History Of Perfumes

Egyptians were the inventors of perfume. They thought it was the sweat of the sun god Ra.

They used it for religious and burial ceremonies and also for beautification. 

Their God of perfume wore a head dress made of water lilies which was a major ingredient in their perfume. 

Archaeologists have also uncovered many Egyptian recipes and elaborate prescriptions for perfume-making. 

Only the rich elites had the luxury of adorning themselves with perfumes signifying their status.

As all ancient perfumes, the Egyptian perfumes had an oil base unlike many modern perfumes which have an alcohol base. 

Egyptians imported huge amounts of perfume ingredients from Africa to an extent such that perfume trade was a big part of international relations for both of the regions.

 A woman named Tapputi, the first recorded chemist was a perfume maker in Babylonian Mesopotamia. 

She developed techniques for scent extraction most notably techniques in using solvents.

These methods would eventually lay the foundation for perfume making. 

She recorded and passed on her techniques and methods. Perfumery also existed in the Indus civilization. 

One of the earliest distillation of oil was mentioned in a Hindu Ayurvedic text. They manufactured perfumes for royalty and queens of harems. 

Knowledge of perfumes in Europe existed since the 14th century. Some partially credit this to Arabic influences. 

Liquid perfume was first made in Italy when Aqua Mirabilis was made. Thereafter, Italy, especially Venice became the perfume capital of the world for several hundred years. 

Catharina de Medici initiated the perfume industry in Europe when she left Italy in the 16th century to marry the French crown prince. 

During the renaissance in Italy, perfume making prospered. They discovered that animal-based products made great bases for scents. The trend of carrying a perfume in a small bag spread throughout Europe. 

They thought perfumes could fend off infections which they thought were transferred through air almost all of the time. 

The idea for portable perfumes made its way to Europe through crusaders returning to their mother land bringing perfumes of their enemies’ home.

The first alcohol-based modern perfume which was called Hungary water was made by the Hungarians during the 14th century by the request of queen Elizabeth of Hungary. It used alcohol, oils and herbs. 

The demand in Europe for Hungary water was very high until Eau de Cologne came into existence in Germany. 

Since the 6th century, perfumes have been involved in Islamic culture for religious traditions since the use is instructed even in Islamic literature. 

Traditional duties as such gave incentives to scholars to develop cheaper and more efficient ways to produce scents.

Consequently, Islamic cultures contributed immensely to the advancement of Western perfumery in two significant aspects: perfecting the extraction of fragrances through steam distillation and in introducing new raw materials. 

Both have greatly influenced Western perfumery and scientific developments, particularly chemistry.