Perfume
enjoyed huge success during the seventeenth century.
Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656,
the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established.
Perfume came into its own when Louis XV came to the
throne in the 18th century. His court was called "le
cour parfumee", "the perfumed court".
Madame de Pompadour ordered generous supplies of perfume,
and King Louis demanded a different fragrance for his
apartment everyday. The court of Louis XV was even named
due to the scents which were applied daily not only
to the skin but also to clothing, fans and furniture.
Perfume substituted for soap and water. The use of perfume
in France grew steadily.
After
Napoleon came to power, exorbitant expenditures for
perfume continued. Two quarts of violet cologne were
delivered to him each week, and he is said to have used
sixty bottles of double extract of jasmine every month.
Josephine had stronger perfume preferences. She was
partial to musk, and she used so much that sixty years
after her death the scent still lingered in her boudoir.
Perfume reached its peak in England during the reigns
of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. All public places
were scented during Queen Elizabeth's rule, since she
could not tolerate bad smells. It was said that the
sharpness of her nose was equal led only to the slyness
of her tongue. Ladies of the day took great pride in
creating delightful fragrances and they displayed their
skill in mixing scents.
As
with industry and the arts, perfume was to undergo profound
change in the nineteenth century. Changing tastes and
the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations
of perfumery as we know it today. Alchemy gave way to
chemistry and new fragrances were created. The French
Revolution had in no way diminished the taste for perfume,
there was even a fragrance called "Parfum a la
Guillotine." Under the post-revolutionary government,
people once again dared to express a penchant for luxury
goods, including perfume. A profusion of vanity boxes
containing perfumes appeared in the 19th century.
In
early America, the first scents were colognes and scented
water. Florida water, an uncomplicated mixture of eau
de cologne with a dash of oil of cloves, cassia, and
lemongrass, was popular.
