We all know that perfumes are a constant part of our everyday lives – we use them every day and on all occasions. It’s almost unthinkable to go outside without putting on some perfume. But, are we aware of some peculiarities and curious facts about the scented bottles that bring us the desired feeling of style and beauty? Let’s find out…

Did you know that:

• The history of perfumes stretches way back in time – there are archeological excavations that prove the use of perfumes from 4000 ago. This means that perfumes are twice as old as Christianity, for example!
• In the past perfumes used to serve as a cover-up of unpleasant odors coming from unwashed bodies – the grubby, as per the contemporary concept, aristocrats, bathed quite rarely (sometimes even months passed by before they had a proper bath), so perfumes were their weapon against unpleasant bodily smells.
• The first contemporary perfume was… ingested! The „Hungary Water” perfume, created in 1370, is considered the first contemporary perfume, as there was alcohol in its composition (brandy). In order to get the best out of the perfume, except for applying it on the skin, you should also drink it! This practice would be a rather expensive experience nowadays, given the high prices of today’s perfumes…
• It’s not easy to create a perfume – a good perfumer is known for his olfaction. One of the tests that beginner perfumers have to take is quite impressive – they are given a scent that consists of up to 250 different notes and they have to specify each one of them!
• Rubbing your wrists is wrong! It’s amazing, but it’s a fact – the well-known habit of putting perfume on your wrists and then rubbing them energetically actually leads to breaking the perfume structure. Apply on the inner side of the wrists and elbows instead, as well as behind the years and in the middle of the clavicle and let the fragrance “breathe”.
• Men’s perfumes are worn by women as well – we all have at least one example of a woman who likes wearing men’s fragrances. It’s an interesting fact that this is not a rare practice – about 30% of all women around the world use men’s fragrances!
• The same fragrance smells differently on different people – the reason for this is that different people have different skin – there’s pH, humidity, hormones, as well as many other factors. Don’t buy a perfume if you haven’t tested it on your skin! The fact that you like the way it smells on somebody else doesn’t mean you’ll like the way it smells on you.
• The most expensive nose in the world belongs to a… perfumer! It’s understandable, just like an athlete would insure his legs as they bring him profit and glory, a perfumer would insure his nose. That’s what Jean Charles did – according to some resources, his nose was insured for USD 1 million! An even more interesting fact about him is that, towards the end of his life, he totally lost his olfaction, which hasn’t obstructed him from creating perfume masterpieces like Miss Dior despite his condition – just like Beethoven continued creating music after the loss of his hearing!
• Emotions can be smelled – probably a remainder of our past when we used to heavily rely on our olfaction to survive, this ability serves us well even today – among the emotions we can feel with our nose are fear, happiness, and even excitement. Men can even smell when a woman is ovulating!

What is the most interesting fact that you know about perfumes? Share it with us in the comments below!