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| Herbal Perfumes |
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A brief history of Perfumery |
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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. |
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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 in 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. |
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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. |
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A decline in the use of aromas for personal purposes
occurred with the fall of the Roman Empire and during
the Middle Ages in Europe, when perfume was again only
used in church rituals and for cover the stench of
disease. Fortunately exotic flowers, herbs and spices
became once again available in Europe when trade to the
Orient was reestablished in the beginning of the 13th
century A.C.. From the Arabs came the knowledge of
alchemy and distillation of essential oils. Venice
became the center of the perfume trade and soon
perfumery spread to other European countries. The
perfume trade developed rapidly as the Crusaders
reintroduced the personal use of perfume upon their
return to Europe. |
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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. |
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The large scale industrial production of perfumes
increased after the appearance of larger numbers of new
synthetics. Naturals were used to soften synthetics.
However, the synthetics were often harsh and lacked the
softness proper of naturals. So naturals remained an
important part of modern formulations. On the other
hand, some synthetic raw materials may induce allergic
reactions and other skin problems in some users. |
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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. | |
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