The Perfumed Pages of History: A Textbook on Fragrance Creation

By Arch Stanton

     "The Perfumed Pages of History: A Textbook on Fragrance Creation" is an engaging and informative eBook that takes you on an aromatic journey through time. This captivating textbook offers a comprehensive exploration of the rich and scented tapestry of history, delving into the art and science of fragrance creation.

 

     Unravel the origins of perfumery and the development of scents across diverse cultures and epochs. This book provides a fascinating glimpse into the cultural significance of fragrances, showcasing how they've been used in rituals, as status symbols, and as powerful memory triggers.

    

     Whether you're an aspiring perfumer, a history enthusiast, or simply someone intrigued by the world of scents, this eBook offers an in-depth understanding of perfume's evolution, ingredients, and the techniques used in its creation. With "The Perfumed Pages of History," you'll gain a newfound appreciation for the olfactory treasures that have left an indelible mark on our past and continue to influence our present.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arch Stanton
• Release date: Nov 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215063668

Book preview

SENSE OF SMELL

Scientific disciplines that examine the sense of smell classify it together with taste in the so-called chemical senses. In most animal species, the sense of smell is a significant, if not the main, source of information about the external environment. However, in humans, monkeys, birds and some other animals that make up the microsomata group, smell is a secondary sense. Chemical analyzers are considered the oldest form of this sense. In aquatic animals, the chemical sense simultaneously registers information about taste and smell. In terrestrial animals, chemical analyzers are divided into the chemical sense of touch - taste, and the chemical sense that registers information from distant objects - smell. This division is common, although not the most accurate. And the sense of smell, similar to taste, requires direct contact with aromatic particles. In principle, all the senses available to humans are the senses of contact.

Relatively little is known about the sense of smell in humans. It is very complex even if it occurs in a rudimentary form. In addition, there are a number of difficulties that prevent experimental testing. Man has reached such a level of development today. that the information he receives through this sense is no longer necessary for him to successfully navigate his environment. But the sense of smell was also very important to our ancient ancestors. They used it to search for and discover food and sexual partners. So, with the help of this radar" they solved the issues of individual existence and the expansion of the species.

The fact that olfactory information is not of primary importance for modern man does not mean that it is completely unimportant.

WHEN A PERSON IS EXPOSED to the effect of one smell for a long time, adaptation occurs. This means that the intensity of the perceived smell decreases. Adaptation is a subjective experience and has nothing to do with the actual intensity of the smell, which remains unchanged. Therefore, handle your perfume with care. If you've been using it for a long time, you've probably developed an adaptation. Do not water yourself with excessive amounts of perfume. For those who are not adapted to your perfume, very intense, even unpleasant smells could appear because of this.

Mixing, i.e. the simultaneous action of two scents, has very different effects. Two fragrances can be combined into a third, a composition that has properties that its constituent elements do not. On the contrary, combined fragrances can retain their individuality. Then they are experienced alternately. First one is felt, then another and so on. Sometimes one scent can enhance, accentuate another. The principle of deodorant is based on the phenomenon that one odor neutralizes another, so that neither is felt anymore. It is known that one smell, usually stronger, can completely mask, hide another.

The effect of cheap perfumes well illustrates the phenomena of masking and adaptation. The smell of cheap perfume is very . pleasant, but after prolonged use it becomes almost unpleasant. What is it really about? The pleasant, dominant perfume line is dosed so that it completely masks the worst essences that make up the composition. After some time, adaptation to the dominant trait occurs. As a result, the intensity of the perceived smell decreases, and previously masked essences come to the fore. Thus, the first impression of the properties of the perfume in question can relatively easily turn into an unpleasant experience of fragrant vapors of dubious quality.

HISTORY OF PERFUME

OUR ANCIENT FORESTER ancestor lived daily under the pressure of the need to provide food and protect his cave, which provided him with the necessary minimum security. At one point in his historical development, he reached a level that allowed him, in addition to basic existential questions, to devote himself to his spiritual needs. The harsh reality slowly began to recede before the poetic tones of life. Man took the first steps of free life through fresh moss, illuminated by divine light, filled with the fragrance of blossoming flowers. Imagine that mythical, rustic image, which, despite its beauty, exudes transience. Didn't our respected ancestor already then ask a question that is still being answered today: how to capture the primordial harmony of fragrance and preserve it in the deepest layers of your spiritual being? Even at dawn, human thought sought an explanation for volatile, smoky (per fumum), mysterious, aromatic substances. We have many reasons to believe in this beginning of perfume history.

From then until our days, creative joy has been constantly ignited by discovering the subtle secrets of fragrant, almost divine vapors. Even the priests did not resist this temptation. Numerous rituals dedicated to various deities have always been decorated with fragrant vapors, which, like a disturbing enigma, were deeply etched in the memory of those present.

For thousands of years, perfume has been discreetly present on the scene of social events, if only as a status symbol. Our impression is that its original function has not been significantly changed even today. It used to promise magical protection and was a necessary prop in a communion ritual (eg the smell of incense) or invoking irrational creations of the human mind. It now offers intimate security and marks a point of reference, which ensures that your individuality is remembered for years.

JEWS

Two thousand years before the birth of Christ, Jehovah promised Moses that he would build an altar of incense in the middle of the desert and reveal the secrets of the holy incense (see chapters 30 and 34, Book of Exodus).

And Jehovah said to Moses: Get aromatic substances, resins, fragrant roots, aromatics and pure incense. You will create a fiery" fragrance, like the greatest master of fragrances. It must be salty, clean and it will be holy. One. part, in the form of powder, you will burn it and place it in front of the sanctuary, the tent where I will meet with you. It will be