Review of Paris perfumery demo ...

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Perfume was first used by the Egyptians as part of their religious rituals. The two principal methods of use at this time was the burning of incense and the application of balms and ointments. Perfumed oils were applied to the skin for eithercosmetic or medicinal purposes. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, perfumes were reserved exclusively for religious rituals such as cleansing ceremonies.

Then during the New Kingdom (1580-1085 BC) they were used during festivals and Egyptian women also used perfumed creams and oils as toiletries ar cosmetics and as preludes to love-making. The use of perfume then spread to Greece, Rome, and the Islamic world. And it was the Islamic community that kept the use of perfumes since the spread of Christianity led to a decline in the use of perfume.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, perfume's influence dwindled. It was not until the twelfth century and the development of international trade that this decline was reversed.

Perfume enjoyed huge success during the seventeenth century. Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established. The use of perfume in France grew steadily. The court of Louis XV was even named "the perfumed court" due to the scents which were applied daily not only to the skin but also to clothing, fans and furniture.

The eighteenth century saw a revolutionary advance in perfumery with the invention of eau de Cologne. This refreshing blend of rosemary, neroli, bergamot and lemon was used in a multitude of different ways: diluted in bath water, mixed with wine, eaten on a sugar lump, as a mouthwash, an enema or an ingredient for a poultice, injected directly... and so on. The variety of eighteenth-century perfume containers was as wide as that of the fragrances and their uses. Sponges soaked in scented vinaigres de toilette were kept in gilded metal vinaigrettes. Liquid perfumes came in beautiful Louis XIV-style pear-shaped bottles. Glass became increasingly popular, particularly in France with the opening of the Baccarat factory in 1765.

As with industry and the arts, perfume was to undergo profound change in the nineteenth century. Changing tastes and the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations of perfumery as we know it today. Alchemy gave way to chemistry and new fragrances were created. The French Revolution had in no way diminished the taste for perfume, there was even a fragrance called "Parfum a la Guillotine." Under the post-revolutionary government, people once again dared to express a penchant for luxury goods, including perfume. A profusion of vanity boxes containing perfumes appeared in the 19th century. This picture shows a woman at her dressing table.

Due to its jasmine, rose and orange-growing trades, the town of Grasse in Provence established itself as the largest production center for raw materials. The statutes of the perfume-makers of Grasse were passed in 1724.

Paris became the commercial counterpart to Grasse and the world center of perfume. Perfume houses such as Houbigant (produces Quelques Fleurs, still very popular today), Lubin, Roger & Gallet, and Guerlain were all based in Paris.

MAKING PERFUMES

the steam distillation

When a mixture of flowers and water is boiled in a still it produces perfumed water through condensation...

The still invented by the Arabs in the 4th century has been considerably improved on since. In perfume making today we use hydro distillation, which takes place in stainless steel stills to avoid the raw material becoming colored, a frequent occurrence when copper stills were used.

The still is tall with a head and a well-insulated swan's neck preceded by a mechanism to prevent fumes and impurities passing through. The still is filled with fresh or dried plants, gum or roots, to which is added a minimum of five times their weight in water. The process takes place at a very high temperature and five or six atms of pressure so the steam can act.

The steam traps the essential oils of the product being distilled; these then pass through a worm immersed in cold water, which condenses them into essence.

The condensed mixture of essential oil and water flows out of the worm into an essence bottle, or Florentine flask, where the two liquids separate out because of their different densities.

to extract 1 kg of essence of lavender, you need to distil 200 kg of lavender.

for 1 kg of essence of neroli, 1000 kg of orange blossom are used.

for 1 kg of Cabbage rose essence, over 3000 kg of roses are required.

THE MANUFACTURE

Grasse's raw material production

Many different types of raw materials of diverse origins are employed in perfume making today, with synthetic raw materials used as well as natural ones. The natural products still employed in the Grasse perfume industry come from all over the world. Flower growing has virtually disappeared from the region, although a few scattered fields still supply the Grasse factories.

The Cabbage or Provence rose created in La Colle-sur-Loup flowers in May and is mainly appreciated for its strong fragrance. It was produced by gratifying the Provins rose, from which comes the French rose, onto rosa centifolia stock.

Mainly because of labor costs, one kilo of absolute of Grasse roses costs five to ten times more than one kilo of absolute of Turkish roses.

In 1996 the Grasse region produced 150 tonnes of Cabbage roses and one kilo of absolute cost 35,000 FF(€5336).

Violets, which flower in February and March, are used only for the leaves, which have a very green smell.

The main fields are found around Vence and Tourrettes-sur-Loup.The pelargonium geranium flowers in spring.Broom flowers in spring.

Jasmine flowers from July to late October. Around Grasse there are still a few small fields of jasmine, its white petals embalming hot summer nights. The flowers have to be picked before sunrise and 10,000 of these delicate blooms are needed for one kilo of jasmine.

The tuberose flowers from August to September. This white flower with its exciting heady perfume still grows around Grasse, but because of extremely high production costs it is cultivated more for the cut flower market than for the perfume industry.

Mimosa is the first flower of the year, flowering from February to March and covering the coastal hillsides in gold.

THE PERFUMER

the profession and art of being a "Nose"

A little known but essential profession, the "Nose", or perfumer, invents perfumes. His craft has little to do with science. He works surrounded by raw materials using a set of precision scales, and by experimental dosages, trial and error he gradually succeeds in creating a good perfume.

He is both artist and technician and his nose is of more use than any modern instrument. A "Nose" can remember and recognize up to 3000 different smells. Seated at his perfume organ (a miniature laboratory), the perfumer mixes his formulae and smells them on small dipsticks of paper soaked in perfume.

He works at compositions for months, sometimes years, until he finds a definitive accord. His aim is to create a harmony of fragrances as one creates a color harmony or a melody in music.

There are approximately one thousand perfumers in the world but less than fifty of them are "Noses", that is, perfumers whose creativity and originality are such that they are able to launch real trends.

Every factory uses the services of one, two or three perfumers. Grasse is the main school and every "Nose" in existence is either a native of Grasse or has worked in Grasse perfume making.

THE PERFUMER

the perfume families

French perfume making's technical body has classified fragrances into several families :

The florals. All the predominantly floral fragrances that can be described as fresh and bubbly, such as rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, tuberose and carnation. At Fragonard we divide this family into two sections, the fresh florals, such as Arielle on a base of jasmine and tuberose, and the lighter naturals like Mélodie and Etoile du Sud.

The leathers. These more masculine fragrances evoke smells such as tobacco, smoke and leather. Our Santal toilet water brings these together by combining lemon and neroli with tobacco and sandalwood.

The chypres. Oak mosses accompanied by floral and fruity notes.

The ferns. This describes woody notes of the likes of Vétyver, a combination of vetiver, cypress, cedar and amber.

The ambers. Powdery floral fragrances combined with warm oriental scents. Emilie, for example, mixes accords of rose, jasmine, violet, amber and sandalwood.

The spices. These are highlighted by the pungent notes of cloves, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg and juniper. Suivez-moi combines aromatic fragrances such as lavender, coriander and other spices.

The citruses. A family of fresh notes based on bergamot, lemon, orange, neroli and petitgrain. Fragonard's Eau Frivole is a very good example of these. The bitter orange is one of the most useful trees to perfumers, since orange blossom essence is obtained from its flowers, neroli from distilling the flowers and leaves and petitgrain essence from distilling flowers and branches. Bergamot is extracted from the skin of the bergamot fruit (similar to an orange or grapefruit) and its essence is much used in the making of eau de cologne. It is also used to flavor Earl Grey tea.

The aromatics. These are perfumes based on bay, thyme, rosemary, verbena or lipia citriodora, clary, mint, natural and hybrid lavenders.