Parfume: raw materials, formulations and applications

As far back as the Bronze Age, men gave thanks to the gods using resins or fragrant woods whose pleasant-smelling combustion attracted them to their temples. Similarly, representations such as statues erected in places of worship were "olfactory" embellished with scented oils.

Perfumes were an essential component of ancient cultures, fulfilling a wide range of needs including those linked to the practice of worship and medicine, without overshadowing their basic function of seduction and social distinction. These social functions, the only ones that really exist today, are closely linked to sexuality.

Body odors, whether natural or artificial, convey information that provokes a reflex stimulus. In animals as close to us as monkeys, the secretion of fatty odoriferous substances is used to communicate between individuals of the same species, and especially between males and females. In the human species, the phenomenon is far more complicated, due to the extraordinary development of our brain and consciousness. The tension created between biological desire and its social regulation is also expressed in the permissive or repressive attitude towards perfume, and in the types of perfume whose use was progressively codified and modified.

Today, perfume is both a sensory perception and a commercial product. We perceive the scent of a plant or a loved one, but we also buy manufactured products sold under the same name. In our modern society, perfume is everywhere and marks out the stages of our daily lives.

The best-known product is fine or alcoholic perfume, obtained by diluting a perfume concentrate or "juice" - a mixture of synthetic odorant compounds and natural extracts - in 90° ethyl alcohol.

However, many other products are scented, particularly for everyday use, such as cosmetics, detergents, household products and so on; this is known as functional perfumery.

The perfume industry is a dynamic and powerful field, where large multinationals and very small companies coexist. It is difficult to distinguish it from the field of food flavorings, as a large number of companies develop both fragrance and flavor raw materials and compositions. The global market for flavors and fragrances was estimated at €16.2 billion in 2011 .

There are over 500 companies worldwide. The four biggest players account for over 55% of the global market. They are Givaudan (Switzerland, 20% of the global market), Firmenich (Switzerland, 13%), International Flavors and Fragrances...