French Perfumes Dominate the marketplace Today
France does have a place in perfume development historically, there's no doubt about that, but the history of fragrances goes back plenty of years actually. There is plenty of evidence of its use in Ancient Egypt and nearby Cyprus has the earliest site that presents it being created locally. The Romans needless to say wandered all over that area and additional refined the production process. These were quite well-known for their standards of sanitation and general cleanliness, when not engaged in battle! The Arabs developed fragrances along similar lines, but their version was based on incense which needless to say should be heated or burned release a the fragrant odours.
When did French perfume begin to make its mark in this sector? Well it is largely Louis XV that gets the credit here. Ruling in the 18th century he encouraged the liberal usage of fragrance at Court. The ensuing Royal patronage ensured that the nobles and other social climbers were quick to take this up too therefore it gradually spread outside the Royal Courts. France can count itself lucky to have both a moderate climate in the South of the united states and soil there that's particularly suitable for growing aromatic plants. The town of Grasse, even today, remains the source of the French perfume oil concentrate that is found in ladies perfumes around the globe - men's colognes too!
In the event that you visit Grasse first thing that strikes you is the abundance of flowers and aromatic herbs that populate the hills around the town - an incredible splash of every colour under the rainbow. The firms that produce the oils are called 'perfume houses' and to some extent that IS descriptive, because they are often small family-run businesses with production methods that have not changed much on the centuries. https://michelgermain.com is that French perfumes now find their way all over the world and not restricted to France or nearby Europe any more.
Once the plants and flowers have been harvested they're put through a reasonably unsophisticated process to render them right into a liquid form. After filtration to remove stalks and other debris, they are quality checked in the laboratory to keep up the high standards expected of the (right now) expensive perfume oils.
The French perfumes you may buy are actually a variety of a number of these essential oils, often a hundred or more are used to make just one fragrance - the perfumer needs to know his art! He is called a 'nose' in the trade and has to develop the right mix of oils to make sure consistency and keep costs in order too. The right balance of ingredients vs cost is what results in a top selling fragrance which makes lots of profit for its makers. Only by sourcing wholesale perfumes, maybe at an out-of-town perfume outlet, can the retail prices of ladies perfumes be brought right down to an affordable level.