Discover How Perfumes Are Created

For centuries people have strived to enhance both their looks and their natural scent via the application of a huge number of cosmetic beauty products and perfumes or aftershaves. The creation of perfumed products was initially strictly tied to religious practises but as bath houses became increasingly popular in ancient Egypt (and then consequently spread to the Romans and the Greeks who popularised the practise throughout Europe) perfumes and scents became widely used for purposes of vanity.



Despite their long history the creation of perfumes is a complicated process that requires a number of steps. Perfumes are typically built out of a great number of different, yet complimentary, scents that are carefully mixed and balanced. The basic scents that are used in this process come from essential oils: oils that have been extracted from, flowers, spices, woods, leaves, etc and offer extremely concentrated versions of the desired scent.



Once a perfume maker has extracted the necessary essential oils they will embark upon the process of blending the oils to create a desirable smell. The scent of a perfume is based on the combination of three distinct types of "note"; top notes, middle notes and bottom notes. These three different types of note are defined based on how long the scent will remain after the perfume is applied. Bottom, or base, notes are the most durable, these are typically 'woody' or 'spicy' fragrances (such as sandalwood, cinnamon or vanilla) that will last a number of hours. Middle notes are often created from aromatic flowers (like jasmine or rose) and the top notes are often fruity (such as lemon or lavender) and will disperse quickly after the perfumes application.



Most perfumes rely on a mixture of at least 20 oils, with some using up to 800, carefully combining top, middle and base notes to ensure that the scent remains appealing and varied over time. After these oils are blended and the scent finalised alcohol and water are added to dilute the perfume. Depending on the amount of alcohol and water that are added the perfume might be defined as a cologne or eau de toilette. Depending on the fragrance the perfume may need to be aged for hours, days or weeks in order for the desired scent to develop. After the perfume has aged to the desired level it is filtered, bottled and ready to use. Many popular designers now focus on fragrances (such as Old Spice aftershave or Hugo Boss perfume) alongside their fashion lines.