CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Perfume is a fragrant liquid made from an extract that has been distilled in alcohol and water.
Since the beginning of recorded history, humans have attempted to mask or enhance their own odor by using perfume, which emulates nature's pleasant smells. Many natural and man-made materials have been used to make perfume to apply to the skin and clothing, to put in cleaners and cosmetics, or to scent the air. Because of differences in body chemistry, temperature, and body odors, no perfume will smell exactly the same on any two people.
Perfume comes from the Latin "per" meaning "through" and "fume," or "smoke." Many ancient perfumes were made by extracting natural oils from plants through pressing and steaming. The oil was then burned to scent the air. Today, most perfume is used to scent bar soaps. Some products are even perfumed with industrial odorants to mask unpleasant smells or to appear "unscented."
While fragrant liquids used for the body are often considered perfume, true perfumes are defined as extracts or essences and contain a percentage of oil distilled in alcohol.
A perfume is composed of three notes. The base note is what a fragrance will smell like after it has dried. The smell that develops after the perfume has mixed with unique body chemistry is referred to as the middle note. And the top note is the first smell experienced in an aroma. Each perfumery has a preferred perfume manufacturing process, but there are some basic steps. The notes unfold over time, with the immediate impression of the top note leading to the deeper middle notes, and the base notes gradually appearing as the final stage. These notes are created carefully with knowledge of the evaporation process of the perfume. The top note consists of small light molecules that evaporate quickly. The middle note forms the heart of main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes.
Traditionally perfumes were made from plant and animal substances and prepared in the form of waters, oils, unguents, powders, and incense. This last method of fragrance gives us our word ‘perfume’ which means ‘to smoke through’. Most modern perfumes are alcohol-based and contain synthetic scents. While the term ‘perfume’ usually refers to fragrances in general, in the more technical language of the perfumer, a perfume must contain over 15% of fragrance oils in alcohol. The preferred fragrances for perfumes are by no means universal, but differ according to cultural dictates and fashions. In the sixteenth century, for example, pungent animal scents such as musk and civet were very popular. In the nineteenth century, by contrast, such animal scents were generally considered too crude, and light floral fragrances were favored. Perfumes were held in high esteem and widely employed in the ancient world. The wealthy would perfume not only the body, but their furnishings and their favorite horses and dogs. On ancient altars perfumes were offered to the gods, while in the kitchens of antiquity the same scents — Saffron, Cinnamon, Rose, Myrrh — might be used to flavor food and wine.
Techniques involved in perfume extraction from plants include; solvent extraction, distillation and effleurage method. These methods to a certain extent, distort the odor of the aromatic compounds that are obtained from the raw materials.
Important thing in relation to perfume making is that there are three key ingredients you will need to produce perfume: