The Science of Perfume Making
Recently the film Perfume was released. It’s based on the novel by Patrick Süskind set in eighteenth-century France and explores the protagonist’s obsessive desire to create a perfume, which ultimately takes a deadly turn.
Interestingly, the science of perfume making was a topic of discussion in the Hooke Folio. Whilst the focus is initially on perfume made with jasmine, the mixing of jasmine with orange flowers and rose petals is also examined - particularly in terms of the liquid and scent produced when pickled, and how to make the scent long lasting. They also look to the practices of perfume makers in other countries, for example the President praises the skills of Chinese perfume makers, whilst a comparison is made between the strength of perfume worn by women in Britain and those in Spain and Italy.
Seemingly women in Britain were scorned by their Italian and Spanish counterparts for their sensitivity to the ‘highest perfumes’, particularly in terms of finding the smell ‘offensive’. However it is suggested that this is because Britain has ’somewhat peculiar … air for that purpose’ using an anecdote from Mr Henshaw, who describes how an Italian woman developed a dislike for strong perfume (which she formerly prized) after spending a period of time in Britain.
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