Home Fragrance: a 5000 years history.

Home fragrances such as scented candles or scent diffusers are largely used now in our home. The high demand of these products in the last years make appear home fragrances relatively a new invention but the use of this fantastic products can be date back to 5000 years ago.

The first recorded uses fragrance as ritual to perfume the air was 3000BC in the Acient Egypt by using aromatic resins. However fragrances wasn’t only used for rituals but was very commos use to burn incense in many houses.

Fragrances wasn’t only used in Egypt but acient greek, Roma and China too. Mixture of resins ground plants were mixed with oils and used to treat illness. Hippocrates began prescribing fumigation and the use of scents to prevent diseases during this time. This practise still continue nowdays.

A precursor of the aromatherapy is the Egyptian chemistry Tapputi-Belatekallim. She can considered the first “nose” in the history of fragrances. She was used to distill and filter ingredients to extract scents.

During the centureis the new trades route brought from China and India new spices as well as new wood from the middle-east to the Mediterranean as resut that new fragrances developed during this time.

During the Middle Ages in Europe the demand of prefumed oils used for religous enviroment highly increased but it become commos uses fragrance to perfume bodies as well.

The 11th century Crusades ignited a fragrance renaissance in Medieval Europe when knights returned with bottles of rose water and new techniques to make perfume stolen from the invaded territories .

During the medieval was the norm to carry portable scent to “sterilize” the air around you and ward off inection. In fact, alchol based scent were first popularised in Medieval Italy where a 95% proof heavily scented clear liquid was created from distillation vapours. This water called aqua mirabilus (marvellous water), led to liquid perfumes replacing solid variations and saw Italy become the centre of the perfume industry for centuries.

In the 1800’s the discovery of syinthetic oils make fragrances more affordable and the uses of perfume through the invention of designer as Guerlain and later on Chanel. that tranformed the industry into what we know today.

Home fragrances began slowly popular (despite being invented first) and during mid-20th syntethic air freshner were (and are!) everywhere firstly designed to cover bad odours in houses.