Perfume’s history began over 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, where resins were burned as sacred incense—hence the Latin origin per fumum (“through smoke”). While the Egyptians pioneered scented oils, it was the Islamic Golden Age that revolutionized the craft by perfecting distillation to extract floral essences.

By the Renaissance, France emerged as the heart of the industry, eventually establishing Grasse as the world’s fragrance capital. The late 19th-century introduction of synthetic compounds marked the birth of modern perfumery, allowing for the complex, artistic, and accessible scents we experience today.