Timeline of perfume

From the first resin burned on a Sumerian altar to the algorithmic compositions of the 21st century, here are the major stages of this history of more than 4,000 years. Scroll through it — each milestone is a stage of the journey.

3rd millennium BC

First attested uses — Aromatic resins burned in the temples of Mesopotamia and Egypt, according to the texts and depictions. Incense accompanies funerary and religious rituals.

~2,000 BC

Ancient Egypt — Incense, ointments and scented oils hold a central place in rites and care.

~1,200 BC

Tapputi-Belatekallim — The first known perfumer in History, mentioned on a Babylonian cuneiform tablet. She prepares scented oils by heating, filtering and macerating.

late 4th – early 3rd c. BC

Theophrastus — Writes Peri Osmôn, one of the first treatises devoted to odours and perfumes. He classifies aromatics and describes their effects.

~77 AD

Pliny the Elder — In the Naturalis Historia, he documents the worldwide trade in aromatics and takes stock of the perfumes of imperial Rome.

~1,000 AD

Avicenna — Tradition attributes to him the distillation of floral essences. His Canon of Medicine would long remain a reference in Europe.

14th century

Hungary Water — Rosemary water distilled in wine alcohol, surrounded by legends; one of the most famous old alcoholic perfumes.

1533

Catherine de' Medici — Tradition credits her with the arrival of Florentine perfumery know-how in France. René le Florentin, of her entourage, keeps a shop in Paris.

1709

Eau de Cologne — Johann Maria Farina creates his “fresh water” in Cologne, the origin of one of the most imitated perfumes in history.

1828

House of Guerlain — Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opens his shop in Paris: one of the great French perfume houses, still active today.

1868

Synthetic coumarin — William Henry Perkin synthesises coumarin, one of the first synthetic molecules adopted by perfumery.

1889

Guerlain's Jicky — Signed Aimé Guerlain, it gives a large place to synthetic molecules (coumarin, vanillin). Often cited as one of the first modern perfumes.

1921

Chanel N°5 — Ernest Beaux creates one of the most famous perfumes in history for Coco Chanel. The massive use of aldehydes revolutionises world perfumery.

1925

Guerlain's Shalimar — A masterpiece by Jacques Guerlain, it becomes the reference of the oriental family (now called amber).

1992

Mugler's Angel — Composed by Olivier Cresp and Yves de Chiris for Thierry Mugler, it opens the way to the gourmand family with this revolutionary patchouli/chocolate. A perfume that divides but makes history.

2018

Grasse on UNESCO's heritage list — The know-how linked to perfume in the Grasse region is inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity.

2019

AI enters perfumery — O Boticário launches Egeo On Me and Egeo On You, designed with IBM and Symrise's Philyra AI.