History of Perfumes
Many aromatic ingredients such as resin, styrax, galbanum, and pure frankincense are used by perfumers without any other addition than salt, a pure and sacred product.
Myrrh, cinnamon (a tree whose bark emits a scent), aloes, and spikenard were also very popular among the Hebrews.
It is worth noting that spikenard, a small fragrant grass also known as Indian verbena, was a very expensive perfume.
Moreover, some scents were considered the scent of the righteous, others were associated with sacrifices, others were used for idolatry, while the last ones were considered the scent of knowledge.
Beyond the sacred dimension of perfume, the Greeks also attached great importance to personal hygiene and beauty.
They used plants in the form of fumigations, massages, or baths.
Public baths, scented with floral perfumes, were very important socializing places at that time, frequented by both men and women.
As a sign of hospitality, it was customary to wash the feet of guests in scented basins and offer them garlands of flowers, clove oil, or flavored wines.
Rome, the "perfume capital," promoted the trade of plants.
Nero extensively used perfume, especially to mask odors during his orgies.
The Romans sought the medicinal virtues of aromatic substances. They introduced glass containers to replace those made of terracotta.
They also developed ambient perfumes.
The contact between the Roman people, the Etruscans, and the Phoenicians increased their knowledge of perfumery.
Odorous materials were major products brought back by the Romans during their conquests. They gradually began to appreciate the properties of various fragrances, including myrtle, Spanish broom, labdanum, and pine.
Thus, perfumes experienced considerable, sometimes excessive, growth.
The Romans used scents in their most important rituals such as weddings or funerals.
The Arabs learned the chemistry secrets from the Greeks. They were the undisputed masters of the trade of spices and fragrant powders.
Perfume is a very important ingredient in Eastern countries, due to their land suitable for plant cultivation.
Arabia is considered the land of aromatics par excellence, known as the "Arabia of a thousand perfumes."
Arab poets mention in their writings the rose, whose scent is highly prized in the Arab world, as well as animal musk. Rose water is used to perfume rooms and is often present in certain dishes such as sweets and sorbets.
Coffee is mixed with ambergris, and it was common to impregnate the walls of drinking cups with fragrant resins.
The Arabs had a great scientific culture in the Middle Ages, and herbs were widely used for medicinal purposes.
Although the Arabs were not the originators of distillation, they significantly improved this technique. The word "alembic" itself has Arabic origins.
In 1555, in Venice, the first European treatise on perfumery was born.
Italians became experts in leather processing and initiated the trend of scented gloves in Grasse. The processing technique involved macerating the skin in rose water, then adding fragrant materials such as lavender, neroli, clove, and sandalwood. This mixture was then blended with animal notes.
Originally, perfumes had a religious function, as evidenced by myrrh, pungent incense, iris, lotus, lily, saffron, cinnamon, and storax. These substances were used in sacred rituals.
Hebrews learned perfumery techniques in Egypt, as abundantly mentioned in the Bible, with the use of anointing oils, aromatics, and incense. The Three Wise Men, according to tradition, offered Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh, considering the latter more precious than gold itself.
Perfumes have crossed centuries, being both mystical, medicinal, and aesthetic.
Tanners from Grasse, seeking to mask the smell of leather, used natural essences from the region. Thus was born the corporation of Perfumed Glovers. In the 18th century, the glove industry gradually declined, leading Grasse tanners to completely abandon gloves in favor of perfumes.
Thanks to the concentration of significant industrial establishments of aromatic raw materials and its ancestral know-how, Grasse has remained the world capital of perfumery. The city is renowned for the quality of its essences and creations in the luxury perfumery field, but also for its perfumes, pharmaceutical products, cleaning products, and food flavors.
The perfumery know-how in Grasse is passed down from generation to generation. The transformation steps of raw material into essence are not always automatable, and this quality of know-how also constitutes Grasse's heritage.
Flowers are sometimes distilled in their country of origin, and the raw material then
