A BIT ABOUT PERFUME

                          The Making of the Scent

Grasse is a sheltered retreat of pink villas and swaying palm trees in the alluring Cote d'Azur region of France. The gentle climate, rich soil, and a cradle of mountains protecting it from the north wind make Grasse ideal for flower production nearly year-round. We had a pleasant ride over the French countryside on RN 85 (national road) which happened to be the same route Napoleon took in 1815 enroute to Waterloo. 

This small village used to be known for leather tanning---and the aromas the process created. Ladies loved their leather gloves, but after awhile the aromas got a bit overwhelming, so they made little sachets of flower pedals to put inside their gloves.  Eventually the village moved from tanning into the perfume business, and now the village is home to 40 perfumeries, three of which are quite large.

At one of the larger perfumeries an English guide gave us the history of and explained the perfume process. It was interesting to learn about nose school. Located in Paris it takes three years plus an additional seven years of apprenticeship to become a nose. There are only 1000 in the world, and most all of them freelance. A nose can detect 3000 different scents!  When someone wants to create a perfume, he must hire a nose. Does that sound funny or what!

A surprise to all of us was to learn that perfume should be kept in a dark bottle or place, and if not after a year it will change color and aroma. I can neither confirm nor deny this gem of information as I have bought many a clear bottle of perfume and kept it a long time without any noticeable change of either color or scent. Maybe I could never be a nose, but my eyesight is pretty good.

 Perfumes are blends of different scents. Flowers, leaves and roots all can be used to extract the scent. Sources are imported from all over the world. In 1921 Chanel #5 was the first blended perfume.

The company copyrights the scent and renews that copyright every five years. Water and ingredients are distilled. Nothing is wasted; anything the perfumery cannot use is sold to companies to scent wipes, diapers, tissues, dryer sheets etc. Scents used to be derived from pressing ingredients with fat, but that process stopped in 1970 and now all perfumes are distilled.