Story Of Perfume & Fragrance

Perfume is one of those products that might influence our emotions. Public`s sense of smell influences behavior and sets different moods. It may perhaps even bring up memories of the past. As a marketing tool, perfume is also present in our everyday lives and it can be found in many consumer products. Besides the truth that perfume is so popular, have you ever wandered how it came into being what it is today? What`s the history of perfume?

Any anthropologists say that perfume was used by primitive man thru the burning of gums and resins for incense. Eventually from 7000 to 4000 bc, richly scented plants, animal and fatty oils of olive and sesame are thought to have been combined with fragrant plants to create original ointments.

Three thousand years ago in ancient Egypt, historians consider that perfume was first used inside rituals, as section of their religious ceremonies, creating a pleasant smell. These scents came from gums, resin trees, oil and from a variety of plants resulting in a perfume unguent that was rubbed into the skin. Hundreds of years later, women of Egypt were with perfume for their cosmetic qualities. It is believed that Egytptian queen Cleopatra had her own exclusive balms and scents used as cosmetics and aphrodisiac, which helped her to conquer Julius Caesar and later Mark Anthony. Also from this same time, it is believed that perfume was used in Mesopotamia for ritual ceremonies. And farther east, in China, aromatic herbs were used for medicine purposes.

Later on as trade routes expanded, perfume became very stylish and demand for scent goods increased trade among different civilizations. Africa and India started to provide Middle Eastern civilization using spikenard and ginger. Syrians sold fragrant goods to Arabia. Mediterranean civilization began buying cymbopogon and ginger from South Arabia. And so the trade of scent goods kept on, and because it continued to swell, fragrance perfume was eventually introduced thru period to some civilizations such as Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans and finally reintroduced hundreds of years later inside Italy and France.

By the 13th century Italy was doing important trades of spices and perfumes using Eastern civilizations. Portugal and Spain were also trying to establish main trades of spices by having exclusive routes to the East. That`s how the new world of America got to be discovered.

As Italian perfume influence swept on top of neighboring countries, France began expanding the exercise of perfume by first offering perfumed gloves, which were most often perfumed using neroli or animal scents such because ambergris and civet. From then on, French perfume has become famous global and today sets the standard for value.

Also France played a main role inside reestablishing the use of perfume for therapeutic purposes inside the western world. It has been reported that during Word War II, therapeutic perfume had been used in the medication of wounds and burns, and later in the therapy of psychiatric problems.

Perfume has brought different people equally inside the past thru the trade of aromatic scents. It also played a primary deal, since its trade meant economical power for the nations. And so the history of modern man has been greatly influenced by this special product, enabling new worlds to be discovered. On a personal level, perfume is capable of influencing public`s behavior and that by itself sets perfume in class by itself. Perhaps that`s what makes it so desirable by every of us.

Roberto Sedycias
IT Consultant for PoloMercantil

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