The Latin translation of perfume derives from the phrase 'per fumum' which means 'through smoke'. Nowadays the phrase has developed and generally refers to scents that are manufactured to smell good. But the art of making perfume began thousands of years. The techniques for making perfume were initially developed in ancient Mespotamia and ancient Egypt. The techniques that were developed in these civilisations were refined by the Romans and Persians. The making of perfume has been refined and improved consistently ever since. Modern perfumery has made incredible lasting scents that have become popular with men and women.



In ancient times perfumes were also created by people in Far East Asia but unlike conventional perfumes these were typically incense based. So in that respect they are closely related to the Latin derivation of the word perfume that involves the word smoke. Much research has been made into who was the first person to make and sell perfume and the general consensus is that a person named Tapputi was the first. Tapputi reputedly lived in Mesopotamia in the second millennium BC. Archelogists have found perfume that is over 4000 years old in Cyprus.

In Pyrgos , Cyprus the archaeologists have found remains of a perfumery factory that used to produce perfume on a relatively large scale. The scientists and archaeologists have found around 60 distilling stills that were used to treat the mixes of natural ingredients that were used. The archaeologists also found numerous, funnels, mixing bowls and perfume bottles that were used in the process. Perfumes were traditionally made out of natural products sourced from local areas. Evidence has been revealed that shows that perfume was produced using a wide variety of herbs and spices. For example almond, myrtle, coriander, and bergamot were used. However it is said that in these earlier types of perfume flowers were not used. The use of flowers in perfume is a more recent development.

Another famous name in the world of perfume is the Persian doctor Avicenna. He was a chemist and a doctor and he spent a great deal of time developing a process that extracted the scented oils from flowers and can therefore be seen as the founder of modern perfumery. He used distillation which enables subtle tones to be extracted from plants. In the past the perfumes were much stronger and less subtle because the plants had to be crudely crushed and mixed. The scents were therefore much stronger. The distillation technique means the scents can be more delicate and the principles of this technique are still used today. Nowadays the perfume industry utilises a mixture of distillation and the use of raw materials to produce perfume.

Perfume does not originate in Europe. Some of the earliest written evidence on perfume notes that it initially came to Europe via the Hungarian queen Elizabeth in 1370. She commanded that a mixture of scented oils and alcohol solution be produced. This was known throughout Europe by people as Hungary Water. The Italian renaissance saw a development in perfume and perfume became a very popular product. Perfume secrets were kept close and during the French renaissance one perfume producer connected his laboratory to the apartment of Catherine de Medici so that no secrets would be stolen on route.