Miraculous universe of perfume - Antiquity

by Oana Maria Dan

From birth to death our life takes place in a universe extremely rich in smells of all kinds ... In the following, there will be presented an exclusive insight into the perfume history, reviving the ancient recipes… Be the designer of your own perfume, and you will give a unique and unmistakable touch to your style of manifest as a woman!

Did you know ...
• People can detect between 10,000 and 30,000 different odors?
• The most persistent perfume that exist is considered to be the formula used by the Egyptians to embalm the body of Tutankhamun, which contained among others, myrrh and cinnamon oil? As proof: 3300 years from Pharaoh death, when his tomb was opened, archaeologists were able to perceive this perfume!
• Olfactory signals made of pheromones or other substances of the environment are strong libido incentives?

Significance of perfume in ancient times
The notion of "perfume" comes from the Latin "per fumum" which means "through smoke". In fact, there were ritual fumigations with incense, which were made within ritual dedicated to various deities. The first form of perfume was incense, which was discovered by the Mesopotamians around 4000 BC.
For example, in this part of the world the archaeological discoveries have shown that the Sumerian queen Schubab was using cosmetics and perfumes, a small pot for essences and a jar with gold filigree to keep the lips paint were found in her grave.
Together with the Queen Hatshepsut, perfume became very popular. She led expeditions to search the incense and other valuable products. In her temple there is a garden full of trees of frankincense found during expeditions. Containers for various perfumes were made of materials such as alabaster, glass, ebony and porcelain. To create new perfumes there were imported in Egypt from Lebanon, Arabia and the Middle East smelling species of trees, pine oils, olives, cinnamon and vanilla.
Ancient writings tell that when Cleopatra has greeted Marc Antony at the sea, she had an aromatic cedar wood ship with perfumed sails. She herself was oiled from head to toe with fragrant oils and the road leading to her palace there were stacked pots with burning incense. The bedroom walls were lined with fixed roses. Her hands were smeared with Kyphi a mixture of rose, saffron and violet oils, and her feet smelled like almond, cinnamon, honey and orange flowers oils. There is not surprising that she was so irresistible!
The Greeks and Romans learned about perfumes from Egyptian. Using a variety of spices made from vegetable oils, such as olive oil and almond oil, Greeks added oils made from lilies, roses and anise, obtaining several kinds of magical perfumes.

Prepare yourself your own perfume ... in the antique style!
You can find below a few recipes to make perfumes based on essential oils, the way antique queens have done! The principle is to add some drops of different essential oils in the basic oil.
The best basic oils are of jojoba and macadamia, because they are not fatty and have neutral flavor. The rosehip, primrose or sesame oils are also good.
 
A veritable perfume must be an alchemical symphony of several nuances: the base, which gives the smell that persists over time (here you can use the oils of cedar, cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood and vanilla), a middle tone, which is the specific note of all used flavors (here you can successfully use clove, geranium, lemongrass, neroli, ylang ylang oils) and the top note, the one that is most powerful when applied to the skin: bergamot, lavender , orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, rose, jasmine, verbena, pine, cypress.
You must remember that for longer time persistence, you should apply perfume on pulse areas of the body: behind the ear, carotid, clavicle, wrist, forearm or knee.

Here are some recipes based on your personality:

Floral, delicate
10 ml jojoba oil/macadamia/rosehip/primrose/sesame
2 drops Lavender
2 drops Lime
2 drops Palmarose
1 drop Rose
3 drops Sandalwood
2 drops Ylang Ylang

Warm, exciting
10 ml jojoba oil/macadamia/rosehip/primrose/sesame
1 drop Rose Geranium
3 drops Ginger
2 drops Coriander
2 drops Lime
3 drops Melissa (lemon balm)
3 drops Patchouli

Sweet, delicate
10 ml jojoba oil/macadamia/rosehip/primrose/sesame
2 drops Grapefruit
1 drop honey
3 drops Jasmine
3 drops Lavender
2 drops Sandalwood

... And another tip: after you prepare, store it in a glass bottle preferably dark. The perfume is better preserved this way, plastic containers are not recommended, as they emit certain chemicals that alter the composition of your perfume.

 

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