A few years later, in 2001, Mandy Aftel’s Essence and Alchemy: A Book of Perfume (North Point Press) became a bestseller and bolstered many in their aspirations to become “real” perfumers, due to the educational and coaxing nature of the writing. Aftel pushed the reader through history, dabbling with exotic aromatics, revealing some secrets of beginning perfumery studies. There was no other book that addressed the beginner; no other book carried them along on a rapturous journey into the world of Natural Perfumery like Essence and Alchemy.
And so the current boom in Natural Perfumery really took root.
 
Aftel didn’t know the limits of aromatherapy, since she wasn’t an aromatherapist, but many of the aromatherapists who read Essence decided to explore the new aromatic world she opened up to them.
 
Aromatherapy eschews the use of aromatic concretes, absolutes, resins and waxes. Aromatherapy is all about essential oils, and only essential oils. That is changing, as the recognition of the fact that if perfume is only to be dabbed on a small area of the skin, not rubbed in a large area, as in a massage, then there is a place for a well-conceived, well-designed perfume that contains absolutes, concretes and other “non-AT” raw materials.
 
Another big boost to Natural Perfumery has been the Internet. There, a novice perfumer in Wisconsin, or Japan, or England can sit at a computer and obtain rare and wonderful essences from every corner of the globe. It seems the time is right, the opportunities are right, and social and spiritual consciousness are aligned to reinvent an old art in a new light.
 
For this article, the focus will be on the production of liquid or solid perfumes, those fragrant delights that can be sprayed or dabbed or massaged into the skin. The liquid may be undenatured alcohol, or carrier oil, such as almond, jojoba, and others. The solid perfumes, carried in a small “compact”, are typically solidified with beeswax. It’s a whole new world opening up for aromatherapists, with a new language, new raw materials, and new skills to be learned. 

History of Natural Perfumery

For centuries, long before the beginning of recorded civilization as we know it, people gathered fragrant plants and extracted the scent to add delight, sensuality and sometimes sacred elements to their life. This was plainly illustrated recently when archaeologists unearthed evidence of one of the oldest perfumeries known to the world. In Cypress, an archaeological dig found the “world’s earliest perfumery”. The truth of that statement is in question by those who study ancient cultures, but it is true that the discovery is monumental, in that it is one of the largest extant “factories” for extracting fragrant materials and producing scented products. For more details, go to: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=212432005
 
Ancient Greece, Egypt, China, India, and the countries on the trade routes – they all had well-developed Natural Perfumery industries.  Alchemists, herbalists, ordinary folk and experienced scientists created fragrant oils and unguents for themselves or for sale and trade. This article cannot, due to space constraints, detail the wondrous and exotic history of Natural Perfumery throughout history, but here are some links to help transport you back in time:

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