Stand near the perfume aisle in finer stores and your nose will identify a handful of different scents. In fact, there are hundreds of fragrances, created by combining dozens of different scents. Some scents are natural and others are synthetic, but one thing's for certain, scents enable the perfume industry to make dollars-over a billion dollars a year!
History
Perfumes have been used from the days of ancient civilizations, when aromatic scents were released in burning woods or resins. Many of the earliest fragrances were used in religious ceremonies and burial practices. Later, wearable perfumes were developed by combining these scented woods or resins with oil and water. Now, scientists have developed methods to extract oils from nature and combine these scents to make perfume.
Function
The materials used in a perfume depend mostly on how a perfume is used. Perfume, the most expensive fragrance, may contain rare flower oils, for instance. Perfumed soap, on the other hand, may contain low-cost materials. But all perfumes contain basic ingredients like flower and plant oils for scents, animal substances for fixatives, and alcohol and water. A wide range of synthetics are also used in perfume-making, either as imitations of rare scents, or in the development of new scents.
Types
There are three types of fragrances that are important when it comes to perfume-making. Perfume is the most concentrated form of fragrance oil, producing the strongest and longest-lasting fragrance. It's also the most expensive, and may contain up to a hundred different ingredients! Eau de parfum is 10 to 15 percent perfume compound (perfume is 20 to 50 percent perfume compound) and contains alcohol. Eau de toilette or cologne has a 3 to 8 percent concentration of perfume compound in an alcohol and water base. Cologne is a much lighter fragrance and lends itself to subtle hints of scent.
Features
Scientists use different methods to extract scents from nature in order to produce myriad fragrances. Some of these natural essential oils include sandalwood from India or the ylang-ylang flower from Madagascar. Other essences are more recognizable, as well as necessary, like roses, jasmine and the orange flower. Every superior perfume will contain one or more of these three oil essences, even if the essence is synthetically produced. For this reason, these floral oils are called absolutes. Resins from roots, barks, and leaves produce oils, too, like oakmoss and frankincense. To make perfume, many scents, called notes, are combined together. Top notes are light, and last only a few moments. Middle notes become apparent after 15 minutes or so and will last up to an hour or more. Bottom notes are the heaviest ingredients and will last the longest, perhaps as long as three to four hours.
Warning
Fragrances will last longer and keep their scent better if kept in a cool, dry area and away from windows. Exposure to sunlight can affect the balance of the ingredients and ruin the scent.
Tags: perfume compound, will last, alcohol water, different scents, from nature, make perfume, methods extract