A Sense of the Scents

Information about the World of Fragrances A Sense of the Scents... Haarmann & Reimer GmbH P.O. Box 1253 D-37601 Holzminden Germany Tel. ++49 55 31/90-0 Fax ++49 55 31/90 16 49 www.haarmann-reimer.com AA SenseSense ofof thethe ScentsScents...... Information about the World of Fragrances History It was with this first nose that the prehistoric quadrupeds were able TheThe to sniff vital information about enemies and mates, sources of History of nutrition and territorial borders. History of When the first human-like beings set out to conquer the world on two legs, though, they lost PerfumePerfume...... their “olfactory contact” with the ground – their eyes and ears provided them with faster and Of the five senses, the sense A rudimentary kind of olfactory more effective information about of smell is undoubtedly the system played a crucial role in the friends, foes and prey. Yet right one of which we are least development of life: Water served down to this very day, our noses aware – why? Fragrances are a as the medium that transported tell us much more than we realize: difficult subject to talk about – information to the first living – if we equate enemy with a war- so descriptive terms have to be organisms, which they assimilated ning odor, mating with eroticism borrowed from other sectors, with the aid of a mechanism that and prey with nutrition… such as “green” from the world can be termed a “sense of smell” of color or “fruity” from the in the broadest sense of the world. The Egyptians already field of taste. And yet frag- The life forms that later developed knew about perfume rances have the magical ability on land were forced to adapt: to enchant. In this brochure, It was now the air they breathed, Through their pictures and writings, we’d like to explain why and not water, that supplied the annals of ancient cultures that is. them with vital informa- suggest that fragrant substances tion. So it was necessary from nature enjoyed a firm place to find a filtration in the daily lives of the Etruscans, system, i.e. an actual Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, olfactory organ. Romans and Chinese. Fragrance as a sacrificial offering to the gods – Frankincense, myrrh and blossoms like jasmin were initially the exclusive domain of the high priests. It was thought that it was possible to communicate with Vessels for storing fragrant oils and ointments from Egypt… The History The Sense Raw of Perfume of Smell Materials and Processing Contents 2– 5 6–7 8–11 the gods through the rising smoke pro- duced by burning fragrant substances. Incense is still ceremoniously burned today in the Catholic Church, and this ritual presumably has the same roots. Per fumum – the Latin idiom meaning …the Roman through smoke – is therefore In the summer, the beautiful Empire… the origin of the modern word ladies perfume their busts with Perfume. In the Old Testament, the oil of sandalwood, Exodus 30 contains a reference their hair with jasmin water, to a perfume recipe, in this case their bodies with rose water, an anointing oil. to prepare themselves for love. Yet it was the desire for beauty In Europe, the culture of fragran- and care that brought fragrant ces first began to spread during …and Greece. resins and blossoms into daily life. the twelfth century. Amulets A Roman fresco, for example, in the shape of a small apple, depicts a young maiden filling with gaps that could be perfume into a little bottle. On an individually opened and Egyptian wall panel from a grave filled, were in common in Thebes, it is possible to distin- use. Since the custo- guish a lady smelling a perfume. mary fragrant waxes On her head, she wears a typical were called “ambre”, perfume cone, which is slowly these often highly melted by the body’s heat. artistic items of jewelry were called fragrance An Indian poem by Kalidasa con- apples – pommes tains the following description: d’ambre – pomander. The Creative Fragrance Perfume Oils Cosmetic Quality Product Work of the Families for a Wide Ingredients Assurance Safety Perfumer Range of Applications 12–13 14–17 18–21 22–25 26–29 30–31 History Also popular were potpourris that plant cultivation and leather- were made from blossoms, fruits making. Brought to the French and spices to mask bad odors in court by Catherine de Medici in the home. Even utilitarian items the 16th century, perfume remai- were perfumed – like the leather ned a royal fashion and was used gloves that fine ladies could hold all the more extravagantly. It was under their sensitive noses when believed that water had the power they had to cross the litter-strewn to extract the life force from the roads. body, and hygiene was exchanged for fragrance – the very first deo- The “Water” from Cologne dorant. The situation was different – a classic is born in England under Oliver Cromwell – “Perfume is the work of the In France, the profession of per- 4711 – genuine devil”, it was said, and was ban- fumer & glove-maker emerged, “Kölnisch Wasser”. ned and even prohibited for an whose center quickly became the One of the first entire century. The seventeenth branded perfumes, city of Grasse in the south of the which is still im- century brought with it “Eau de country – the capital of fragrant portant today. Cologne” – “Cologne Water” – whose “recipe” had been brought to Germany by a young Italian named Farina. This refreshing blend of citrus oils, rosemary and alcohol went on to spread throughout Europe – however not just as a fragrance, but also as a cure-all for both external and internal use. It would be left to Napoleon to finally clear up the situation – under his reign, a legal distinction was made between the professions of a “Perfumer” and an “Pharmacist.” 04 H&R Scents In those days, fragrance compo- sitions consisted solely of natural ingredients, of resins, leaves, peels and blossoms that were treated in a variety of ways to capture their fragrant principles. One well-known technique was to place plant parts in alcohol to produce so-called tinctures or infusions. If blossoms were placed Royal letters patent for a in animal fat to produce perfumed method of pro- pomades, the process was called ducing coumarin “enfleurage.” (Karl Reimer, 1876). Synthesis brought variety In the mid nineteenth century, Reimer founded the company modern perfumery evolved with of the same name. Further im- the advent of modern chemistry. portant molecules were coumarin Innovative techniques of extraction (woodruff) and ionone (violet). and distillation supplied highly In one fell swoop, the perfumer’s fragrant plant extracts – it was palette became incomparably even possible to isolate specific richer – and for the first time fragrance molecules from botani- perfumers were not only able cal isolates – and – even more to blend fragrances from nature, exciting – it was possible to repli- but also to replicate them, to cate fragrance molecules in the interpret them, to impressionis- laboratory – to synthesize them. tically translate them. One of the first molecules of kind was vanillin – in 1874, the principle of vanillin synthesis was patented, and chemists Haarmann and H&R Scents 05 Smell TheThe SenseSense ofof SmellSmell...... For a long time, science paid What do we know about Contained on these cilia are diffe- only little attention to this it today? rently shaped receptors. When the most mystical and emotional air we inhale carries a molecule to of our senses. In Greek philo- First of all, it is only possible to the nasal mucous membrane, the sophy, the sense of smell was smell what reaches the nose molecule attaches to a matching disqualified as being imprecise together with the air we breath – receptor, like a peg in a hole. Both and emotional. Only in recent i.e. the substances have to be an its geometric shape as well as its decades has this sense been a gaseous state. When we smell electrical charge, its polarity, play more thoroughly researched. a fragrance strip, for example, we a role in this connection. When a do not smell what is on it but what molecule “docks” with a matching is no longer on it, i.e. what has receptor, an electrical signal – evaporated and can be inhaled. a stimulus – is sent to the brain. Located in the nose are two ol- We smell with our brain factory mucous membranes, each approximately four Extending from the multitude of square centimeters in nerve cells in the olfactory mucous size, which are membrane are numerous appenda- densely packed ges – processes – that are bundled with nerve in the upper nasal cavity in the cells. Exten- form of nerve fibers. These nerve ding from fiber bundles extend through the these cells ethmoid plate, a bone behind the are nume- root of the nose, and into a part 5 rous plunge of the brain that is called the ol- processes, factory bulb. If subjected to strong 4 3 2 6 which pro- shear forces such as those caused trude into by a heavy blow, for example, this 1 the nasal bone can slice through the bundle 7 * * * cavity like of nerve fibers like a knife – resul- ** tiny little ting in a loss of the sense of smell. hairs. In the olfactory bulb, each of these * * hundreds of nerve fibers, which * serve as a continuation of the nerve * * cells with their olfactory * * cilia, terminates in an * olfactory brain cell. * * Following pre- * selection here, the stimuli are then advanced * to portions of the midbrain and to the so-called olfactory The olfactory system with its primary and secondary paths to other regions of the brain: 1.

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