Fragrances Facts
- Kept away from heat and light, an unopened fragrance will be good for at least four years
- Up until the early 1800's virtually all raw materials came from plant or animal sources. Use of fragrance was primarily for religious, medicinal, and luxury use
- Napoleon splashed on about 54 bottles of cologne every month
- Cleopatra wore perfume between her toes
- In 1774, the British Parliament ruled that using perfume to attract men was witchcraft
- In ancient Rome, women bathed in asses milk spiked with perfumed swan's fat to keep their skin soft and fragrant
- In early America, cattlemen reeking of sweat and animals use to blow into town once a month for a lilac-scented bath
- Do wait about 10 minutes after spritzing yourself with a fragrance before you decide whether you like it. It takes that long for the alcohol to evaporate and the longer-lasting scent to emerge
- Identical fragrances will not only smell differently but also last longer when applied to some people than others. The balance and chemical make-up of each individuals skin is why this is the case
- Do use more of your favourite scent in winter than in the summer. Perfume evaporates faster on dry winter skin, so you need to reapply more often
- There are certainly psychological effects of fragrance. Odour interpretation is often tied to past experiences and odour is a proven powerful stimulus for memory
- Avoid storing fragrances in bathrooms as the fluctuating temperatures and humidity will degrade the scent rapidly
- Exposure to the air should be kept to a minimum, as once opened, the ingredients will deteriorate. It is true to say however that this mainly applies to dab on fragrances rather than sprays
- People who are sensitive to fragrance should apply the liquid to clothes as apposed to directly on the skin and still enjoy the sensual benefits
- The black and red flacon of Joy, by Jean Patou, was originally designed in 1932 and was inspired by an antique jade snuff bottle. Joy, touted as the world's costliest perfume, debuted in 1930 and today is still bottled by hand, one-by-one.
- Perfume begins in places like the Valley of the Roses, near the town of Kazanluk in Bulgaria, where flowers are harvested for their oil.
- In medieval times Fennel was hung over doors on Midsummers's Eve to ward off witches and evil spirits
- Calvin Klein wasn't the first to release a "shared scent" for use by both sexes - it was considered scandalous for women to wear the provocative Jicky by Guerlain created over 100 years ago
- Used to give a fragrance clean and fresh impressions, Lavender is probably the most used essential oil in perfumery today. It takes one ton of plants to yeild just 8.1 kilos of oil.
- Even referred to in the Bible, Calamus was much used in ancient times being a principal ingredient of early Egyptian and Greek perfumes. Today it can often be seen growing wild at the edge of lakes and rivers in Europe.
- Also called Muguet, Lily of the Valley was once obtained by infusing the flowers in olive oil and now provides an exquisite fragrance in 15% of all quality fragrances.
- Kim Wilde thinks that a fragrance that is good enough for Marilyn Monroe is good enough for her which is why she only wears Chanel No.5 by Chanel
- One of the most extreme intensities of raw materials to be used in fine fragrances, Caraway oil is mainly used in masculine fragrances. Once it was believed that anything containing it would be safe from theft and prevent lovers from becoming fickle.
- Like many herbs and spices Coriander has an ancient history; seeds were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun and love potions were made from it in Medieval times.
- Believed to have originated in Asia and made its way to Europe via Sicily,it takes about 1000 lemons to yield 1lb of oil.
- The Damasac Rose blooms for just 30 days each year, and they are still picked by hand in a race against time - as the day warms up the blossoms begin to lose their bite and by noon they are only half as rich.
- The modern era of perfume began in 1921 with Coco Chanel's launch of Chanel No. 5, an exotic floral blend, created by Ernest Beaux
- Perfume is an over $10 billion dollar industry. It's been used as far back as the Ancient Egyptians, who used it in religious rituals.
- The early Egyptians used perfumed balms as part of religious ceremonies and later as part of pre love making preparations
- In the past people often mixed their own potions using home methods creating their own aromatherapy products. Many homes had a still room where essences were steeped out of flowers and herbs.
- Today women have fragrance wardrobes of at least six different perfumes, rather than a single signature perfume, keeping one special perfume for occasion moments.
- Typical animal products used in perfume include musk from the male musk deer, ambergris from sperm whales, castoreum a secretion of the beaver and civet from the civet cat. All are used as fixatives and add an indefinable mystery to the smell at the same time
- Chanel believed women should wear perfume wherever they hoped to be kissed.
- Persian kings were compelled to obtain basic fragrances from their Parthian neighbors, for their own pleasure as well as their court and concubines, but were not used for funeral rites.
- Ancient papyruses describe how perfumes were an integral part of worship. Each day priests would offer resins in the morning, myrrh in the afternoon and finally the most sacred and powerful scents in the evening to the gods
- Egyptians’ extensive knowledge of flowers and spices like irises, heliotrope, saffron, cinnamon, cedar oil, myrrh and numerous other resins helped create delicate scents for aristocrats at the Egyptian court.
- The famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra used opiates and perfumes to seduce her many lovers and she’s generally credited with inventing pomades from bear grease. Legend says the banquet hall where she entertained Mark Anthony was often saturated with precious oils.
- The Greeks became such addicts to perfume that Solon executed a law prohibiting the sale of them.
- The Elysian Fields fashioned of millions of flowers developing various types of delightful fragrances, or Aphrodite the goddess of beauty that was supposed to be the first perfume user.
- Roman Emporer Nero burned more incenses than Saudi Arabia could produce in an entire year
- Flowers of the vervain plaint, which were strictly reserved for druids and sacred virgins, yielded a scented water dearly appreciated by Gallic chiefs of the Ancient Gauls.
- The first perfumers in France were called "les maitres gantiers" (masters in glove-making).The name is derived from the habit of the time of infusing handbags, men’s jackets and primarily gloves with scent.
- A small fashion revolution was carried out in 1370 when the first alcohol perfume was offered to Charles V. The recipe called for 4 times 30 ounces of Brandy and 30 ounces of Rosemary flowers.
- Actress Sharon Stone said she would love to bathe in Eau Parfumee by Bulgari
- The name Eucalyptus comes from the Greek meaning 'well-covered', from the cup-like membrane which covers the buds before they open.
- Best selling novelist Jilly Cooper favours the 'fresh' masculine aftershave Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior
- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair along with Marianne Faithfull both like to wear Habit Rouge by Guerlain
- Musk is regarded as the most powerful of all perfume ingredients and one of only two animal sourced materials, Civet being the other. The odour is highly obnoxious without dillution and can last for up to 40 years in the open air.
- Ex-supermodel Cindy Crawford never walked down a catwalk without Dolce & Gabbana by Dolce & Gabbana
- Singer Michael Ball always travels with a bottle of the unisex CK Be by Calvin Klein
- Tuberose absolute costs more than its weight in gold, taking about 1200 kilos of flowers to produce 200grams of absolute. Said to have aphrodisiac properties, it is now reserved only for the highest quality perfume.
- Perfumes stimulate the senses and become set in ones memories. Just one such perfume for model Claudia Schiffer was the one worn by her mother. "Whenever I smell this perfume on someone, I inevitably think of her. I still remember that smell. My olfactive memories are linked to people I love." and her mother's fragrance, was Coco by Chanel
- Joy, by Jean Patou, Paris, France is bottled by hand, one-by-one. This will prevent oxidation. The perfume is a lush mix of the finest French jasmine and rose and is the most expensive perfume you can buy.
- Believed to have originated in Asia and made its way to Europe via Sicily,it takes about 1000 lemons to yield 1lb of oil.
- Madonna indulges in fragrance by Caron, such as Pois de Senteur by Caron
- Civet, a secretion scraped from the cat's perineal glands, is prized as a fixative in perfumes.
- Narcissus is used in about 11% of all quality perfume and is native to Europe. In Greek legend, Narcissus was a youth who killed himself after falling in love with his reflection in a pool, his body then disappeared and was replaced by the flower.
- Actress Emma Thompson loves the fresh, understated elegance of Gio by Giorgio Armani
- Naomi Campbell is crazy about perfumes, her favourites being Jasmine or Lily of the Valley.
- Thirty per cent of women wear their partner's aftershave - and just as many men claim to use their partner's fragrance!
- Actress Kate O'Mara helped achieve record sales when she spoke of her passion for Jardins de Bagatelle by Guerlain
- The flowers of the Ylang Ylang tree do not release their sweet jasmine-like fragrance until 2-3 weeks after opening. 350 - 400 kilos of flowers are needed to produce 1 kilo of essential oil.
- Baby spice Emma Bunton wears the grown up L'eau d' Issey by Issey Miyake
And finally if you have got a fragrance - WEAR IT! The days when perfume was saved for a special day or occasion are well and truly over. Today it's the ULTIMATE accessory. So enjoy it daily.
