Here's an adventure in perfume scent – science secret smell revealed! You'll discover why. So, let's begin at the beginning …
The science of perfume is thousands of years old. The word "perfume" comes from the Latin word per fume "through smoke". The first form of perfume was incense, and it was first discovered by the Mesopotamians about 4,000 years ago. However, the Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture followed by the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans.
One of the oldest uses of perfumes comes from the burning of incense and aromatic herbs used in religious services. This very often comes from the aromatic gums, frankincense and myrrh, gathered from trees. The ancient people often soaked the fragrant woods and resins in water and oil, and rubbed their bodies with the liquid. They also embalmed the dead with these perfumes.
With the advances in organic chemistry, synthetic perfume products were first produced in the late 19th century. And, many new scents soon came into the market.
Grasse in Provence, France became a center for flower and herb growing for the perfume industry. In the same area, men who treated athletes found themselves smelling so badly that they perfumed themselves and the leathers. Thus, they became knowledgeable about making botanical essences and they soon became the early perfume noses. But it was only in the 20th century that scents and designer perfumes were really mass produced. Way before that, the few trade names that existed were Coty and Yardley who made fairly light scents with familiar smiles.
Perfume is made from about 78% to 95% of specifically denatured ethyl alcohol and a reminder of essential oils. With the advances in science, human euphoria perfumes and colognes soon came into the market. These are scientifically engineered pheromone concentrate that has proven effects on attracting the opposite sex. Just as animals use scents to attract others, humans possess the same senses which are potent for sexual attraction!
In creating Human Euphoria Pheromones, pure pheromones are added to essential oils that produce a scent designed to immediately attract the opposite sex. Some companies use 99.99% pure reagent-grade product and contain a combination of both Androstenone and Androstenol pheromones designed to create an incredibly powerful sexual attraction
However, perfume smell is not the only thing that attracts the opposite sex. Studies show that men associate the scents of cinnamon and vanilla with love. Cinnamon was believed to be an aphrodisiac. And that, to attract your man, try baking cinnamon rolls before a date, or simply wear a cinnamon-vanilla scented perfume
On the other hand, women are attracted to a black licorice scent. So men, go eat your licorice!
In this little adventure in perfume scent – science secret smell revealed, we have covered a short history of perfume and the science behind it.