In
Ancient Rome, a perfume salesman would be called
Seplasarius, the name deriving from a street in
Capua where perfumes of high quality were made. Recipes of perfumes from the
monks of Santa Maria Delle Vigne or
Santa Maria Novella of
Florence, Italy, were recorded from 1221. But it was the
Hungarians who ultimately introduced the first modern perfume. The first modern perfume, made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution, was made in 1370 at the command of
Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and was known throughout
Europe as
Hungary Water. The art of perfumery prospered in
Renaissance Italy, and in the 16th century, Italian refinements were taken to France by
Catherine de' Medici's personal perfumer,
Rene le Florentin. His laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway, so that no formulas could be stolen en route.
France France quickly became the European center of perfume and cosmetic manufacture. Cultivation of flowers for their perfume essence, which had begun in the 14th century, grew into a major industry in the south of France mainly in
Grasse now considered the world capital of perfume. During the
Renaissance period, perfumes were used primarily by royalty and the wealthy to mask body odors resulting from the sanitary practices of the day. Partly due to this patronage, the western perfumery industry was created. Perfume enjoyed huge success during the 17th century.
Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established. Perfumers were also known to create poisons: for instance, in 1572
Jeanne d'Albret, protestant queen of
Navarre, was supposedly murdered on the instruction of
Catherine de Medici, the Catholic queen of France, when a poison prepared by Catherine's perfumer,
René le Florentin, was rubbed into a pair of perfumed gloves. When they were worn, the substance was slowly absorbed into the victim's skin. Perfume came into its own when
Louis XV came to the throne in the 18th century. His court was called "la cour parfumée" (the perfumed court).
Madame de Pompadour ordered generous supplies of perfume, and King Louis demanded a different fragrance for his apartment every day. The court of Louis XIV was even named due to the scents which were applied daily not only to the skin but also to clothing, fans and furniture. Perfume substituted for soap and water. The use of perfume in France grew steadily. By the 18th century, aromatic plants were being grown in the
Grasse region of France to provide the growing perfume industry with raw materials. Even today, France remains the centre of the European perfume design and
trade. After
Napoleon came to power, exorbitant expenditures for perfume continued. Two quarts of violet cologne were delivered to him each week, and he is said to have used sixty bottles of double extract of
jasmine every month. Josephine had stronger perfume preferences. She was partial to musk, and she used so much that sixty years after her death the scent still lingered in her boudoir.
England Perfume use peaked in England during the reigns of
Henry VIII (reigned 1509–1547) and Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603). All public places were scented during Queen Elizabeth's rule, since she could not tolerate bad smells. It was said that the sharpness of her nose was equaled only by the slyness of her tongue. Ladies of the day took great pride in creating delightful fragrances and they displayed their skill in mixing scents in the
still rooms of
manor houses. As with industry and the arts, perfume underwent profound change in the 19th century. Changing tastes and the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations of modern perfumery as alchemy gave way to chemistry.
Russia Perfume manufacture in
Russia grew after 1861 and became globally significant by the early 20th century. The production of perfume in the
Soviet Union became a part of the
planned economy in the 1930s, although output was not high. == Americas ==