Friday, February 13, 2009

A Short History Of Perfume

By Gordon

While plenty of people love to use and talk about perfume, not a lot are aware of it's origins. Did you know that perfume has existed since the ancient times?

It has been around as long as the Egyptian pyramids. Isn't that amazing? In those days, perfume was made by mixing different types of scented plants, oils and animals. But modern day perfume, like the one we use to day, only dates back to France in the 1600's.

But what about colognes, where it come from? Well, the origines of cologne can be traced back to Germany, some 300 hundred years back. The history of cologne can actually be traced back to a Carthusian monk, who was said to have invented this fine mixture, which he then sold to the male population. It became so popular, that he later gave it a name: cologne.

So what's the difference between perfumes and colognes? The difference lies in the strength of their fragrance. While both can be created using a mixture of essential oils and denatured ethyl alcohol, perfumes have more essential oils added into it. The ratio of oils found in perfume is about 20:40, compared to that of cologne.

It's because of this, that perfumes have a stronger fragrance, and tend to last longer on the wearer than most colognes. That's why perfumes are merely dabbed on, while colognes are usually sprayed. Despite these differences, colognes and perfumes both have the same storage requirements, and should be kept in a devoid of heat and sunlight. This keeps the perfume and cologne from evaporating.

Most people make the mistake of storing their perfume and cologne inside the medicine cabinets in their bathrooms, forgetting that hot showers can increase temperatures. The best place to keep perfumes and colognes are in your bedroom, or even the refrigerator, if you want to lengthen their shelf life.

That's it for this article, and I hope learning about the origins of perfumes and colognes have been very insightful. - 16651

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