Perfume is thousands of years old, with evidence of the first perfumes dating back to Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Cyprus. The English word "perfume" comes from the Latin per fume, meaning "through smoke." A cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia, dating back more than three thousand years, identifies a woman named Tapputi as the first recorded perfume maker.
Perfume, in the form on incense, oils, balms, and ointments, was first used by the Egyptians. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, perfumes were reserved exclusively for religious rituals such as cleansing ceremonies. During the New Kingdom (1580-1085 BC), they were used during festivals and Egyptian women also used perfumed creams and oils as toiletries and cosmetics. The Egyptians invented glass and perfume bottles were one of the first common uses for glass.
The rise of Christianity brought about a decline in the use of perfume and it was the Muslim world that kept the traditions of perfume alive during this time—and helped trigger its revival with the onset of international trade.
During the seventeenth century, perfume once again enjoyed success . Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established. The court of Louis XV was named "the perfumed court" due to the scents which were applied daily not only to the skin but also to clothing, fans and furniture.
The eighteenth century saw a revolutionary advance in perfumery with the invention of eau de Cologne.
This refreshing blend of rosemary, neroli, bergamot and lemon was used in a multitude of different ways: diluted in bath water, mixed with wine, eaten on a sugar lump, as a mouthwash, an enema or an ingredient for a poultice, injected directly... and so on.
In the nineteenth century, the perfume industry under went a change with the development of modern chemistry. Alchemy gave way to chemistry and new fragrances were created.
With the turn of the century, fragrance houses emerged in Europe. The Crown Perfumery was founded in 1872 by William Sparks Thomson, a maker of crinolines and corsets. Catering to the high society in London and Europe, he launched a collection of floral fragrances called Flower Fairies. Queen Victoria granted the Crown Perfumery her own crown's image to top the fragrance bottles. In 2002, Clive Christian discontinued the Crown line of fragrances and replaced them with the luxurious Clive Christian perfume line.
Bottling and floral fragrances became more popular in the 20th century. In 1921, Couturier Gabrielle Chanel launched her own brand of perfume, created by Ernest Beaux, she called it Chanel No.5 because it was the fifth in a line of fragrances Ernest Beaux presented to her. Ernest Beaux was the first perfumer to use aldehydes regularly in perfumery.
The 1930's saw the arrival of the leather fragrances, and florals, also became quite popular with the emergence of Worth's Je Reviens (1932), Caron's Fleurs de Rocaille (1933) and Jean Patou's Joy perfume (1935). With French perfumery at it's peak in the 1950's, other designers such as Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Nina Ricci perfume, Pierre Balmain and so on, started creating their own scents.
Today there are over 30,000 designer perfumes on the market and perfumes are no longer for the wealthy. The perfume industry has undergone several changes in technique, material and style. All of which have created the modern fragrance industry, one that still incorporates creativity, mystique and romance along with marketing to appeal to the masses.
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