You are never fully dressed without perfume. – C. JoyBell C.
As mandatory to a man or woman as clothing, perfume seals one's essence. Few things leave such memory of a person than their favorite fragrance.
First used by Egyptians to perfume bodies and perform religious rituals, fragrances were applied to conceal unpleasant odors or enhance body scents. They then transitioned into the cosmetics world.
Creating Perfume
Extracting
Fragrance comes from raw natural ingredients, like flowers, spices or fruits, from which essential oil is extracted. Although today's extraction methods are similar to those used by the first perfumers, the choice of essences has widened since a variety of scents are now created in laboratories when unavailable in nature. Once extracted, the oil is renamed absolu.
Blending
The secret to a fascinating fragrance is blending together a variety of oils. Master perfumers have developed formulas to create memorable scents, which often required years of experiments and over 800 ingredients for just one fragrance. Once the oils are blended, alcohol, water and various chemicals are added to the mixture.
Aging
Like good wine, luxury perfume goes through an aging process to develop the scent. Chemical reactions naturally occur to blend the properties of essential oils together.
Types of Fragrances
Perfumers add water and alcohol to oils in specific quantities to create perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne or eau fraîche. The most concentrated is parfum with 15%-40% essential oil, while eau fraîche is the lightest at 1%-3%. The higher the oil concentration, the longer lasting the perfume.
Famous Fragrances
Genius music makes it through decades, and so do exceptional fragrances. Since their creation, legendary scents have tickled noses and charmed minds. Whether the result of adventure or the product of deep thought, these fragrances share one trait: immortality.
- Shalimar, 1925
French designer Jacques Guerlain invented the first oriental fragrance upon a passionate love story between an Indian emperor and his spouse.
- Joy, 1929
During the Great Depression, Jean Patou combined the scents of 336 roses and 10 000 jasmine flowers to create Joy, a scent meant to escape hard times.
- Miss Dior, 1947
In memory of his sister, a war hero, Christian Dior dreamed to create a perfume that smelled like love.
- L'air du Temps,1948
Couturier Nina Ricci merged romance and feminine grace into a refined bouquet of fresh roses and delicate iris.
- Opium, 1977
Famous for his sultry couture and controversial advertising campaigns, Yves St-Laurent conceived a perfume that resembles his fashion: dark and seductive.
Whether classic, modern or contemporary, fragrances are the ultimate accessory to stand out anywhere, anytime.
Elegance is not catching somebody's eyes, it is staying in somebody's memory. – Giorgio Armani