Fragrances and Perfumes (Then & Now)

Perfumes and Fragrances can be dated back from almost 4000 years ago which were discovered by the Mesopotamians. Other known ancient cultures used many varieties of resins, woods and incense during their religious ceremonies and also used these Natural Fragrances and/or Perfumes to embalm the deceased before burial.

The Egyptians are known to be the first to use Scents such as cinnamon & honey to anoint their bodies. They also regarded fragrances, oils, herbs and flowers as a valuable commodity that was more precious than gold.

When the Roman and Greek cultures where introduces to fragrance oils, like the Egyptians they too bathed and anointed their bodies with Fragrant oils. The Greeks further developed these scents by creating the first liquid form of perfume with the use of mixing powders and heavy oils.

Arabic influences brought Perfume to European culture around the 14th century. The first modern creation of Liquid Perfume used scented oils mixed with alcohol in 1370. Perfume became even more popular by the 16th century when the Italians caught wind of the commodity and eventually found a home in France during the 17th century.

Perfumes and Fragrant oils were once only to be used by the wealthy and royalty of society, then fragrances became more available to everyone by the 18th century, when eau de cologne was created.

Today even though France is known to be one of the major players of some of the best fragrances on the market, the knowledge of perfumery has expanded to all corners of the world, with new and exciting scents being created for all to indulge in.