Interesting Facts About Perfumes

High living has always been associated with the use of perfumes. In the old days with royalty people espousing the need for fragrances, the bourgeois society soon followed. Perfumes from natural odorants like sandalwood or musk were preferred. In today`s world due to illegal trafficking and species endangerment, natural odorants are replaced by synthetic aromatics. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Aromas like musk from natural ingredients are extremely complex and have been impossible to imitate through synthetic aromatics like nitro-musks or macrocyclic musks. On the other hand, synthetic aromas like ozone, marine, metallic, etc., have no parallel olfactory relationship in the natural odorants.

So nowadays with modern technology of perfume manufacturing and synthetic aromas, new categories have been created. Categories that can be best described as: 1 – Bright Floral – very popular and meant for almost everyone and all occasions; 2 – Woody – it evokes the forest refreshing smell; 3 – Green – it has a lighter fragrance and is meant for casual wear; 4 – Oceanic – it is very popular among the younger generation; 5 – Spicy Fruit – a good choice for tropical weather or during summer; 6 – Oriental – it is meant for special occasions. Spicy scents.

It is very important the composition of perfumes, because the right combination of scents (as rose, jasmine, cola), modifiers (esters), blenders (linalool, hydroxycitronellol) and fixatives(like resins, wood scents and amber), can provide the unique smell by which brand name perfumes are so famous and desired for.  Some famous brand name perfumes are:

1 – Eau de Cologne (1709)

2 – Chanel No. 5 (1921)

3 – Opium YSL (1977)

4 – Azzaro Pour Homme (1978)

5 – Anais Anais (1979)

6 – Poison Christian Dior (1985)

7 – Eternity Calvin Klein (1988)

8 – Envy Gucci (1997)

9 – Nu YSL (2001)

10 – Rose 31 (2006)

Also, preservation of perfumes is of vital significance as it degrades if kept carelessly. Previously all perfumes used to come in open bottles with caps. These bottles kept the fragrance intact for about a year. As it was used, the level of the perfume went down, and it was exposed to oxygen contained in the empty space of the bottle. This eventually changed the perfume`s fragrance. Heat, light, oxygen, and extraneous organic materials, further distorted the fragrance. Thus glass bottles, though extremely decorative, allowed light, and contributed to the degradation of the scent. It is now a well known fact that light-tight aluminum bottles are best for the preservation of perfumes, especially when they are refrigerated at low temperatures from 3 to 7 degree Celsius. The oxygen contained inside the bottle cannot be removed completely but it can be minimized by the use of rollers instead of open bottles. Further minimization of oxygen exposure can be attained by the use of sprays. Thus almost all modern day perfume come in spray bottles, which isolate the perfume from mixing with outside oxygen, skin, detritus, and dust, thereby promoting the longevity of the olfactory quality of the perfume.

Do You Know Perfumes?

What perfume is considered to be the first ‘oriental’? – Shalimar (Guerlain). Shalimar,introduced in 1925, is considered to be the first modern oriental. Opium was introduced in 1977, Poison – in 1985 and Aprege is not an Oriental, but a floral-aldehydic perfume.

Who was the first female to produce a designer perfume? – Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel was first (with N 5), Jeanne Lanvin was second, but neither Arden, nor Lauder had ever been clothing designers.

What is the so-called capital of world perfumery? – Grasse. Everyone who is serious about perfumes knows that the cradle and the capital of modern perfumery is in Grasse, a small town in Provence, France!

Which one of these is not a French perfume house? – Laura Biagiotti. Laura Biagiotti, whose designer house produced wonderful perfumes Laura, Roma, Sotto Voce, Tempore, etc. is an Italian designer, but her perfume house is based in Germany.

Which famous actress was in the ads for Chanel N 5? – Catherine Deneuve. Audrey Hepburn was always a Givenchy girl, Sophie Marceau is in the Guerlain ads, and Sharon Stone never posed for a perfume ad as of June 2000. So, it used to be (among others) the lovely Catherine Deneuve.

What popular perfume has a star-shaped flacon? – Angel. Angel is the famous gourmand perfume hidden in gorgeous star-shaped bottles.

Which of these popular perfumes was designed to celebrate the lifestyle of California and is considered to be an all-american perfume? – Giorgio. Although the wrong answers might seem more modern and all-american, Giorgio was the biggest American success in perfumery, and epitomises the American style of sheer perfumes (i.e. perfumes without head-heart-bottom note definitions)

What was the first jewelry company to introduce a brand name fragrance? – Van Cleef and Arpels. In 1976 Van Cleef and Arpels introduced ‘First’ – a very appropriate name for the first perfume by jewelers.

What was the first Dior fragrance ? – Miss Dior. Christian Dior dedicated his first perfume venture to his sister, producing Miss Dior in 1947. Why Miss and not Mademoiselle? Dior was an admitted anglomaniac.

Which one of these famous fragrances smells almost entirely of lily of the valley? – Diorissimo. Poison is an oriental, Beautiful and Red Door are floral, but of much heavier nature. Diorissimo is the most classic example of a fragrance, inspired by lily of the valley.

Essences of which flowers are the most commonly used in perfumery? – rose and jasmin. Almost every perfume contains rose and jasmin extracts, they are staples in the perfumer’s palette.

Which of these perfume houses is not American? – Shiseido. I think you all guessed that one. Shiseido is the most famous Japanese brand of cosmetics and fragrances, although a lot of their products are manufactured in the States.

The first eau de cologne was made in …? – Cologne. Although Italians also claim to be the first, usually Germany and its city Cologne (Köln) is considered to be the cradle.

What is best fragrance option for hot summer days (think of general rules, not personal preferences)? – a citrus or an aquatic fragrance. You’ll feel much better if you choose either a citrus, or an aquatic for summer.A light (!) floral is OK too.

Which one of these flacons would be of the highest value for collectors? – a limited edition in its original packaging. Although a lot of people love miniatures and collect them, true collectors seek failures or limited editons of popular ones unopened and with a proper packaging!

How many ingredients might a modern perfume contain? – thousands. Right now thousands of ingredients (mostly chemicals) are used.

What famous perfume bottle is topped by two doves? – L’Air du Temps. Two doves kissing adorn the classic Rene Lalique bottle of L’air du Temps ( Nina Ricci)

What are the aldehydes? – organic chemicals. Aldehydes, which were very popular in the 1930 through 1960s are organic chemicals derived from natural synthetic materials. They add a vivid quality to top notes. Classic example of an aldehydic perfume – Chanel N 5, of course. N 5 was the first floral fragrance to comtain a lot of aldehydes.

Now perfumers use synthetic musk, but they used to get it from the …? – musk deer & deer&deer (musk). Musk deers are so rare right now that perfumers are forced to make a synthetic substitute.

How many ‘numbered’ fragrances does Chanel have? – three. There are three – N 5, N 19 and N 22.