It is not difficult to guess where the word "perfume" comes from. After all, it, like many similar terms, is borrowed from the French language. And this happened back in the 18th century.
"Parfumerie" is formed with the help of a suffix from "parfumer", which in turn is borrowed from the Latin "fumus" - "smoke". The Italians called the incense used to fumigate the premises "perfume", which, in their opinion, protected the home from evil spirits. That is, primarily these "incense" had a ritual meaning.
International Museum of Perfumery
And already in France, the word "perfume" began to mean all kinds of fragrant products used for hygienic and cosmetic purposes. Usually these were liquid or oily solutions of volatile aromatic substances. They were dissolved with alcohol, a mixture of alcohol and water. Purified odorless vegetable oils were also used for perfume compositions.
If we turn to archeological sources, the first mentions of the use of plants and their aromas for the treatment of people, decoration of the premises, were recorded more than 20 thousand years ago. Researchers have seen them in the cave paintings of Lascaux, France.
International Museum of Perfumery
The first ceramic distiller, which testifies to the fact that people knew how to extract aromatic substances from plant materials, was found about 5 thousand years ago. Today it can be seen in the Tazila Museum, Pakistan.
The healing properties of herbal scents have also been "documented" in the past. And the oldest evidence of this is a Sumerian cuneiform tablet dated to the 5th millennium BC. e. It refers to the resin of trees, thyme and myrtle.
International Museum of Perfumery
Today, we cannot unequivocally say that the perfumery of the XXI century. opened new horizons. Perfume brands currently work more on quantity than on quality. They release several perfumes a year, working for a high level of sales. And this does not happen by creating unique new aromas, but, rather, by "bribing" them with their novelty.
Source: museesdegrasse.com
