PERFUME: A LITERATURE OF FRAGRANCES

Perfumes are a blend of fragrant oils, aroma compounds and fixatives which produce a pleasant fragrance. Egyptians gave perfume to the world as it originated from their culture. They used fragrances in almost all their rituals and daily use. These scents were popularly used as status symbols. Then Persians considered it a sign of political status and soon it reached Greeks and Romans including various other corners of the world.

HOW PERFUME IS MADE? Initially, natural oils and extracts were used to create multiple scented ointments. Currently, the process has become far more complex and involves chemicals for different aromas. The plant and flower extracts are combined with either ethanol or ethanol and water as per the required concentration. 

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

COLLECTION The ingredients such as plant and animal substances are brought to the manufacturing unit. Then aromatic chemicals used in synthetic perfumes are created in the laboratory by perfume chemists.

EXTRACTION Scent oils are extracted from plant substances by several methods such as steam distillation, solvent extraction, enfleurage, maceration and expression.

BLENDING The process of blending takes place after the collection of these perfume oils. The formed scent is then mixed with alcohol. It contains 10% to 20% perfume oils dissolved in alcohol and a trace of water. It may take as many as 800 different ingredients to develop the special formula for a perfume.

AGING Then finally a good perfume is aged for several months or even years after blending. Then the expert often referred to as a nose will test the perfume to ensure that the correct scent has been achieved.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERFUMES
Perfumes come in a wide variety of fragrances. Here are some of the basic categories of scents.

FLORAL Floral fragrances draw inspiration from different sweet-smelling flowers such as roses, jasmine, orange blossoms and gardenias, etc. They have either a single or a blend of scents from different flowers.

CITRUS As the name goes citrus perfumes contain the strong essence of citrus flowers and fruits. They are mostly derived from lime, lemon, tangerine and mandarin.

WOODY This type of fragrance is a blend of wood and moss. It is commonly referred to as chypre fragrances. It uses oakmoss, citrus and patchouli to create earthy aromas of soothing perfume . There is a classical appeal associated with it because such scents are used by corporate workers.

ORIENTAL Oriental perfumes are made by mixing earthy and musky scents. Amber, musk and animalistic base scents are the ingredients of these perfumes.

FRUITY This is one of the most popular categories of fragrances. Fruity smells are pleasing and famous due to their sweetness given by the mixture of spicy and fruity notes. These aromas include fragrances such as apple, berry, mango and peach, etc.

GREEN These are opted for by people when they go out for casual meetings in their daily routine. These green fragrances are great options as they offer sporty scents of fresh leaves and newly mown grass. These perfumes are mild and can be worn on occasions.

OCEANIC These are relatively unique with synthetic scents with smells similar to that of mountain air etc. These are refreshing and soothing by nature. They can be used while going for professional meetings.

SPICY These scents have the popular fragrances of spices found in the kitchen. Spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and pepper have alluring scents. They are popular for casual occasions and brunches.