We use perfume to feel better. More attractive More confident. They evoke the people we love. They allow us to recover sensations and memories.
Recent psychological studies show that people who use the perfume often have a more open social attitude and we have more facilities for social relationships than those who do not wear perfume or do it only occasionally.
From the Sumerians, 3,500 years before Christ, until today the human being has mixed ointments and substances to improve their smell. In the ancient Roman rituals, the priests of the temple put to fire crushed flowers, leaves, wood, spices, and aromatic resins to obtain the favor of the gods.
The aroma was released through the smoke ( per fumum ) and this is the mythical and sacred origin of the word perfume.
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Classification of perfumes
The most popular and accepted industry classification today is that of Michael Edwards because it is comprehensive (it encompasses perfume families extensively) and is agile to use (it is designed for people who are related to the industry and the perfume trade can use it).
So that it has become an important instrument for communication between specialists, vendors, and customers.
Characteristics of perfumes:
- Volatility is the time it takes to evaporate and depends on the molecular weight of the substance.
- Tenacity is the property of maintaining the original chord. That is, stay for a long time without changing.
- Diffusion is the ability to be easily perceptible.
- Perdurability is the fixation of the molecule to the substrate, the ability to remain on the skin, fabric, paper, or any material in which it is applied.
Most famous perfumes are made up of more than 50 ingredients. According to their proportions, they will give the characteristic notes of the perfume forming a kind of pyramid that we describe next.
Structure of perfumes:
The perfumes are composed of head, body, and base
- The top notes or output are the most volatile portion of a fragrance and its duration is short. They are the first impression you have of the perfume.
Olfactory Notes: Citrus, Fruits, Green notes, Aldehyde notes. - The middle or heart notes define the character of the fragrance, they are of medium volatility. They are the main theme of a perfume.
Olfactory Notes: Floral, Spicy, Herbal, Fruit. - The base or base notes are the most persistent, they will remain on the skin once the head and body notes have evaporated.
Olfactory Notes: Woods. Sweet notes, Ámbar / Musk / Moss, Animal / acueradas notes.
Types of perfumes
There are different types of perfumes, according to their aromatic intensity:
- Perfume: the most concentrated form, between 15-40% aromatic essence.
- Eau de Perfume (EdP): concentration of ~ 15%.
- Bath water, better known as Eau de Toilette(EdT): concentration of 7-15% (~ 10%).
- The water of cologne, Eau de Cologne(EoC): the same concentration as the previous one but with citrus aromas predominantly: only 3-6% (~ 5%) of concentrates. Original Eau de Cologne is a registered name as the perfume brand.
- Splash perfumes(EdS): ~ 1% of concentrates. EdS is a registered name as the perfume brand.
When the perfume is applied to the skin, the heat of the body evaporates the solvent, the aromatic substances remaining, which gradually dissipate for several hours.
One of the most complete websites where you can find more information is The Fragrance Foundation, the foundation constituted by the perfume industry in order to support training and research.
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