When Christ was born the three wise men from the East brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, the latter costing much more than the former. When Poppaea, Emperor Nero’s wife, died, he burnt a year’s worth of myrrh. Solomon, called upon to decide which the real bunch of flowers is, let open the windows and bees came calling to the real ones. During the middle ages, noble men regularly used to apply various perfumes to keep away body odor resulting from bad unhygienic lifestyles. Fragrances and smells are twined intimately with our cultures and history. We turn the pages of our communal history, and at one corner we find one noble charming a mistress with a fragrance, and at another corner a goddess bestowing an infatuating gift to Her chosen people.

Fragrances have charmed us since the days of our hoary past. There have been primarily three purposes for fragrances – to mask bad smell, to enhance favorable smell, and as a part of cultural or religious ceremony. Various substances were burnt as deodorant. But much more important is the use of fragrance as increasing the attraction of human, especially female body. The fragrance of hair and the body of a beautiful woman has been the subject of many a lover’s infatuation, many a poet’s composition, and many a singer’s devotion. Perfumes have been used to freshen the smell of closed spaces – rooms and hallways, etc. As a part of ceremony, perfumes have a special place where the fragrance and fumes of selected substances have special place.

Perfumery is an old business, going as far back as ancient Egypt. During early Middle Ages, Arabia became the centre of perfume research, production and trade, a place that went to France in the early modern age. Depending upon extracts, concentration and solvent, a perfume can be called a perfume extract, eau de parfum, eau de toilette or eau de Cologne. Perfumes can be simple solvent composition of a few extracts, or they can be prohibitively costly concoction of a thousand ingredients meant for the royalty. This section of 01webdirectory offers a selective glance at the world of perfumes with its dazzling histories and charming smells.

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