subject: What Things You Have To Know About Perfumes And Their Sources [print this page] In every historical period, perfume has been used by men and women. Its function has always been enhancing a person's attractiveness, and nowadays there are many different perfumes. Almost everyone knows the most famous fragrances, but few people know what they are actually made of. Here there is a brief overview of the main ingredients that are currently used.
It is possible to divide the aromatic sources in two broad categories, natural and synthetic. Natural scents can derive from animals, plants or other sources. If the source is an animal, the part that is generally used is its odorous sack. Exceptions to this rule are the ambergris, a fatty compound produced by sperm whales, and the honeycomb, that can come from both honey and beeswax.
A very common source for odorous compounds are plants, because almost every part of them has the potential of providing a source of scent. The aromatic compounds that are extracted from many plants can derive from the bark, but also from flowers, leaves and fruits. Resin is another important source of fragrances, especially conifer resins.
Seaweeds and lichens are also natural sources of perfumes. However, seaweeds are not very common as a source of aromatic compounds because of their low potency. In addiction, similar scents can be produced artificially with a significant decrease in costs.
Synthetic sources are widely used by the modern perfume industry. This happens because synthetic aromas are usually less expensive than the ones derived from natural sources. It is also possible to produce big quantities of artificial fragrances, and the process can be automatized, since synthetic sources are constant in composition. On the other hand, natural sources have a different composition every time they are collected, and the perfume recipe thus changes from time to time.
Using the ingredients listed above, many types of perfumes are produced. The main factor influencing their quality (and consequently their cost) is the concentration of the aromatic compound. Eau de Parfum has the highest volume of perfume oil, while Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne contain a higher percentage of solvent.
There are many types of perfumes, that have an almost endless variety of scents. The traditional classification of perfumes has seven categories in which they are grouped. There are two categories of perfumes that are produced with flowers, and they are Single Floral and Floral Bouquet. The first is used to indicate a fragrance dominated by a single flower, while the latter means that no dominant flower can be identified. The other categories are Leather, Ambered, Wood, Fougere (in this category the base is composed of oakmoss, lavender and coumarin). The last category, Chypre, is used when the base contains labdanum, patchouli, bergamot and oakmoss.
Nowadays, there are so many perfumes that for finding your ideal fragrance you will probably have to try many different types of perfume. This is because you can choose among different scents and many types of perfume. You can also decide if you prefer your perfume to be derived from natural or artificial sources.
