Chemistry in Every day life: Perfumes

Perfumes

Perfumes are the materials which give fragrance. A good perfume should have three essential ingredients. They are
1. Vehicle or Solvent
2. Fixative
3. Odorous substance

1. Vehicle or Solvent

The vehicle or Solvent is used to keep the odour producing substances in solution. Ethanol and water mixture is most commonly used in perfumery.

2. Fixative

Fixative regulate the evaporation of various odoriferous components of perfumes. Sandal wood oil, Benzoin, glyceryl diacetate and esters of cinnamyl alcohols are used as fixative.

3. Odorous Substance

The function of odorous substance is to provide pleasant fragrance to perfume. Odorous substances may be natural or synthetic. Terpenoids like linalool is a natural odoriferous substance. Anisaldehyde (p-methoxy benzaldehyde) is an example for synthetic odoriferous substance.


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