What would we do without perfume?

Women love dousing themselves in it and men love a woman who smells nice.

The fragrance and perfume market is one of the most competitive and lucrative industries in the world today and is at the centre of the advertising and marketing world heralding celebrity endorsements from the sublime to the ridiculous. It makes us discuss, read and comment as it is an ever evolving market that never fails to catch the eye of even the most unappreciative of us.

Perfume is made from 78% to 95% of denaturized ethyl chemical group alcohol and some residual requirement oils. Perfumes made up of 22% oils are more expensive.

These types of perfumes are named perfume or parfum literally. The next is Eau de Parfum made up of 15 and 22% oils and then Eau de Toilet, which is between 8 and 15% oils.

Eau de Koln, is made up of 4% oils. And for those who like refinement, it’s Eau Fraiche, which are 1 to 3% oils.

A natural perfumer, as in history extracts the fragrance molecules by various means; tincturing, enfleurage, distillation or infusion.

Infusion is done by placing fragrance material in oil and heating the oil or putting the container in direct sunlight in order to make the oil take in the fragrance of the source. Tincturing is a different method requiring an alcohol base, alcohol may be wine, or something stronger such as brandy, whiskey or vodka. Materials were placed into the alcohol to infuse the liquid with fragrance.

The French method of scent extraction is enfleurage. Flowers such as jasmine, gardenia and tuberose were place in animal fat. Normally flowers have to be replaced many times before the fat becomes saturated with the fragrance; fat is then “washed” with an alcohol to separate the scent. Distillation is the art of putting plant material over steam, separating the “oils” in a plant from its water constituents; this was more often done on a larger scare for mass production.

Perfumes tended to be one note throughout most of western history and so the choices tended to be rose, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli.

In India, the choices came from glorious attars, hydro distilled aromatics which were co-distilled with sandalwood or cedarwood. Some attars would be one aromatic then combined with sandalwood (e.g. rose), where others would be carefully constructed from flowers, woods or resins. When hydro distillation of fragrance materials was carried out into a dry receptacle, this was called a ruh.

JoAnne Bassett is an alchemist who successfully transforms modern day natural fragrances into amazing luxurious aromas.

Working with plants and in total harmony with nature she is an aromatherapist who combines the aspects of healing found in botanicals and essential oils blending them in an aromatic potion.

Using the finest in absolutes and essential oils these exceptional scents are truly divine. These rare essences can be used to work on all levels of the human body showing the true benefit that natural fragrance has to offer.

JoAnne Bassett’s range of all natural eau de toilettes and parfums are fine works of art, packaged with equal care in the decadent packaging of LeVoyage. The English translation of Le Voyage is “the journey.”
Also a master at reading peoples’ personalities and likes she is able to create a fragrance that reflects the very essence of an individual’s nature. The custom scents she produces are appropriately known as Unique Parfums and they enchant their individual wearers.

Enjoying her ability to provide a fabulous alternative to synthetic oils she enjoys working with natural fragrances in the hope that she can touch as many people as possible with her exquisitely god given gift of divine fragrancing.

The origins of eau de cologne are rooted in Italy even though the word cologne is actually the French name given to the German city of Koln!

When Gian Paolo Feminis, a barber from Val Vigezzo left his Italian home to seek fortune in Germany the story begins. Whilst Gian was in Germany he created perfume water he called Aqua Admirabilis. Aqua was a mixture of grape spirits ranging from; oil of neroli, bergamot, rosemary and lavender.

In 1709 Aqua Admirabilis was released onto the market and excited customers bought it off apothecary shelves of Cologne with such rapidity that Gian Paolo asked his nephew Giovanni Maria Farina to help him service the huge demand.

In 1732 Giovanni, Gian’s nephew took over the business, marketing this product as a cure all for a variety of ailments which ranged from ailments such as stomach aches to bleeding gums.

During the seven year war in the mid 18th century word of this “Admirable Water” spread. Soldiers brought bottles of the fragrance cologne back to their homelands and suddenly an instant global market was created for the cologne. The French named it Eau de Cologne, and it became the particular favorite of the Comtesse du Barry, one of Louis XV’s many mistresses.

During the18th century came the invention of eau de Cologne, a blend of  rosemary, neroli, bergamot and lemon used in many ways e.g. mixed with wine, diluted in bath water, mouthwash,  injected directly etc.
From 1769 Napoleon endorsed the cologne (he would consumed many bottles of it daily), new of this reached Germany, and Farinas opened a shop in Paris. Soon copycats opened up in Paris and elsewhere.

During the turn of the century perfume was based upon violet, lilac, lilly and rose single flower fragrances. Floral bouquet fragrances were manufactured towards the end of the first decade because compounds were found to aid in binding fragrance aromas together.

It was only after this that the abstract fragrances were introduced. This advancement of abstract fragrances revolutionized the whole perfume industry. Today, perfumes are even more complex, with three main notes and overtones which were unheard of before the more recent discovery of aroma chemicals or synthetics.
The town of Grasse in Provence established itself as the largest production centre for raw materials such as rose, jasmine and orange-growing trades.

Paris became the commercial sister to Grasse in Provence and established itself as the world centre of perfume. Perfume houses such as Roger & Gallet, Guerlain and Houbigant were all based in the city of Paris.
After Francois Coty the perfume maker formed a partnership with Rene Lalique perfume bottling became more important. Bottles were produced by the successful partnership for Guerlain, Lubin, Roger & Gallet plus many others.

In 1930 - The leather family of fragrances arrived to the market with florals becoming popular

In 1950 - French perfumery was at its peak and it saw the arrival of designers creating their own scents such as Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Nina Ricci amongst others.

Fragrances on today’s market are the work of perfumers whom are trained in the aesthetic traditions of the Renaissance. These perfumers can spend years in apprenticeship.

A perfume shop is the perfect place to go and shop for a fragrance that you haven’t yet decided upon whether a cheap fragrance or a designer option. A perfume shop gives you the option of walking round at your leisure and smelling samples of the hundreds of different options of fragrances available on the market today.

A good base of knowledgeable staff at your disposal will help in your decision, often able to advise on the most popular fragrances, their own choices and the right scent for the occasion you are looking to wear it. Particularly helpful is the knowledge that can be passed on to you by the staff who will have a full understanding of all the new fragrance launches to this competitive market. If you already know that a particular brand or fragrance suits you than a member of staff in a perfume shop will easily be able to tell you what other fragrances may suit you that may have similar ingredients and aromas to your already popular aroma.

However, prices are usually much higher on the high street and there are some great deals to be found online.

Shopping for perfumes through an online perfume shop can be extremely easy. It is best that you already have a good idea of the fragrance that you want to buy first because the downside is that you cannot test these fragrances before you purchase them.

In terms of delivery, most online perfume shops will over next day or 2 day delivery options so it is an ideal place to purchase. Aside from this, the internet is a great place for purchasing goods and particularly designer fragrances which will be on offer at a fraction of their retail price through online shopping.

Choosing a fragrance for a loved one is not easy, not if you want to buy them something that will be a brand new addition to their already exquisitely good choice of perfumes or aftershaves.

Searching online may help in narrowing down the best fragrances to ‘home in on’ if you don’t have a clue where to start. There is so much choice these days that sometimes the sheer volume of products can completely overwhelm you so no wonder it is hard to know where to start.

It is a good idea, even if only to start your search for the best fragrance gift for your loved one, to read the reviews on the fragrances that immediately appeals to you.

To be fair to perfume enthusiasts and perfume manufacturers, the write ups you will find for fragrances written by these two groups may not actually be as objective as perhaps they should be. At the end of the day manufacturers and marketing companies are trying to sell a fragrance in a highly competitive market and as such you will read all sorts of flamboyant and colourful language describing a fragrance that you may not as yet have had chance to test.