell different on different people, and even on the same person over the course of a day. This is because we all have different skin PH, which can be further influenced by lifestyle choices like smoking, drinking, diet and how much exercise you do. This is also why, if you go back to the same perfume after a few years it might smell different on you. Perfumes are made up of Top, Heart and Base notes, which evolve over the course of a few hours. The top notes are the most delicate and fade away first. Base notes, usually composed from wood, amber or musk, linger the longest.
9. While we usually associate perfume with fruity, floral or musky aromas, there are some rather more unusual scents out there available to buy. Perfumes have been developed which smell like bacon, Hamburgers or Barbecues. I found a reference to one called Grumpy Cat, although exactly what that smells like wasn't revealed. There's even a perfume said to recreate the smell of outer space. It's called Spacewalk and is presumably a harsh metallic scent, since that is what astronauts say space smells like.
10. The most expensive perfume in the world is Clive Christian’s Imperial Majesty, priced at $215,000 for 16.9 ounces. It’s served in a Baccarat crystal bottle with an 18-carat Gold collar and five-carat Diamond.

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