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A View of the World of Perfume

Shannon L. Karppinen

Contents

I. Introduction

II. History of Perfume

III. The Art of Perfume
V. A View Inside the Industry
VI. Class Experiment

VII. Bibliography

Introduction

 They say that our eyes are the mirrors to our souls, but I think they are merely witnesses reflecting the world around us. Our nose, however, envelopes life's aromas and sucks them into our bodies, savoring them. It is a selfish creature, taking in all that comes in its path and trapping its chords, like a familiar melody, into our memories. The experienced nose can recall a scent at moment's notice. It can awake images and emotions, turning a key to unlock a treasured memory. In an instant it can also provoke fear and agitation. It is mysterious, yet familiar; we can easily identify a smell, but it is hard to define it. The eyes, they can lock on an image and our tongues easily find words to describe its sight. But smells, they allude us, and in that is their intrigue.

From my first days in high school on, I became captured by the allure of perfume. My first perfume was Estee Lauder's Beautiful. The moment I put it on I became something purer, more perfect. Was it the aroma rising off my wrists and neck or was it the advertisements with the beautiful model encased in a dreamy white wedding dress? After a while I became tired of the light and airy scent and moved on to something I perceived as darker and more dangerous. Calvin Klein became my brand of choice as I wore both his Obsession and Escape fragrances. The musky tones made me feel sexier, more of the woman I was becoming. These impressions were ingrained by the bordering pornographic ads greeting me in magazines. For a while I would wear the scent that I felt matched my mood, shifting between what I felt was the perception I wanted to create that day - the more professional smelling Lauren or the sensuous Rapture by Victoria's Secret? It has only been in the past year that I have found what I consider to be my "signature fragrance". One that taps lightly, not pounds upon the senses, slowly working its way into the mind. It has a hint of musk, yet flirts with flowers. Will I stick with this scent? Who knows? My sense of smell is changing everyday as I grow older, experiencing, deepening, and one day diminishing.

When I spoke to Dr. Vogt about our required projects for the class, I told him I was having difficulties with a topic. After asking me about my interests, he suggested that I combine the sense of smell with my business background. This is how I became interested in the perfume industry. The industry itself has a long history and has been an integral part of many societies; but it was the intrigue and the mystery surrounding the industry, from the guarding of the scent's "recipe" to the distance companies keep from outsiders, that attracted me to this idea. Secrecy is a key factor of success in this industry. Most of the companies are private so that they can have some control over the information that is revealed. Although one of the bigger perfume makers today, International Flavors & Fragrances, is a public corporation, their customers names are kept within the confines of their walls (but one can guess by looking among the entrance hallway and seeing the bottles of some of the most famous perfumes). Perfumers are artists, and artists never reveal their secrets, especially when some of their secrets are worth millions.

I invite you to look into the world of perfume and do your own research and investigation. Perfume is not just for the consumer; it has aspects that would appeal to historians, writers, artists, chemists, and biologists. Should you need any assistance or have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail at KARPPIU6@spanky.badm.sc.edu.

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History of Perfume

"Of all the senses, none surely is so mysterious as that of smell . . . the nature of the emanations that stir it to activity is still unknown . . . its effects upon the psyche are both wide and deep, at once obvious and subtle." Dr. D. McKenzie from Study of Smells

Two books, Ray Gender's A History of Scent and Le Gallienne's The Romance of Perfume were essential to the research that produced this summary of the history of perfume.

The Egyptians

When looking back into history, many agree that the Egyptians, during the Queen Sheba's rule [queen of Yemen and Etheopia], were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture. From the religious ceremonies involving the burning of incense to the embalming of the dead, perfume was an integral part of the Egyptian life. "The most important perfume used by the Egyptians was the kyphi. Scholars claim that when the tomb of Tutankhamen was opened, this was the odor that issued forth" (Kaufman, 1974, p. 34). But even scents like the fragrant myrrh were considered more precious than gold. In the Bible, one of the Three Wise Men brought this gift to the newborn Christ.

But perfume did not linger only in spiritual ceremonies: the Egyptians were also the first to annoit their bodies with the scents of cinnamon and honey. Depicted on the walls of the temple of Edfu, one can also see the depiction of the art of floral extraction as perfume is distilled from the flowers of the white Madonna lily. This "essential accessory" was reserved mostly for the powerful and the wealthy. Both men and women alike wore the precious scents.

With the death of the mystical Cleopatra, so also died the Egyptian grandeur and appreciation of beauty. For thousands of years perfumes had been used widely as an integral part of their culture even though almost all of the herbs and flowers were from abroad, from Palestine, Persia, India, and Arabia.

See Figure (350k) from The Romance of Perfume drawn by George Barbier depicting an Egyptian ceremony in which fragrant perfumes are burned in an clay urn.

The Persians

In Persia, perfume was also a sign of rank. In the palaces one could see kings with crowns of myrrh and of labyzuz and smell the aromas of sweetly smelling scents drifting in the air of their apartments. In the backyards of homes belonging to the wealthy, one could find exquisite gardens holding jasmine, lilacs, violets, and the famous red rose. This rose whose petals covered the floor when Cleopatra first met Mark Antony and that would become the symbol of the House of Lancaster during the War of the Roses, was known all over the world for its perfume which increased in intensity as the petals dried. The Persians began to master the art of preservation by placing the rose buds in sealed earthenware jars to be later opened for a special occasion. Persians also used perfumes after bathing. One could smell civet on a man's beard and musk placed on other parts of the body.

The Greeks

It was not until after Alexander the Great, with his desire for conquest, defeated Darius III of Persia and moved into Egypt that he adopted the use of perfumes. It is said that his floors would be sprinkled with scented waters and that his clothes were imprinted with the perfumes of fragrant resins and myrrh. But perfume found its magic in the folds of ancient Greek religion. The greeks believed the gods were perfume's inventors and it was said that the visit of a god or goddess was marked with the sweet smell as a token of their presence. They held a special place in ceremonies. In Homer"s Ulysses, one can read about the practice of annoiting the dead bodies with scented oils. During weddings, the bride"s maidens wore crowns of hyacinths. With the 1996 Olympics coming upon us, it is interesting and surprising that the first "gold medal" in the inspiring Greek games was a piece of art in the shape of a golden violet. Perfume was an integral part of Greek society, even though some of the greatest philosophers like Socrates thought them "effeminate". However, Greeks also made their mark on the world of perfume. They played an important role in the science of perfume by categorizing them by the part of the plant from which they were made and documenting their compositions.

The Romans

The Romans first celebrated scent around 750 B.C. in religious ceremonies to celebrate the goddess of Flora. Each year the ceremonies would be held to celebrate the first flowers of the season. Later, the ceremony was held each year on April 28, four days before May Calend (this celebration was adopted by the British and is still popular today known as May Day). The Romans were also known for their gardens, but the flowers were mainly used for garlands to be worn in maidens' hair. When the Roman’s began their world conquest they, as Alexander the Great before them, began to adopt the use of perfume into their own culture. Greek influence was especially prominent in the use of perfume in religious ceremonies. As the Roman culture began to adopt the use of these scents, one could see its effect everywhere. In the Senate House, the "world's first parliament", the Alter of Victory was sprinkled with incense before the day's commencing business. The practice of shaving began here also, and after the razor performed its duty, the face would be massaged with scented ungents. As the conquests continued, so did the extravagance of perfume in the Roman culture. In the famous Roman baths, one would be massaged with oils and ointments after cleansing in the warm waters. In banquet rooms, vines grew over the roofs and leant their fragrance to diners. Of course no meal was served unless accompanied by fragrant flowers and waters. The Marquis de Frandipani, who traveled with Columbus on his voyage to the New World, brought back to Italy one of the most popular perfumes distilled from the West Indies flower, the Plumeria alba.

It was Constantine the Great that brought the use of scents into the Christian church. He had oils and incense burned in the church of St. John-in-Lateran, which was the home to the early Popes for thousands of years. Even today, one can see the continuing of this ceremony as the Pope gives his annual blessing of the Golden Rose.

See Figure (350k) from The Romance of Perfume showing the massaging of oils into the hair after bathing in the famous Roman baths.

Eastern Cultures

As one can see perfume has played a major part in religion. But this did not just belong to the African and European cultures highlighted above. Mohammed, centers his religion on the enjoyment of material pleasures, including perfume. He promised his believers the Garden of Paradise where the most exotic perfumes are to be found. The Koran speaks of those who make the journey across the razor-edge thin bridge of Al Sirat will drink from waters that are "whiter than milk, more perfumed than musk". (see Genders, 1972, p. 100)

It was an Arabian doctor, Avicenna, who was the first to obtain the oil from flowers, known as attar, by distillation. Before this revolation, perfumes were derived from the bark of twigs and shrubs in the form of resins. His works were faithfully followed by other chemists, soon becoming general practice.

Visitors to Arabian homes would be sprinkled with rose water as a mark of esteem. Their coffees would be flavored with the otto of roses. A bowl of charcoal would be passed around after the meal and sprinkled with incense in which the guests garments would be wrapped. When the guests left, they would have their beards and garments sprinkled with incense as a parting gesture.

In India, perfumes also play a major role in their culture. Plants have always abounded in their country and the Hindu have adapted their scents in their religion. The flames meant for sacrifices would be sending out sweet scents of ointment and herbs. A huge bull in the temple at Tanjore in Madras is rubbed each day with perfumed oil until he gleams. In Hindu marraiges, the bride is rubbed with ungents by her handmaid and later the married couple will sit beneath a silk canopy enveloped by the smells of sandalwood and other delicious fumes. The god of love, Kama, is always shown carrying his cupids bow and his five arrows which are each tipped with a fragrant blossom. The scent of patchouli was used later to scent Indian shawls. When the British began to copy them, the shawls could not be sold unless accompanied by the fragrant scent.

In China, incense is also used in religious ceremonies such as the death of family. The body would be washed and perfumed and incense would be lit in the room. The mourners would carry lighted sticks scented with incense during the processional. China is also known for its vast appreciation of flowers. Chi Han was the first to record flowering plants and we can see the presence of the fragrant jasmine, which may have been spread to China by India. Chinese women wore their hair in buns that were wrapped with flowers whose fragrance would last until dawn. Appreciation of scents such as sandalwood spread also into Japan. The Japanese religion Shinto uses the burning of incense and other gums during ceremonial occasions. The appreciation of ylang-ylang and ambrette also was popularized here.

It has also been said that oriental women, known for wanting to please their men, found their toilet one of their most "urgent occupations". They frequently paid attention to their appearance, extreme in their cleanliness, and massaged all parts of their bodies with perfumed oils. Sonnini in his travels to China stated, "nowhere are the women more unifomly beautiful, nowhere are they better skilled or more practiced in the art of arresting or repairing the savages of time." (Genders, 1972, p. 103)

Into Modern Times

As the world grew bigger and religion became more wide spread and technology advances became faster occuring, perfumes found their way into modern day culture. For a long time scents were kept by the houses of religion by priests and such. Catholicism, once the religion of almost all of Europe helped increase the acceptance and use of aromatic scents. Improved transportation methods and the printing press allowed the world to experience cultures as never before. The world became more focused on travels and conquests, as expansionism became popular. Great Britain had colonies in India, the far East, Africa, and the Americas, as did also France and Spain. From ancient hyroglyphics to Socrates to Shakespeare, perfume’s presence is documented in great works of art and literature. In 1190 the first record of perfume sellers was recorded in Paris by the first registered letters of patent granted by Henry VI of England and France. Perfumes continued their ascent into cultures because, since the beginning of time, man has been a vain creature, one that wants to create his own history, his own image. Perfume has remained an important cosmetic, a snake that charms the nose. It is for these reasons and more that it has managed to preserve its allure into the world we are familiar with today.

The First Great Perfumer

What inspires one to create? How does one become great? These two things do not always come hand in hand. It takes genious and entrepreneurism to make ideas successful. Francois Coty had both of these. It was his perfumes, his creations, that were his inspirations, but it was his ability to market these products that brougt him the success he knew. Here is the history behind the making of the perfume industry that we know today.

Although born in 1873 in the birthplace of Napoleon, Francois Coty made his way to Paris at a very early age. Noticing that all the fashion houses covered their floors with ostrich feathers, he proved himself to be a quick entrepreneur when he became a salesman of these lavish floor ornaments. However, it was a neigbor who sparked in him the idea that would soon become his legacy. As he watched his young friend chemically composing toilet waters, he began to realize that he could make his own and present them in artistically-designed containers. Coty moved to Grasse spent two years training himself in the growing and harvesting of flowers and the extraction of their scent. With a little money from his grandfather, Francois Coty set up his first business in the Rue de la Boetie in Paris. A small stroke of luck made him the rage of Paris almost overnight when one of his French crystal bottles, made by the famous Jacques Lalique, fell upon the floor and broke. The five hundred bottles sold within days due to the in intoxicating and life-like smell of the rose perfume. Coty’s Rose perfume was followed by the internationally successful fragrances of L’Origan, Chypre, and L’Aimant. Within three years of his first opening, Coty was so successful that he was able to move his premises to the more fashionable Bois de Bologne, where the factory still presides today. By the time he was forty, Coty had made his mark upon the world with his philosophy which is still applicable today, “Give a woman the best product you can compound. Present it in a container of simple, but impeccable taste, charge a reasonable price for it, and a great business will arise such as the world has never seen.”

See figure (350k) of two of the famous crystal bottles designed by Rene Lalique for the Coty perfumes Styx and Ambre Antique from The Art of Perfume

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The Art of Perfume

Making Perfume

In almost every thing I have read, the art of perfume is compared to music, with different notes all combining to create harmony. Perfumes are composed of three notes: notes of the head (top notes), notes of the heart (middle notes), and notes of depth (base notes). The top notes are the most volatile and evaporate the fastest, hence the name "notes of the head". Each of the notes creates is its own scent, yet blends with the others to create a smell, an emotion. But the real mastery only comes apparent as one reads the words of the creators of these wonderful pieces.

Excerpts from Edmond Roudnitska's interview in Kaufman's Perfume:

Excerpts from International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.'s perfumer, Sophia Grojsman's interview with Diane Ackerman:

Finding Ideas for Scents

Besides images and ideas, perfumers have said that their creations come from dreams, traveling expeditions, reading, and inhaling the scents all around them. Consider that Vanilla Fields was inspired from the kitchen, while other perfumes hold traces of exotic smells such as rain forests or rare plants that only bloom once a year. Perfumers have found themselves at the four corners of the Earth trying to find an original scent, one that will be the completion to a palate, the final piece to create the finest perfume. As new scents run out, perfumers find themselves in a faster-paced competition to find and create these scents. The number of new releases each year has increased more than 400% over the thirty-year period since 1973, yet perfume makers such as Givaudan-Roure added only twenty new notes to their 3,500 palate in 1993 (Hwang, 1994).

Naming and Packaging

As I walk through the department stores, I find myself bombarded by the mixing scents of hundreds of perfumes. Each one has its own identity, its own harmonious composition. But identity goes beyond the smell hidden in the bottle; its signature is sealed by the shape of the packaging enclosing it and the name branded lavishly on its side. Obsession, Sunflowers, True Love, Wrappings, 360, Beautiful, Encounter . . . these are just some of the titles given to the liquid treasures, creating their own images and perceptions, even before the scent hits the nose. They change the original scent, forming it into an ideal or an emotion, whatever the name implies. Some of the bottles are exquisite works of art by themselves. They have curves and facets, complemented by a palette of colors that would make a rainbow seem pale.

If you don’t believe in the power of the persuasive methods of names and packaging, listen to this. I had a student in our class describe a perfume before I read to her the tag line attached to it. She described the odor of Kenzo as musty and kind of "mildewy". When I read to her the image the advertisers created of summer, her mind molded that smell to meet that image. Why does Calvin Klein spend so much time and effort on pushing the edge of his advertising? It is almost if he is trying to openly convey the hidden perceptions we have of words like obsession and escape. He is tapping the secret desires of our minds.

Natural or Synthetic Raw Materials?

The creation of synthetic perfumes developed as a result of research in organic chemistry. As technology improved, perfumers were able to detect the components of scents using infra red and ultra violet spectroscopy, gas-liquid and thin-layer spectroscopy, and optical rotatory dispersion (Bedoukian, 1967, intro.). Givaudan-Roure and International Flavors & Fragrances use a technology known as "headspace" to capture smells. A machine that looks like a "funnel attached to a box" is placed around the source of smell and the scent is sucked up, breaking the smell into its molecular level. A computer then stores the information like a sort of recipe to be recreated artificially. This has been extremely helpful in capturing rare scents as in exotic rain forests or endangered plants (Hwang, 1994).

Many people think of the word synthetic and think that the product is inferior to the natural, real thing. This is not true. Some synthetic materials cost thousands more than natural products, and vice versa. Price is determined because of the beauty and demand of the scent. The creation of synthetic products has even made the amount of compounds available to perfumers increase dramatically because some materials cannot be separated from their natual oils, or their is only a small amount of material available, or the natual oils are very expensive. It is even said that using synthetics makes the process easier because their behavior during the period of evaporation is easier to judge due to the fact that it is a defined product.

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A View Inside

Private vs. Public Companies

As I stated int the introduction, secrecy is a key factor in the perfume industry. To this day intrigue and mystery still surrounds the companies as they compete against each other, fiercely guarding the components behind their creations. Perfumes cannot be patented in the United States, therefore to protect against imitators, companies ensure that only a select few know the formula behind each product. Most of the companies are private so that they can have some control over the information that is revealed.

If a company becomes public, or incorporated, a great deal of disclosure is required in order to gain the two biggest advantages: first, the company is seen as a separate entity that can sue or be sued, taking the liability away from its owners, and second, the company can use shares of stock in order to raise funds for their business. The business must report to stockholders who are essentially owners of the company. Stockholders are allowed to make certain decisions through their obtained voting rights, which are granted at stockholder meetings, such as who sits on the Board of Directors. Boards make decisons regarding top management. It is because of these relationships that public companies must produce certain documents. One of these documents, the 10-K form, requires the company to reveal aspects about itself in order to educate prospective stock puchasers. They must define their business looking at the markets they are in, the products they sell, new developments in these areas, the lines of distribution that they use, the purchases of material used to make their products, the competition that they face, and such. They must state which accounting policies they use in determining their financial figures. Public companies produce quarterly and annual financial reports in order to keep their stockholders abreast of their performance. In this sense, public companies have to provide a lot of information. It is time-consuming and it creates public scrutiny as the company itself becomes a product on the market. It is for these reasons that most companies in the perfume industry choose to remain private. However, one of the more successul organizations, International Fragrance & Flavors, Inc., is a public company. Because information was a lot more accessible, I chose to take you inside for a brief look at the industry and a view of its financial impact.

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.

Headquartered in New York, International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (IFF) is the leading creator and manufacturer of flavor and fragrance products. They are an international company with manufacturing facilities in Europe, South America, and Asia. Raw materials are purchased from all over the world, including essential oils, extracts and concentrates derived from fruits, vegetables, flowers, woods, and other botanicals, animal products and raw fruits. "Most of the Company's customers do not buy all their fragrances or flavor products from the same supplier, and some customers make their own fragrance or flavor compound with ingredients supplied by the Company or others" (from Form 10-K).

Although they have more than fifty competitors such as Givaudan-Roure and Drugoco (both private companies), they consider themselves to be one of the four largest international companies. And they should, with a net income at $226,022,000 in 1994 (Annual Report). They believe their competitive position is based upon the skills of its perfumers and flavorers, like Sophia Grojsman, its research and development technology gains, and its customer service and support group (Form 10-K). They won't tell you who their customers are, but some of the finest perfumes grace the entrance hallway of their building. Even though their work is kept under lock and key, one thing is for sure, the smell of money has been detected at IFF.

To obtain a copy of IFF's Annual Report or Form 10-K, you should call them at (212)765-5500.

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Class Experiment

In French Kiss Meg Ryan smells the components of the soil and is able to identify them when she tastes the wine that came from vineyards spawned from that very same ground. So I thought if Meg can do it, why not our class? Unfortunately, no one could get over the very dry tones of the Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon, but we were able to elaborate the experiment using perfume. I collected samples of perfumes and identified their components using Jan Moran's book Fabulous Fragrances. Each student was given a different perfume and asked to identify the different notes by smelling an array of individual components. How successful are we? Well let's say we won’t be offered jobs as perfumers, but some students were able to identify as many as five of the notes. The largest majority of the notes identified were the bass notes. We had a lot of fun though. After all we are all familiar with the world of perfume and smell, even if we aren't experts.

We also looked at the effect of advertising on the perception of the scent and found that the image the company portrays of the perfume has a lot to do with our defining of the scent. I asked each person to describe their scents before they saw the name or the advertisement. After -howing them the advertisement, many people found themselves shaping their perceptions to fit the advertising image.

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Bibliography

Ackerman, Diane.(1991) A Natural History of the Senses. Vintage Books, New York. ISBN number 0-679-73566-6.

Bedoukian, Paul Z. (1967) Perfumery and Flavoring Synthetics. 2nd edition. Elsevier Publishing Co., Amsterdam.

Genders, Roy. (1972) A History of Scent. Hamish Hamilton Ltd., London. SBN number 241-01906-0

Hwang, Suein L. (1994) "Marketing: Seeking Scents That No One Has Smelled". The Wall Street Journal, August 10, 1994, B1.

Kaufman, William F. (1974) Perfume. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York. ISBN number 0-525-49506-1

LaGallienne, Richard.(1928) The Romance of Perfume. Richard Hudnut, New York.

Lefkowith, Christie Mayer. (1994) The Art of Perfume. Thames and Hudson, Inc., New York. ISBN number 0-500-23686-0

Moran, Jan. (1994) Fabulous Fragrances. Crescent House Publishing, Beverly Hills. ISBN number 0-9639065-5-0

"Names That Smell". American Demographics, August 1995, p. 48-9.

Verrill, A. Hyatt. (1940) Perfumes and Spices. L.C. Page & Co., Inc..

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