The Mystery of Ambergris
Why a waxy ocean find became perfumery's most mythologised ingredient—and the science behind it.
Read more →Documenting The World of Perfume
History of Perfume is a research-driven archive covering how scent is made, regulated, worn, and remembered—from Bronze Age incense makers to today’s sustainable chemists.
Start With The Timeline
Follow the cultural and scientific milestones that turned aromatic rituals into modern perfumery.
Ancient Foundations
Temple incense, trade routes, and the earliest extraction techniques across Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Islamic Golden Age
Distillation breakthroughs and the scholars who carried perfumery knowledge to Europe.
Industrial Age
Synthetics, global trade, and the birth of modern fragrance houses in the 19th century.
Modern Chemistry
Laboratory innovation, sustainability debates, and the molecules shaping contemporary scent.
From Our Archive
Recent essays blend historical scholarship with contemporary reporting.
What We are Researching Next
These projects are in development—expect citations, sourcing notes, and expert interviews as they publish.
Ingredient Dossiers
We are compiling primary-source backed profiles for foundational materials—think sandalwood, rose, and iso E super—with transparent sourcing notes.
Perfumer Voices
Oral histories and archival interviews help map how individual perfumers shaped trends, especially outside the mainstream narrative.
Regulation & Safety
From IFRA amendments to historical adulteration scandals, we track how rules have changed what ends up in the bottle.
Share Sources or Expertise
Have primary documents, lab notes, or first-hand experience to add? We’d love to hear from you.