Perfume - Part One

I have always had a great love of scents. Perhaps my earliest memories are my mother's perfume, and staying at her sister's home, where she used an evocative perfume, which was kept in a pretty bottle on her dressing table. So what is your favourite? Mine are the floral scents. Frangipani, sweet, tropical, exotic, like Jasmin and oleander, bleeds a sap used in perfumes. The perfume was named after an Italian aristocratic family, whose political and religious influence from the 11th century to the Renaissance made their name famous.

Perfume has always been associated with luxury. The Three Kings brought frankincense and myrrh to the newborn child Jesus as generous and meaningful gifts, as recognition of his royal status. Crusaders brought perfumes from the Middle East to France and England's royal courts. In 1533, Catherine de Medici had a special love of perfume. Louis XIV was described as the sweetest smelling  of monarchs, had his bed linen rinsed in 'the water of angels', a mixture of Jasmin and Rose water, musk and spices. His courtiers wore a different perfume each day, and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, spent massive sums of money on her perfumes. French perfumiers, such as Houbigant and Lubin, were very popular. The London based Floris, gained a royal warrant from George IV and Atkinson scents appealed to Queen Victoria. Guerlain created Eau de Cologne Imperial for Empress Eugene. Penhaligon Roger & Gallet also gained royal warrants. It is said Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother liked English lavender scents, Prince Charles likes Floris 89 Gentleman's Toilet Water, and Princess Caroline of Monaco uses Salvador Dali.

The Ancient Egyptians used perfume from the time of the early pharoahs, and placed perfumed oils on the hair of women. There are two famous Arabs, Yacoub al-Kindi, who recorded 107 perfume ingredients, and Ibn-Sina, known as Avicenna who lived 1000 years ago. Muhammad spoke about the importance of peerfume, and the Sufi, mystical branch of Islam, recommends meditation ina rose garden to enhance spiritual love and mosques are often purified by the sprinking of rose water. Arabic favourite flowers are henna, violets, myrtle, and roses. Heaven itself is described as a perfumed garden. Arabia led the world in their love of perfumes and use it to raise spirituality, and use it to cleanse the body and mind, spreading their knowledge from Moorish Spain to Moghul India. The Crusaders brought rare unguents from the Holy Land to France. Traders from Arabia brought musk and sandlewood to Europe via Venice and told tales of great flying beasts that guarded sources of frankenscence, myrrh, saffron, balsam, costus and aloewood. A favourite Arab woman's perfume oil was  Khaluq to massage into the skin after their traditional bathing. It was a special mix of dried sunflowers, ground rosehips and cardomon kneaded with sesame and cubeb oils and combined with honey, and scented cherry. Also Muthallathah, which contained rosewater and a yellow dye from a type of cinnabar, mixed with camphor, saffron and jasmin oil.
Article by Wendy https://wendystokes.co.uk