All About Perfume

Perfume has been around a long time – at least as far back as ancient Egypt which burned resins and aromatic woods for their religious ceremonies. Perfumes were used in their burial chambers also for the deceased to use in the next life. Some say that when King Tut’s tomb was opened, the fragrance could still be smelled even after 3000 years.

Romans also were well known for their lavish use of perfumes and scents – in their baths, their homes; even their dogs and horses were perfumed! During certain festivals, even birds were released from their cages in order to spray them with perfume. They also applied perfume to furniture, accent pieces and other household items. Even their servants were perfumed, though apparently with a different scent than non-servants.

Humans may have lost much of their olfactory capabilies over the millenia, but even now we respond to scents. The same area of our brain which processes emotions is involved with odors, and certain odors trigger our appetites – for food, or for other things as well.

A story is told of Napoleon sending a letter to his lover Josephine telling her that he was returning home from battle within the week and directing her to not bathe until they had seen each other. Clearly Napoleon knew that his own libido would be triggered by her womanly smell.

Because most of us know very little about perfume, we buy the container and the advertising campaign. The fancier the container, or the the sexier the ad campaign, the more likely we are to buy and use that perfume. In truth, often the simplest containers hold the finest scents. Besides – perfumes smell differently on different people, as we all excrete various chemicals from the pores on our skin. These chemical interact with perfumes and form the fragrance that will reach others. So buying a pretty bottle will not tell you if that perfume will work for YOU.

So what about labels used on fragrances? What is the difference between cologne and perfume? Here are some basics: Perfume is the strongest and has the longest lasting aroma because it is the most concentrated. Eau de Parfum (Perfume), used to layer in preparation of the body for perfume; Eau de Toilette, much less concentrated than the others Cologne, is the lightest fragrance and only lasts for a brief time.

Apply your perfume after bathing, and apply directly to skin, not to clothing. Do not spray in the air and walk thru the mist – this is just wasting perfume.