Perfume Component
The first letter is "a"
Second letter "m"
Third letter "b"
The last letter of the letter is "a"
Answer for the clue "Perfume component", 5 letters:
ambergris
Alternative crossword questions for the word ambergris
and. an fragrant substance found in clods along the seashore, believed to be from the intestines of whales (sperm whales). Black ambergris, in trade, black amber jet. The amber smell is only detectable when smoking it
Waxy substance from sperm whale for perfumery
A substance used in perfumery to make the scent of a perfume last longer.
whale incense
"wax" in the gut of a sperm whale
Incense (obsolete)
Perfume aroma fixer
Whale's gift to perfumers
Incense
Definition of the word ambergris in dictionaries
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The meaning of the word in the dictionary Great Soviet Encyclopedia
(from Arabic anbar), a waxy substance formed in the digestive tract of the sperm whale; It is also found floating in the water or thrown ashore by waves. Pieces of A. have a round shape, weigh from several kg to 300≈400 kg; density 900≈920 kg/m3,...
Examples of the use of the word ambergris in literature.
He had already encountered many of these materials before, in the market - in the flower aisles and aisles with spices, others were new to him, and he filtered them from aromatic mixtures and stored them nameless in his memory: amber, civet, patchouli, sandalwood, bergamot, benzoin, hop color, beaver stream.
Of course, neither musk, nor civet, nor rose oil, nor ambergris, that's clear.
Here ambergris merged with rose water, And the atlas was decorated with lines: Like, if a daughter gives birth to Shahra, then the mother is obliged to give her to the King.
Saffron and musk, rose and narcissus, and myrtle and ambergris- everything for dear Vis.
Like milk and wine, they merged, They grew together, like a rose and a daffodil, Mixed like ambergris and aloe, As with pearls - a golden sparkle.
Homo sapiens has always loved creating fragrances. At first it was the usual stench of an unwashed body, but then, in order to somehow disguise it, he began experimenting with natural scents. Whether it was done to improve the smell of a home, to please the gods, or simply to mask an unpleasant body odor, perfume became an integral part of human life.
The first perfumes consisted of one hundred percent natural ingredients. Fragrances for rituals of worship of the gods were made mainly from resins (frankincense, opopanax and myrrh) and precious woods, while floral and fruity notes were added to body perfumes. By the end of the 19th century, scientists discovered that the results of numerous experiments led to the appearance of previously unknown aromas, and then the development of modern chemical perfumery began. For the first time in history, unusual new chemicals began to be added to the natural components that still dominate the composition.
More than 100 years have passed, and perfume now consists primarily of synthetic chemicals with a trace amount of natural oils added. However, many canonical components are still present in modern perfumes.
WARNING!!! After reading this article, many may feel the urge to take a shower and throw out all their perfume. It is not known who was the first to discover this fact, but today we can safely say that even the most beautiful perfumes can be improved by adding unpleasant, and sometimes even repulsive, components.
10. Musk of musk deer.
We start the list with the least offensive-smelling possible ingredient in your perfume - musk deer musk. Males of certain species of deer have a gland on their bellies that they use to spray their habitat with musk and attract mates. People have been using it for over 1000 years to increase the longevity of perfume aroma.
Musk can be obtained without killing the animal, but it is easier to obtain it if the deer is dead. This component was so highly valued that it was used in almost every perfume until the 1970s, when its extraction was limited by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). People have also used it as a dietary supplement.
The aroma of musk deer musk is not particularly pleasant, which is quite expected, but if it is thoroughly diluted, it becomes floral and delicate. It was most often used in a 3% solution as a fixative, although larger quantities were added to some perfumes to impart a distinctive animalic aroma. Today, perfumes with the musk of the poor deer are practically impossible to find, but some such perfumes are still sold, although they have only a passing resemblance to the original. This is Chanel No. 5, which used to contain a whopping 15 percent deer musk and 15 percent civet (more on that later). It goes without saying that the original Chanel No. 5 had a real animalic scent, as opposed to today's light floral scent. Bottles of the original are available on eBay and are very expensive.
9. "Beaver stream".
Our next natural fragrance is also pretty safe, but it's quite strange that someone would think it should be used to make our bodies smell good.
The beaver stream is the internal secretion of one of the glands of beavers. It is located right next to the anal glands. The beaver uses their contents to mark their territory, and in technical terms this is considered musk.
The aroma has a pleasant resemblance to the aroma of wood and leather, which led to its inclusion in perfume components. We can say that before there was simply no alternative to this scent. Most modern perfumes no longer use beaver spray. However, it is still considered an essential ingredient in luxury perfumes, where it is often combined with synthetic leather scents to create a more natural scent.
One of the most famous perfumes, Francois Coty's "L'Origan" from 1908, contained a large dose of beaver stream at 0.5 percent. Like deer musk, this ingredient acts as a fixative and is a significant part of the melody of the fragrance. Unfortunately, L'Origan, like most modern perfumes, has been reformulated to be safer and friendlier. Once again, you'll have to head to eBay to try the original.
And guess what? Beaver stream is still used as a natural food additive to enhance the flavor of strawberries and raspberries. Perhaps you not only sprayed your skin with this ingredient, but also took beaver stream internally.
8. Ethane sulfide.
Ethane sulfide is one of the most powerful chemicals in perfumery. It has a strong, repulsive aroma of sulfur and onion. Not surprisingly, it can be found naturally in onions, asparagus, durians and the dead horse lily. Despite the nasty aroma, it can also be found in roses and geraniums.
Ethane sulfide is used in perfumery to enrich rose geranium oil, creating a more natural rose scent base, and, believe it or not, to replicate the scent of the seaside, as this chemical can be found in the air on beaches.
Ethane sulfide should not be confused with ethane sulfate, which also smells like onions but is a toxic material used in chemical weapons.
7. Costus oil.
Costus oil is another recently banned ingredient in perfumery. Partly because it is in danger of extinction in its native India, and partly because it sensitizes receptors, although this is still disputed. This oil was a common ingredient in classical perfumery and was included in some of the most popular men's perfumes, such as Aramis and Patou Pour Homme, which have now been reformulated to remove this ingredient.
To imagine the smell of costus oil, you have to be an animal lover, because the aroma of costus oil is strangely reminiscent of the smell of wet dog hair. He is incredibly strong, and it is unlikely that anyone would find him pleasant even in his diluted form. The real magic of costus oil comes when combined with other animal-derived ingredients such as beaver sprout and civet.
When blended correctly, the oil adds a hint of unripe melon and iris flowers - flavors that are very difficult to create using only natural ingredients.
There are synthetic substitutes for costus oil available these days, but none manage to replicate the complex flavor of the natural ingredient.
6. Phenols.
Phenols occupy a very important place in perfumery. In the natural environment, they are produced by a fairly large number of plants. Phenols are the result of plant defense mechanisms against insects and the environment in general. Phenols used in perfumery are commonly called cresols because they are originally synthesized from creosote, a byproduct of bitumen production.
Like their namesake, cresols have a very pungent industrial aroma. But importantly, many of them bear similarities to the smell of horse and human urine, which is not surprising given that both contain large amounts of pelargonic acid.
This may seem like a rather strange aroma for a perfume, but phenols are important for maintaining certain floral scents such as jonquil and ylang-ylang. They are also used to create fancy bouquets of lilac and hyacinth.
It should be noted that most perfumes contain phenols, added there as a synthetic or natural component. Interestingly, salicylic acid, an important element in aspirin, is also a phenol.
5. Amber.
Ambergris is a secretion from the intestines of sperm whales. Scientists are still not sure exactly which animal organ produces ambergris, but what is certain is that perfume ambergris must spend years floating in the ocean to be suitable for use. Fresh ambergris, which you can find by killing and gutting a sperm whale, is absolutely useless for perfume because it has an incredibly unpleasant aroma.
After a long aging process, ambergris loses much of its off-putting aroma and becomes softer and slightly floral. Amber is also used as a fixative because even a tiny amount will allow the perfume to stay on the skin for several days even after just one application. Therefore, this ingredient was previously added to almost all perfumes.
Unlike many of the other items on this list, the ingredient's use in modern perfumes is not limited by animal welfare or unpleasant odor, but rather by its incredibly high cost, with prices starting at $26,000 per kilogram and rising sharply depending on the quality. The price of ambergris is so high because most of it is found on beaches and many people pass by without realizing that a stinking piece costs a lot of money.
In the past, ambergris was used as a dietary supplement, for example King Charles II was very fond of it and regularly ate it with scrambled eggs.
4. Indole
Indole is a chemical that can be found naturally in a wide variety of flowers (mostly white ones such as orange blossoms, jasmine and lilies). This is a very strong chemical with a distinct fecal odor. Its use in perfumery adds naturalness to floral compositions. Synthetic jasmine root will not smell like jasmine until a small amount of this poop-like scent is added to it. In modern minimalist perfumes, indole is often used to add a hint of jasmine.
Interestingly, indole is formed from a chemical that behaves much like serotonin, interacting with receptors in our brain and causing us to feel euphoria. In fact, LSD is an indole alkaloid, and this reaction is the reason why so many people take it. Of course, a healthier choice is to simply inhale the scent of a bouquet of jasmine flowers, which will give you the same pleasure without the risk of seeing insects crawling out from under your skin.
3. Civet musk.
Civet musk (civet) is an extract from the gonads of the palm civet, a mammal that lives in Africa and India. The most expensive civet musk comes from farmed animals in Ethiopia. The aroma of musk is rotten and extremely strong. It has been used in perfumery and as a food additive for a very long time.
Like many of the ingredients on this list, when highly diluted, civet musk produces a unique and very attractive floral aroma. It was used in very large quantities in the famous "Chypre" by Francois Coty's (1 percent of the formula) and, as noted earlier, in the original "Chanel No 5" by Ernest Beaux. Most perfumes until the end of the 20th century contained civet in small quantities. Even today, luxury perfumes still use this ingredient, although the most popular perfumes use synthetic substitutes, as in the case of "Jicky" by Guerlain, who no longer use natural animal products in any of their perfumes.
In the past, civet musk was counterfeited to increase traders' profits. The main impurities were honey and baby feces, which really smell terrible. The standard test for the purity of civet musk was a tongue test.
2. Mercaptans.
Mercaptans are a foul-smelling group of chemicals. They have a sulfuric aroma reminiscent of rotting cabbage. Since all mercaptans have a sulfuric aroma, their use in perfumery is dictated mainly by the subtle differences between their types. For example, ribes mercaptan has a blackcurrant aroma, while furfuryl mercaptan has a coffee aroma. A good perfumer knows how to use these ingredients in a way that minimizes the sulfur aroma and enhances the accents.
Mercaptans, along with the ethane sulfide mentioned above, can be found in human gases.
1. Skatol.
Skatole is the most repulsive of the scents listed here. Even when diluted, the smell is unbearable. So unless you combine it with other ingredients, it won't even come close to being a floral scent. Skatole is a compound that can be found naturally in excrement and bitumen. It's a real stench. It's essentially the scent of shit.
While skatole is actually part of the indole family, it is so nasty that it really deserves its own place on this list and most definitely the top spot.
Skatole is also part of the aroma of animal waste and can also be found in trace amounts in many flowers, such as jasmine and orange blossom. When combined with indole, skatole helps give these flowers a strong erogenous tone.
Perhaps the most famous perfume containing skatole in doses that could easily be considered illegal was "Nuit de Chine" by Maurice Schaller from 1913 for Les Parfums de Rosine. "Nuit de Chine" was a fougere (fern) based perfume built around the scent of sandalwood, skatole, peach and rose. If you open a bottle of this fragrance, skatole will be the first thing you smell, but it is so well balanced with the other components that you won't be able to stop sniffing it.
And therein lies the reason why these strange ingredients find their way into the perfumes we love: they cause a very intense and positive psychological effect in our brain, unlike artificial substitutes that cannot cause such a strong reaction.
Cheap and expensive perfumes, the main features of a low-grade perfume, comparative characteristics of products in different price categories, tips for choosing.
Contents of the article:
High-quality perfume is a product of the creative work of perfumers, an expensive development, complemented by the efforts of other participants in the production process. Currently, most women cannot imagine their life without using perfume, because this is the key to the individual image of its wearer. It ensures the creation of a pleasant smell on the body and around a person and gives a good mood. The main characteristic feature of high-quality perfumes is the aroma, its structure, durability, and safety of use. This article describes the main parameters by which you can distinguish cheap perfumes from expensive ones.
Signs of cheap perfume
At all times there have been people who, without spending a lot of money, tried to make dishonest money on someone else's name. Perfume is considered one of the most attractive product categories for scammers, which is why there are a large number of low-quality perfumes on the modern market. In such conditions, lovers of expensive fragrances should be extremely careful not to be deceived, but to purchase a good product at a decent price.
Among the variety of perfume products, it is quite difficult to decide not only on the aroma. The market is filled with both high-quality goods and cheap ones. The concept of “budget perfume” most likely means low quality. Perfumes, in the production of which high-quality expensive materials were used, cannot be cheap, there are no big discounts on them. Therefore, when a store offers perfume with a discount of more than 10%, rest assured that it is a fake.
Let's list the main features of cheap perfumes:
- First of all, low price;
- The color of the liquid is too bright;
- Presence of sediment in the bottle;
- Poor quality packaging;
- Unstable aroma;
- Monotonous smell throughout its sound;
- A short or too long tube inside the bottle;
- Negative reaction of the body to sprayed perfume.
Comparative characteristics of cheap and expensive perfumes
Each product in the perfume industry has several parameters, thanks to which you can distinguish an expensive product from a cheap one. It is known that original perfumes cannot cost little, but cheap ones can have both low and high prices. That is why, in order to avoid deception, it is recommended to pay attention to the composition of the perfume, as well as some of the most important characteristics for the buyer - smell, durability, sillage.
How to distinguish cheap perfumes from expensive ones by composition
The composition of a perfume is the key to its quality. It is known that there are a lot of natural basic and auxiliary substances used in the production of perfumes, each of which has cheap synthetic analogues that can cause great harm to the body.
The main difference between expensive and cheap perfumes is that manufacturers of elite quality fragrances use expensive natural ingredients, while manufacturers of counterfeits use synthetic ingredients that have low cost. Hence the price of the final product.
The main components of expensive perfumes: organic products, alcohol, distilled water, essential oils. It is worth understanding that the content of these ingredients must be optimal. The formula of each fragrance is carefully developed by professional perfumers in such a way that the resulting complex mixtures are capable of gradually unfolding. The latest and most accurate equipment is used in production.
Let's describe the main components of perfumes for a deeper understanding of the differences between cheap perfumes and expensive ones:
- Fragrance. These are substances designed to create aroma and cover the sometimes unpleasant odor of the perfume base. Original expensive perfumes use natural fragrances, the cost of which is quite high. Cheap ones use synthetic analogues or add much less natural fragrances to the mixture.
- Alcohol. Typically, ethyl alcohol is used to produce perfume. But to reduce the cost of the product, counterfeit manufacturers often use technical methyl alcohol, which can cause allergies or more serious health problems and give perfumes an unpleasant odor.
- Dyes. Manufacturers of expensive perfumes do not use brightly colored pigments, so quality products will never have bright colors. The use of caustic dyes in cheap perfumes is fraught with the appearance of stains on clothes and irritation on the skin.
- Preservatives. The content of this category of substances in cheap perfumes can be up to 80%. Many of these preservatives can cause allergies. Most often they are used to prevent the development of microbes in perfumes.
If the packaging contains names such as benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate, a-pinene, camphor, then you should refuse to purchase such perfumes, because the listed components cause severe health disorders, for example, convulsions, dizziness, difficulty breathing, digestive disorders, kidney function, pancreas, etc.
Durability of expensive and cheap perfumes
An important indicator of a perfume is its persistence, which is a temporary characteristic of the sound of the aroma. In other words, this is the ability of a perfume to stay on the body and clothes for some time. The duration of durability is from the moment of application of the product until the odor completely evaporates. Let's look in more detail at how to distinguish cheap perfumes from expensive ones.
It is generally accepted that cheap perfumes have poor durability, the smell quickly disappears, or the pleasant aroma is replaced by the unpleasant smell of excipients. And dear ones, on the contrary, are held for a long time, gradually opening up and giving pleasant sensations.
It is known that the durability of perfumes is determined by the concentration of the perfume composition within the total volume of the mixture. In quality products this figure should be at least 15%. In expensive ones it can reach 40%. In this case, the aroma lasts from 5 to 12 hours. However, due to the fact that natural fragrances are quite expensive, in cheap perfumes manufacturers save on essential oils to reduce costs, and the resulting concentration does not exceed 10%. This in turn leads to a decrease in the durability of the aroma (1-2 hours).
However, there is also an option when cheap perfumes still have high durability. But is it worth believing that such durability can indicate good quality - no, of course not. Indeed, in this case, cheap synthetic ingredients that are hazardous to health are used to fix the smell.
The difference between cheap perfume and expensive perfume by smell
An important feature of high-quality perfumes is the complexity of the perfume composition. Expensive perfumes have a multifaceted aroma that changes during its presence on the skin and body.
The structure of the aroma can be represented as follows:
- Top note. In the first 15-20 minutes after applying the perfume, an initial smell is felt; it is quite strong, but very unstable. During the specified time, the least persistent components of the product evaporate, which include citrus essential oils chosen by the perfumer, for example, bergamot, lemon, tangerine, orange or thyme, tarragon, rosemary, coriander, rosewood.
- Middle note. The top note gradually transforms into a middle note, which is more persistent. The scent stays on the skin for up to 2 hours. For the middle note, perfumers use spicy, woody or floral components, for example, jasmine, verbena, geranium, rose essence.
- Base note. It is the final chord of a fragrant symphony. The main smell stays on the body for more than 10 hours. The base note can sound like vanilla, sandalwood, sage, oak moss, musk or other components.
Manufacturers of budget perfumes mostly pay attention only to the first note, which first of all makes an impression on the buyer. After all, it is quite difficult to understand how the smell will change after 20 minutes or 2 hours. That is why the top note of a perfume, no matter how beautiful it may be, cannot be the key to a high quality perfume.
Trail of expensive and cheap perfumes
At its core, smell is a physical particle characterized by very light weight. This gives it the ability to adhere not only to skin, hair and clothing, but also to hover in the air. That is why, during evaporation, many fragrances leave behind a trail, which is an invisible fragrant trace left behind by the wearer of the perfume.
The trail of perfume is a rather multifaceted phenomenon. Some perfumes do not have it at all; they are noticeable only when directly approaching the source of the aroma. Such perfumes are more delicate in contrast to “train” ones.
Its absence cannot indicate the low quality of the perfume. But the presence of a trail of unpleasant aroma is a sure sign of cheap ingredients in aromatic liquids.
The trail of aroma of an expensive perfume consists of all three notes, which unfold in the same way as it does directly on the skin.
Each perfume has its own unique mark. The uniqueness of the train is also ensured by the physiological characteristics of the wearer, for example, skin type (oily, normal, dry). The aroma and its intensity are also affected by weather conditions, such as humidity levels.
Criteria for choosing expensive perfumes
There are several step-by-step ways to determine the quality of a perfume, as well as its originality. The main thing is to be careful when choosing perfume.
So, by what parameters should you choose perfume and cut off cheap analogues:
- By price. High-quality perfumes cannot be cheap, because... their cost is quite high due to the use of expensive ingredients in production to ensure their high quality.
- By packaging. Cheap analogues can easily be weeded out based on the quality of packaging. The cardboard must be of high quality, its inside must be snow-white. Inside the box there should be a cardboard retainer that holds the bottle of perfume and prevents it from moving inside the package. If the box is also packed in a plastic cover, then its joints should be sealed with an even seam.
- By name. Often, manufacturers of fakes slightly change the name, as if making a typo in it, i.e. They only change one letter. In this case, the name is perceived by the inexperienced buyer as original. A manufacturer of expensive perfumes will never allow the name of a product to be misspelled.
- According to the manufacturer indicated on the packaging. If the packaging with a well-known name does not contain the words “made in”, but only the name of the country is indicated, then the perfume is fake. Original high-quality perfumes are produced in France and Italy. Well-known companies do not issue licenses for the production of their products, therefore, if, for example, with French perfumes, a country other than France is indicated on the packaging, then they are fake.
- By color of perfume. Real expensive perfumes always have delicate shades. Cheap ones often add dyes of intense color - bright pink, bright blue, etc.
- By smell. You should check the scent before purchasing. To do this, you need to apply it to a blotter (a special strip to get acquainted with the aroma), and then inhale the smell from a distance of 15 cm. A high-quality perfume will leave a pleasant feeling from light, unobtrusive notes. If the smell is pungent, then the perfume is low-grade.
How to choose perfume - watch the video:
Real perfumes aren't cheap. What are they made of? To create perfumes, both natural ingredients and materials of chemical origin are used. Naturally, perfumes made using raw materials of plant origin will cost more than those made from synthetic aromatic substances. So what are perfumes made of?
Perfume is the most persistent flavoring agent. They consist of:
- Essential oils – 15-30%;
- 96% alcohol;
- Distilled water;
- Dyes.
It is this composition that allows the aroma of perfume to unfold gradually. When applied, we feel the top notes of the composition. Over time, the smell changes, revealing the “heart notes” of the perfume. After which the aroma changes again, and we feel the final “chords” of the perfume - the trailing notes. A perfume can contain up to 300 components, which together create a unique aroma.
Perfume raw materials
To obtain an interesting composition, perfumers use various raw materials. Currently, more than 6 thousand items are used. Not only flower petals are used, but also roots, stems, herbs, fruits, buds, and mosses. And how many of them do you need? For example, to obtain 500 ml of jasmine essential oil, you need to process two tons of the petals of this flower. To obtain the same amount of rose oil you will need 2500 kg of rose petals. The most expensive component of perfume is iris. Its cost reaches 40,000 euros per 1 kg. But progress does not stand still. Chemists have long learned to synthesize oils from more accessible components. These substances are called aldehydes. This doesn't make the smell any worse, but the price is lower.
Animal oils play one of the important roles in creating perfumes. Their task is not only to add an interesting note to the composition, but also to achieve harmony between the smells of human skin and perfume. There are four such components:
- Ambergris is a hardened fragrant product formed in the intestines of the sperm whale.
- Castoreum is secreted by the endocrine glands of beavers.
- Musk is an odorous secretion obtained from the glands of the male musk deer (roe deer family).
- Civet is a substance secreted by the glands of some animals from the civet family, civets.
Unfortunately, the animal does not always remain alive, so one cannot help but appreciate the contribution of chemists who search for and find substances that can replace these components.
Chanel
Some people are interested in the composition of Chanel No. 5 perfume. I would like to note that the creation of this composition would not have been possible without chemical synthesis. The basis of perfumes is dominated by aldehydes - chemically synthesized components. Top notes are pink pepper, iris, hyacinth, pineapple and patchouli. The heart of the composition is citruses and jasmine. Well, the final chords are vanilla, white musk, vitiver and patchouli.
And finally, I would like to note that real perfumes “last” on the skin for 5 hours or more, and on clothes for up to 30 hours. The same scent “reveals” differently on different people. And if you liked any of your friend’s perfumes, don’t rush to take the same one for yourself. First, spray a little on your wrist and sniff after a while, maybe it’s not your scent.
