Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living spaces an agreeable scent. It is a combination of organic compounds that produces a distinct smell or odor. The word "perfume" is derived from the Latin "perfumare," meaning "to smoke through". The art of perfumery dates back to ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and possibly Ancient China, and it has been refined by the Romans and Muslims.
Perfumes are composed of three structural parts, known as notes, which provide the first impression, body, and lasting impression of the fragrance, respectively, after the application of a perfume. The presence of one note may alter the perception of another. The head note, or top note, provides the initial scent that forms the first impression of the perfume. The middle note, or modifier, provides full, solid character, and the base note, also called an end note or basic note, is the most persistent.
The ingredients in perfumes can be natural, derived from fragrant essential oils obtained from plants and spices, or synthetic, consisting of man-made mixtures of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. Perfumes are classified into five main groups based on their concentration of aromatic compounds, with parfum or extrait having the highest concentration, ranging from 20% to 30%. The remaining ingredients in perfume are typically alcohol, water, and other substances that help the fragrance molecules evaporate at room temperature.
