[Perfume] - Indian Fragrance Oils Perfume: Perfume or parfum is a mixture of fragrant essenti al oils or aroma compounds, fixatives, and

solvent s used to give the human body, animals, objects, a nd living spaces "a pleasant scent."[1] The odorif erous compounds that make up a perfume can be manu factured synthetically or extracted from plant or animal sources. Perfumes have been known to exist in some of the e arliest human civilizations, either through ancien t texts or from archaeological digs. Modern perfum ery began in the late 19th century with the commer cial synthesis of aroma compounds such as vanillin or coumarin, which allowed for the composition of perfumes with smells previously unattainable sole ly from natural aromatics alone. History: The word perfume used today derives from the Latin per fumum, meaning "through smoke." Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began in ancient Meso potamia and Egypt and was further refined by the R omans and Persians. The world's first recorded chemist is considered t o be a woman named Tapputi, a perfume maker who wa s mentioned in a cuneiform tablet from the 2nd mil lennium BC in Mesopotamia.[2] She distilled flower s, oil, and calamus with other aromatics then filt ered and put them back in the still several times. [3] In 2005,[4] archaeologists uncovered what are beli eved to be the world's oldest perfumes in Pyrgos, Cyprus. The perfumes date back more than 4,000 yea rs. The perfumes were discovered in an ancient per

fumery. At least 60 stills, mixing bowls, funnels and perfume bottles were found in the 43,000-squar e-foot (4,000 m2) factory.[5] In ancient times peo ple used herbs and spices, like almond, coriander, myrtle, conifer resin, bergamot, as well as flowers.[6] The Arabian chemist, Al-Kindi (Alkindus), wrote in the 9th century a book on perfumes which he named Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillation s. It contained more than a hundred recipes for fr agrant oils, salves, aromatic waters and substitut es or imitations of costly drugs. The book also de scribed 107 methods and recipes for perfume-making and perfume making equipment, such as the alembic (which still bears its Arabic name).[7] The Persian chemist Ibn Sina (also known as Avicen na) introduced the process of extracting oils from flowers by means of distillation, the procedure m ost commonly used today. He first experimented wit h the rose. Until his discovery, liquid perfumes w ere mixtures of oil and crushed herbs or petals, w hich made a strong blend. Rose water was more deli cate, and immediately became popular. Both of the raw ingredients and distillation technology signif icantly influenced western perfumery and scientifi c developments, particularly chemistry. The art of perfumery was known in western Europe e ver since 1221, if we consider the monks' recipes of Santa Maria delle Vigne or Santa Maria Novella of Florence, Italy. In the east, the Hungarians pr oduced in 1370 a perfume made of scented oils blen ded in an alcohol solution at the command of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, best known as Hungary Water . The art of perfumery prospered in Renaissance It aly, and in the 16th century, Italian refinements were taken to France by Catherine de' Medici's per sonal perfumer, Rene the Florentine (Renato il fio rentino). His laboratory was connected with her ap artments by a secret passageway, so that no formul

as could be stolen en route. Thanks to Rene, Franc e quickly became one of the European centers of pe rfume and cosmetic manufacture. Cultivation of flo wers for their perfume essence, which had begun in the 14th century, grew into a major industry in t he south of France. Between the 16th and 17th cent ury, perfumes were used primarily by the wealthy t o mask body odors resulting from infrequent bathin g. Partly due to this patronage, the perfumery ind ustry was created. In Germany, Italian barber Giov anni Paolo Feminis created a perfume water called Aqua Admirabilis, today best known as eau de colog ne, while his nephew Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1732 took over the business. By the 18th century, aromatic plants were being grown in the Grasse region of France, in Sicily, and in Calabria, Italy to provide the growing perfume in dustry with raw materials. Even today, Italy and F rance remain the center of the European perfume de sign and trade. Concentration: Perfume types reflect the concentration of aromati c compounds in a solvent, which in fine fragrance is typically ethanol or a mix of water and ethanol . Various sources differ considerably in the defin itions of perfume types. The intensity and longevi ty of a perfume is based on the concentration, int ensity and longevity of the aromatic compounds (na tural essential oils / perfume oils) used: As the percentage of aromatic compounds increases, so doe s the intensity and longevity of the scent created . Specific terms are used to describe a fragrance' s approximate concentration by percent/volume of p erfume oil, which are typically vague or imprecise . A list of common terms (Perfume-Classification) is as follows: Solvent Types: Perfume oils are often diluted with a solvent, tho ugh this is not always the case, and its necessity is disputed. By far the most common solvent for p

erfume oil dilution is ethanol or a mixture of eth anol and water. Perfume oil can also be diluted by means of neutral-smelling oils such as fractionat ed coconut oil, or liquid waxes such as jojoba oil. Imprecise terminology: Although quite often Eau de Parfum (EdP) will be m ore concentrated than Eau de Toilette (EdT) and in turn Eau de Cologne (EdC), this is not always the case. Different perfumeries or perfume houses ass ign different amounts of oils to each of their per fumes. Therefore, although the oil concentration o f a perfume in EdP dilution will necessarily be hi gher than the same perfume in EdT from within the same range, the actual amounts can vary between pe rfume houses. An EdT from one house may be stronge r than an EdP from another. Men's fragrances are rarely sold as EdP or perfume extracts; equally so, women's fragrances are rare ly sold in EdC concentrations. Although this gende r specific naming trend is common for assigning fr agrance concentrations, it does not directly have anything to do with whether a fragrance was intend ed for men or women. Furthermore, some fragrances with the same product name but having a different concentration name may not only differ in their di lutions, but actually use different perfume oil mi xtures altogether. For instance, in order to make the EdT version of a fragrance brighter and freshe r than its EdP, the EdT oil may be "tweaked" to co ntain slightly more top notes or fewer base notes. In some cases, words such as extrme, intense, or concentre that might indicate aromatic concentra tion are actually completely different fragrances, related only because of a similar perfume accord. An example of this is Chanel's Pour Monsieur and Pour Monsieur Concentre. Eau de Cologne (EdC) since 1706 in Cologne, German y, is originally a specific fragrance and trademar k. However outside of Germany the term has become

generic for Chypre citrus perfumes (without base-n otes). EdS (since 1993) is a new perfume class and a registered trademark. Plant sources: Plants have long been used in perfumery as a sourc e of essential oils and aroma compounds. These aro matics are usually secondary metabolites produced by plants as protection against herbivores, infect ions, as well as to attract pollinators. Plants ar e by far the largest source of fragrant compounds used in perfumery. The sources of these compounds may be derived from various parts of a plant. A pl ant can offer more than one source of aromatics, f or instance the aerial portions and seeds of coria nder have remarkably different odors from each oth er. Orange leaves, blossoms, and fruit zest are th e respective sources of petitgrain, neroli, and or ange oils. Synthetic sources: Many modern perfumes contain synthesized odorants. Synthetics can provide fragrances which are not f ound in nature. For instance, Calone, a compound o f synthetic origin, imparts a fresh ozonous metall ic marine scent that is widely used in contemporar y perfumes. Synthetic aromatics are often used as an alternate source of compounds that are not easi ly obtained from natural sources. For example, lin alool and coumarin are both naturally occurring co mpounds that can be inexpensively synthesized from terpenes. Orchid scents (typically salicylates) a re usually not obtained directly from the plant it self but are instead synthetically created to matc h the fragrant compounds found in various orchids. One of the most commonly used class of synthetic a romatic by far are the white musks. These material s are found in all forms of commercial perfumes as a neutral background to the middle notes. These m usks are added in large quantities to laundry dete

rgents in order to give washed clothes a lasting " clean" scent.