The chemistry of perfumes

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

Fragrances have been part and parcel of lifestyles...who doesn't like to feel good and wear the best perfume afterall. The trade in perfumes is a rapidly growing industry Worldwide and a costly pastime to indulge in.

However, many men and women spend lavishly on perfumes, and women especially have fragrance wardrobes of at least six different perfumes, rather than a single signature perfume. The subject is interesting.Today many perfumes are launched in Sri Lanka and the purchase and use of perfumes has become part and parcel of most people.

Interestingly there are many fragrance categories such as floral, oriental, floriental, chypre, green marine and fruit while typical plant products include anise, bay leaf, bergamot, cardamom, cedarwood, eucalyptus, frankincense, gardenia, germanium, jasmine, lavender, lemon, lily, orange, pine, raspberry, rose, sandalwood, vanilla, violet and many more, while typical animal products are used in men's perfumes which include musk from the male musk deer, ambergris from the sperm of whales, castoreum, a secretion of the beaver and the civet cat.

People have used perfume and oils for thousands of years as far back as the Early Egyptians who used perfumed balms as part of religious ceremonies and later as part of pre love preparations while Myrrh and Frankincense were used to scent the atmosphere in rituals.

It is interesting to note that perfume has come a full circle today as more and more people seek out high quality aromatherapy perfumed oils to use in exactly the same way as our ancestors did.

Products that enhance the feel of skin and the smell of the body have been highly valued in every culture during early Christianity when perfumes fell out of use but was subsequently revived in the medieval period. By the 1600s scents were applied to objects such as furniture, gloves and fans while in the Georgian Era non greasy eau-de-cologne was developed and it had many uses from both essences to mouthwashes.

The late 19th century was the first real era of perfume when scents were created because of advances in organic chemistry.Synthetic perfume products were used in place of certain hard to find or expensive ingredients, and at the same time a similar chemical knowledge development happened in textile printing dyes as well.

What is perfume really made of? Perfume is made from about 78 per cent to 98 per cent of specially denatured ethyl alcohol and a remainder of essential oils. Perfume is the costliest form of fragrance with 22 per cent of essential oils, while Eau de Par Fum (EDP) comes next between 15 and 22 per cent essential oils and Eau de Toilette (EDT) has 8-15 per cent oils.

Interestingly it was Grasse, France that became the centre for flower and herb growing for the perfume industry and Ernest Beaux created Channel No. 5 in 1921 believing that women should wear perfume whenever they hoped to be kissed, (still sold today), and in 1932 Danamade the exotic Tabu which remained popular in the 50's and 60's while Elizabeth Arden developed Blue Grass in 1934 which is still sold today.

In 1947 Dior launched the ever popular Miss Dior and the advent of the perfume industry.

Perfumes are great but must be worn correctly to get the maximum benefit. Here are some tips for wearing perfume:

* When you apply perfumes apply them to pulse points such as the folds in the crook of your elbow and wrist; neck and cleavage. Make sure you don't rub wrists together as this crushes the smell. Spraying a little into the air is also good if you walk straight into the perfume. This helps to diffuse it over your body.

* Consider layering perfumes. Use all the same perfumes in various products. Begin with shower or bath gel and then rub in body lotion or spray with a matching after bath spray. Finally, apply the scent preferably as perfume or EDP.

* Keep bottles tightly stopped, away from direct heat and sunlight. The perfumes that come in blue or opaque bottles store well.

* Try to choose perfumes that suit you, not others. Test a perfume in a store and then walk around for a minimum of ten minutes to see if it is good.

* Put a few drops of perfume onto an oil burner to scent your bedroom.

rosanne@sundayobserver.lk