In the modern day, we’ve come to assume that air fresheners and perfumes are a completely separate entity, but historically, perfumes were used to freshen up the scents of not only the human body, but linens, rooms, and even sacrificial offerings. The word perfume come from the latin word “per fumus” or “from smoke”, which historians suggest means perfumes were originally used in sacrificial rooms to hide the smell of burning offerings.  The first ever record of an industrious perfume maker was a woman by the name of Tapputi back in 1200 BCE. Tapputi held a powerful position within the Mesopotamian government and started the groundbreaking technique of extracting scents from various plant life. While the first known creation of perfumes began in Cyprus during the bronze age, the use of perfumes was strictly limited to priests.

Around the 6th century, the science and knowledge of perfumes grew within Islamic cultures. A new way of extracting perfume fragrances was developed known as steam distillation. At the time, the Arabia and Persia were primarily trading empires, so it allowed for them to not only spread their cultures far and wide, but also allowed the Islamic nations to develop new scents from the fauna of different regions. During construction of mosques, it was customary to blend fragrance extracts with the concrete, which drove chemist to find new and more efficient ways to create perfumes. Jabir Ibn Hayyan and Al-Kindi were the original founders of the perfume industry back in 801 BC, where their cost saving productions allowed for massive growth in the perfume market. By the 11th and 12th century, crusaders brought many of the perfumes to the west via trade with the Islamic empires. Perfumes flourished in the west and grew into a massive industry in Hungry .During the Italian Renaissance, the popularity of perfume mixing caused a growth in perfume diversity not yet seen. By the 18th century, perfumes were so engrained into the culture of the west, that it became typical to use perfumes in place of bathing. King Louis XV’s court was known as “la cour parfumée” (the perfumed court), and was known for having a different scent in the court every day. Madam de Pompadour and Louis XIV made popular the act of applying perfumes to clothing, furnitures, and fans.