1. They Have a Very Long History

And I mean VERY long, ladies! Yup, ancient civilization like Egyptians and Greeks were no strangers to these precious liquids and archeologists have proofs of this. The interesting thing is that these findings are up to 4000 years old which, of course, means we still haven’t invented anything new. LOL!

2. They Were Used as a Cover-up

Back in time when bathing was a rare luxury even the rich didn’t indulge in very often, perfumes were used to cover up unpleasant scents that came as a result of such questionable personal hygiene. Rich but rather smelly, European aristocracy relied on these expensive mixtures to help mask the “scents” produced by days and even months of not bathing. Yuck!

3. Perfumes of Today Are Not Made with Real Flowers

In order for perfumes to be mass produced and available at such great prices, real flower essences had to be replaced with synthetic fragrances. Yup, it does sound like we’re getting a lower quality product nowadays but think about it – perfumes are not a luxury today so imagine what would happen if prices skyrocketed. Old perfumes were more natural, that’s for sure, but they also had to be kept in cool, dark places and their expiration dates were not as nearly as long as the ones we’re used to.

4. First Modern Perfume Was Made in 1370!

“Hungary Water” made in 1370 is said to be the first perfume that resembles the ones we use today. Before this date, perfumes were mostly fragrant oils and who knows… Maybe we’d still use those if Hungarian monks didn’t think of adding alcohol to the mixture. This perfume was made for Queen Elisabeth of Hungary and, in order for it to have the maximum effect, it had to be drunk as well as applied to the body! Hmm, now if that’s not one of the most interesting facts about perfumes I don’t know what is!

5. You Can Maximize the Smell of Your Perfume Very Easily

Here’s one of those both useful and interesting fact about perfumes some of you might know – You don’t need to waste half of the bottle to ensure long lasting smell, one spritz on your chest and one in the back of your neck is all it takes for it to smell great all day long. These zones turn into “hotspots” in times when we’re scared or excited (due to the increased blood flow) and the scent that was subtle just moments ago, starts releasing faster.

6. Classification

Modern perfumes are made with so many different ingredients so the only way to find a way through all that mess is to categorize them. That’s why we have Bright Floral scents, Woody scents, Green scents, Oceanic, Spicy fruit and Oriental scents. Perfumes also differ in strength so the lightest, quickest to evaporate are Colognes that, by the way, have only 5% of perfume essence and the most long lasting ones are perfume extracts that have anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of perfume.

7. Origin

The word “perfume” actually comes from Latin, which I’m sure isn’t such a big surprise. The original phrase is “per fumum” which basically means through smoke. But, wait, because I’m still not done with my interesting fact about perfumes! Did you know that one of the first ancient perfume makers was a woman? Oh yes!

But feel free to chip in anytime. Tell me did you find any of these interesting facts about perfumes especially cool?

Top Photo Credit: aussiegall