Perfume is made up of alcohol combined with a fixative, essential
oils or chemical scents. Cologne is essentially a diluted version of
perfume. Perfumes generally contain up to 30% essential oils whilst
colognes only contain 1 -2% oils.
Some perfumes contain just one
scent such as verbena but most have a combination of a high note, the
first scent that reaches you, middle notes, sometimes called heart
notes, which is the personality of the perfume and finally the base note
which lingers on.
It is important to remember that perfume reacts
with each person's body scent to create a unique aroma. That's why the
same cologne can smell so differently on different people. This is why
you should try perfume on your own skin before buying otherwise you may
be disappointed. A good rule of thumb is to never test more than three
perfumes at a time.
Fragrance falls into six basic groups:
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Florals: jasmine, lilac, gardenia, rose
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Herbal: lavender, bay, sage
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Exotic: musk, ylang-ylang, vanilla
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Spice: cinnamon, ginger, cloves
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Wood: pine, sandalwood, cedar
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Fruit: lemon, orange, peach
The perfume can have top, heart, and base notes all
from one category or mix the notes from different categories.Home
made perfume can be fixed with glycerin or castor oil. Commercially
perfume was often fixed with for a longer shelf life with civet oil, or
musk. Today chemical replacements have been found.
One of the most
recognized perfumes in the world is Channel No. 5, the reason it was
given that name was because a bottle a bottle labeled "5" during the
testing period. has top notes: Aldehydes, Grasse jasmine Heart Notes:
Rose, ylang-ylang, iris Base Notes: Amber, patchouli.
Modern
perfume making has been taken over by Classic Designer houses such as
Christian Dior which offers several perfumes including : J'adore,
Diorella, Diorissimo
Dolce Vita fragrance, Miss Dior, and
Diorissimo. While celebrities have always endorsed perfumes, they're now
lending their name to perfumes like "Lovely," by Sara Jessica Parker.
To
prevent your perfume from disintegrating and turning sour make sure
that you keep the bottle away from heat and light. Also the best bottles
for perfume are small plus perfume should be applied with a stopper or
spray so that the oil from your fingers doesn't contaminate the perfume.
The
cost of perfume ranges from the least expensive colognes around $25 a
bottle to $215,000 a bottle for Imperial Majesty, a Clive Christian
signature scent. The fragrance is $2,150 per ounce. To warrant a price
tag of $215,000, a Baccarat crystal bottle was filled with 16.9 ounces
of perfume and a five carat diamond and gold collar.
April Kerr writes about the
history of perfume and sells wholesale costume jewelery [http://www.paradiseimports.co.uk] made from real flowers.