Hidden facts you need to know about the composition of perfumes and how it is being made

Perfume (Latin "per
fume" meaning
"through smoke") was
highly favored by the
Egyptians, Romans, and
Arabs. In East Asia,
perfumes were incense
based. People used to
make perfumes from
spices and herbs like
bergamot, myrtle,
coriander, conifer resin,
and almond. The use of
flowers came only after
Avicenna, an Iranian
doctor and chemist
showed the process of
distillation, whereby oils
could be extracted from
flowers. In 1370, at the
behest of Queen
Elizabeth of Hungary,
the world's first
modern perfume -
"Hungary Water" was
made by blending
scented oils in alcohol
solution.
The composition of a
perfume is of vital
significance and is
handled by an expert
known as a perfumer,
who deals with primary
scents like rose,
jasmine, cola, etc;
modifiers like esters;
blenders like linalool and
hydroxycitronellol; and
fixatives like resins,
wood scents, and
amber bases. The
resulting scent is
explained in a musical
metaphor of three
'notes', namely, top
notes (consisting of
fast evaporating small
size molecules) like
citrus and ginger
scents; middle notes
(consisting of slow
evaporating medium
size molecules) like
lavender and rose
scents; and base notes
(consisting of slowest
evaporating largest size
molecules) like fixatives
etc. All these notes
work together like a
musical chord.
Perfume oils contain
volatile compounds in
high concentrations and
thus have to be diluted
by solvents, so that
injury is not caused
when applied directly on
skin or clothes. The
common solvent is pure
ethanol or ethanol
mixed with water.
Fractionated coconut oil
or wax, neutral smelling
fats such as jojoba, can
also act as solvents and
dilute the perfume oil.
The perfume oil is
further mixed with
other aromatic
compounds. Generally,
the percentage of
aromatic compounds in
perfume extract is 20%
to 40%; in eau de
parfum is 10% to 30%;
in eau de toilette is 5%
to 20%; and in eau de
cologne is 2% to 5%.
The oil concentration in
a perfume along with
other aromatic
compounds, determines
the intensity, longevity,
and price of the
perfume and thus it is a
closely guarded secret
of every perfumer and
perfume house. By
adjusting the
percentage level and
the notes of the
perfume, variations on
the same brand may be
created like Chanel's
Pour Monsieur and Pour
Monsieur Concentree.
Classification of
perfumes is never
complete, due to its
ever-evolving nature.
The traditional
classification comprises
of categories like Single
Floral, Floral Bouquet,
Ambery, Woody,
Leather, Chypre, and
Fougere; while the
modern classification
comprises of Bright
Floral, Green, Oceanic/
Ozone, Citrus/Fruity,
and Gourmand. In 1983,
Michael Edwards, a
perfume consultant,
created a new
fragrance classification
"The Fragrance Wheel",
which classified and
sub-grouped five
standard families,
namely Floral (Floral,
Soft Floral, Floral
Oriental), Oriental (Soft
Oriental, Oriental,
Woody Oriental), Woody
(Wood, Mossy Woods,
Dry Woods), Fougere
(has fragrance
elements from all the
families), and Fresh
(Citrus, Green, Water).
Perfumery has used a
number of aromatic
sources like plants,
animals, and synthetic
sources in the making
of perfumes. Plants are
used as a source of
aroma compounds and
essential oils. The parts
of plants that are used
are:
1 - Bark (cinnamon,
cascarilla);
2 - Flowers (rose,
jasmine, osmanthus,
tuberose, mimosa,
vanilla);
3 - Blossoms (citrus,
ylang-ylang, clove);
4 - Fruits (apples,
strawberries, cherries,
litsea cubeba, juniper
berry, vanilla, oranges,
lemons, limes,
grapefruit);
5 - Leaves and Twigs
(lavender, patchouli,
citrus, violets, sage,
rosemary, hay,
tomato);
6 - Resins (labdanum,
myrrh, gum benzoin,
Peru balsam,
frankincense/olibanum,
pine, fir, amber, copal);
7 - Roots, Bulbs, and
Rhizomes (vetiver
roots, ginger and iris
rhizomes);
8 - Seeds (coriander,
cocoa, mace,
cardamom, anise,
nutmeg, caraway,
tonka bean);
9 - Woods (agarwood,
birch, rosewood,
sandalwood, pine, birch,
juniper, cedar).