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The human use of scents, aromas and fragrances has its origins lost in ancient times. Why and when people started to prepare them will never be known. However, archeological findings, early written texts and oral tradition, show that the history of aromas goes deep back in time. Early civilizations offered scent flowers, herbs and resins in worship of their Gods. When burned, some plants released stronger aromas and scented smoke fires became part of religious rituals, a mystical mean of communication between the heaven and earth, a tradition followed by many religions until the present days.
The Assyrian and the Egyptians, who started their civilizations in the fourth millennium B.C., knew how to use medicinal plants to make remedies as well as scented oils, unguents and balms. The demand for the raw materials needed for fragrances and remedies led to the discovery of new methods of extracting scents. A large number of new techniques were mastered and craftsman developed processes like pressing, decoction, pulverization and maceration, and made the initial attempts to produce essential oils by distillation. Alexandria became the most important trade center of the region, receiving goods from the Eastern trade, processing Arabian drugs and Indian perfumes. The raw materials arrived from Arabia, Persia, India and China. The use of perfumes spread to Greece where they started to be used not only in religious practices but also for personal purposes, a fundamental change in the direction of the modern employment of perfumes and cosmetics and their present industrial production. Following the trend, the Romans used fragrances lavishly. Their manuscripts describe and illustrate herbs brought from all over the world.
It is interesting to note that until then, i.e. for more than 4000 years, the raw materials employed in the manufacturing of aromas, perfumes, remedies and cosmetics came exclusively from natural vegetal or animal sources. It was only in the late 18th century A.C. that the first synthetic fragrance material was produced. This was the beginning of the modern age of perfumery. With the event of synthetics, perfumery would no longer be exclusively used by the wealthy.
The return to non-industrial techniques of manufacture and the use of natural products can be achieved by making your own perfumes, cosmetics, balms, remedies, soaps, perfumed oils and so forth. It may sound a pretentious and absurd proposition to most people but, as you will see, making your own perfumes is not only easy but also a source of great pleasure and fun.
CLASSICS OVER THE YEARS:The BEST CAPTURED:1880s-Present
Even before Chanel came into the picture with her No5, Guerlain and Houbigant were some of the scent- makers already established in the market in the early 1900s. Guerlain launched their famous Jicky, which is still famous today in 1889. More of a leathery and spicy scent than floral, Jicky was seen as a perfume strictly for the rich and sophisticated then. Guerlain is still one of the companies, together with Jean Patou who use only the purest French rose petals to make their scents. After this came a series of hits from Guerlain, mainly L'Heure Bleue(a powdery blend) and Mitsouko (Mystery in Japanese, a bold, spicy perfume). It was only after Mitsouko is 1919, that Chanel #5 was laucned in 1921 by Coco Gabrielle Chanel. No.5 was the first perfume to ever use synthetic ingredients (adelhydes) in the creation of the scent. Another famous Perfume house was Caron at this time with the more seductive and bold launches like Fleurs de Rocaille in 1933, one of the perfumes which was considered a true all-floral scent.1925 saw the introduction of Shalimar, a intoxicating blend of spicy floral oriental notes with vanilla and leather as base. At that time, only 3 things were said to be a taboo to women: "Smoking, Drinking and Wearing Shalimar"
Welcome to the 1930s, and Jean Patou launched his Joy, a rich scent made of the purest and refined rose oils and other highly scented oils, which made it the most expensive perfume in the world then, even now its often referred to as that. The Queens of England were noted as wearing Joy. (The present Queen I read somewhere patronises Bijan.) Tabu was launched in 1932, a rich oriental with leather and spicy notes. Tabu created somewhat of a conflict with its advertisement (look at the chart). Je Reviens launched by Carven was a mossy, green. powdery scent, even famous today and often used by the 60 over grannys.
In the 40s, Rochas created Femme specially for this wife to be and later made it public. Dior laucned Miss Dior, a rich blend of roses and jasmines in 1947 and Nina Ricci launched L'air du Temps in 1948, a clean powdery scent even famous today. Alot of working women wore L'air du Temps because it created a sense of sophistication and luxury. A fresh and powdery blend- L'air du Temps. In 1959, Parfum Grès launched Cabochard, a green leathery perfume that becamse very famous with women living in the 60s.
women in the 60s always wanted lighter perfumes, and were in the lookout for less heavy scents. There was a mix array of scents in the 60s, from the heady spicy Madama Rochas, to the floral Calèche de Hermès in 1961. As Mr. Pierre Dinand stated, ironically as women wanted lighter fragrance to indulge in, fragrances from the 70s became bolder and more provocative. For instance, Chanel No19 was a bright green floral and the 70s saw the launch of a smoky, compelling and spicy Opium in 1978 by Yvès Saint Laurent. Opium was one of the perfumes which caused somewhat of tension in China, when the government ruled that the perfume was banned in the country and no one should be seen selling this scent.(This was due to the the historical wars that occured in China due to the poisonous opium which took many lives away). In 1973, Estee Lauder made her private perfume, Private Collection public. This too became a hit scent, because many people just wanted to smell like Estee then. In 1978, Cacharel laucned Anaïs Anaïs. Even today, this light white floral bouquet is famous. Jean Cacharel was inspired by his white floral gardens and wanted to create something sweet, light and feminine for the ladies. Also, to create this mood, he packaged his perfume in a plastic bottle with prints of blooming flowers in pink and green. Avon's Timeless launched in 1974 followed the trend of rich musk and spices and became very polular with the Avon fans in the 70s. Chloè was launched in 1978 and this perfume although at first was criticised as being too cloying and heavy, later became a number 1 seller in the States.
Moving on to the 80s. The period of heavy florals and rich scents. The 80s saw an increasing launch of headier heavier floral perfumes. Nocturnes was launched by Caron in 1981 and this scent was a favourite night time scent with women then and now. Raffineè was launched in 1982 by Houbigant and followed by this, the white floral became very famous. In 1982-1983, heavy white floral scents, namely Pavi Elle by Avon, Jardins de Begatelle Guerlain and Orlane's Fleur de Orlane were launched. White florals are are heady florals and this was used mainly in the early 80s. Lots of floriental scents were launched in this period; Obsession was a compelling provocative perfume, Paris was a bright floral reminiscent of Paris in summertime, Giorgio Beverly Hills launced their first scent in 1982 and this was a big hit with women then, everybody crowding the store to purchase this. A French restaurant has a board even outside saying no women with Giorgio perfume were allowed inside. It was that heady. Giorgio was a simple success, all it took was a toll free number, some magazine sample vials and a great advertisement. Worked. Coco was laucned in 1984, and this immediately became a famous perfume for the refined classic women in town. Other famous launches in 1984 included Paloma Picasso, a perfume NOT for the faint hearted and Ysatis Givenchy, a scent made for the alluring woman. Well you know whats next in 1985. POISON de Christian Dior. Need I say more? A perfume that caused some tension and hoo-has in the perfume world because of its name and its distinctive bold packaging. Poison became THE perfume for the ultimate sophisticated woman in town. A perfume that enters the room before the wearer itself, Poison is another perfume that caused a French restaurant to place a board outside saying "Formal Outfit, No Poison". An advertisement with a woman in a bride's gown made many people, young and old crave for Lauder's Beautiful perfume in 1985. A rich green esssence, Beautiful became many womens' signature in the 80s and even today is ranked among the worlds most favourite perfumes and still ranks in America's top10 selling perfume annually.
Another bright rich floral was launched by Cacharel in 1987, LouLou, a party perfume for a sensuous outgoing girl. Guerlain launced Samsara, a perfume the company claims took 11 years in the making. Samsara was launched in 1989 and this was a rich oriental citrusy perfume with lemons and vanilla. Calvin Klein launched Eternity, a much lighter perfume in 1988, and even now this is one of his famous scents. Lauder launched Knowing in 1988 and this was a scent made to bring about sophistication to a woman. A great perfume still popular for winter.
1990 still saw the launches of loud perfumes. Elizabeth Arden's Red Door was the first scent the house launched after years. Then came in Cabotine and Trèsor Lancome in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Trèsor also hits the top 10 perfume list in America, because of its tender rose overtones and its feminity. The 90s saw introduction of floral fruity launches, like Trèsor, Mackie, and Jaipur de Boucheron, Gucci Accènti. Designers became more environmentally friendly giving perfumes names that was reflecting various environmental elements. Dune by Dior in 1990 was a classic example because money from the sales of this scent was donated to the saving of the Dunes. Such perfume names brought a sense of peace, serenity and tranquility to the world and the patrons of the scents. Angel by Thierry Muggler and Sun Moon Stars by Karl Lagerfeld in 1994. Perfumes with such names were launched to offer inner peace and security to people in the world. Angel was a bright burst of sweet mangoes and fruits while Sun Moon Stars was a traditional modern floral scent. Another heady floral was Amarige de Givenchy in 1992, a bright floral scent that is still one of the company's top sellers. Lauder launched Spellbound in 1991 and this was a heady rich perfume for the night out, made for the bolder ladies. The 90s saw the need for lighter scents, and many companies launched lighter versions of their original scents, for instance in 1992, Dior launched Tendre Poison, there were lighter versions of Chanel No19, Coco, Opium, No5, Giorgio, Red and many other famous rich scents were softened. Laura Biagiotti launched Venezia in 1992, a rich fruity floral scent and this was one of Italy's top sellers then. Elizabeth Taylor launched White Diamonds in 1991 and this scent still ranks as the top 10 scents sold in the States yearly. Sunflowers, launched in 1993 also topped the sales list in the States then and when Sunflowers was launched, almost every girl wore it, to work and to school, it was a big hit with women of all ages.
1995- Pleasures- one the worlds top selling scents was launched and it was a big hit in Europe, Asia and America. So famous that almost every working woman who wanted a casual scent wore it then. Thank God the pleasures fever has gone down now!! Chanel Allure, Lancome Poeme, Dolce Vita (The Good Life) by Dior and Fifth Avenue by Arden were all famous 1996 launches. Poeme was a hit because it was the first perfume that smells the same at the end of the day as it was first sprayed on. There were no top and base notes in this heady, romantically floral perfume. Chanel launched a new perfume after Coco in 1984 and Allure was also a big hit. Arden's Fifth Avenue was seen as a perfume reminiscent of a New York working scene and the bottle was made to look like a New York skyscraper. Guerlain launched Chàmps Elysèes in 1996 and this was a totally different Guerlain scent, because it followed the modern trend of softness, sweetness and lightness unlike the typical heavy heady Guerlain perfumes. The lighter marine scents were well loved by women this time and the lighter scents were hits with women who preferred casual scents. Acqua di Gio, Issey Miyake, Happy, Pleasures, Pure by Alfred Sung, Davidoff Cool Water, Hugo Woman and Romance became popular scents in the 90s.
The later 90s saw increasing likes for perfumes with notes like Coffee, vanilla, fruits, tea and chocolates. Angel, Amen, Lolita Lempicka, Wish and By Dolce & Gabanna all use these ingredients to sell.
Now, whats back are florals. Recent launches are Splendor by Arden, By Dolce & Gabanna, Sonia Rykiel, Rochas Alchèmene which are pretty traditional floral scents. The summer sees people returning to lighter fresher perfumes like Kenzo and Rochas Eau de Rochas which is one of the top sellers in the US when it comes to summer, and other lighter perfumes with lemon and lime to soothe the skin like Origins Spring Fever. No matter what happens, perfume experts feel that anytime, ladies will always return to their floral scents for floral perfumes are still loved by majority of the women around the world. Some people never will change their scents no matter how the world's taste changes, grandmothers always love to wear their White Shoulders perfume, grandpops always like to have their Old Spice on. We recognise someone by their scent, we associate someone with the way they smell. Such is the power of fragrance. People buy scents for many reasons, impulsive buyers may buy it because of the packaging like Givenchy's Organza, others may purchase perfume because of the luxury evoking names: Pleasures, White Diamonds, Dolce Vita, Joy and Beautiful. Others simply love the smell! Whatever it is, the fragrance industry is constantly changing to suit the needs of the consumers in the present world.
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