The use of perfumes can he traced back to the earliest recorded histories.Up until this century, the ingredients used were of natural origin and were therefore mostly expensive to produce and often uncertain as regards availability of supply.
In 1921, Coco Chanel introduced her now famous No. 5 which owed its uniqueness to the use of synthetic aliphatic aldehydes. The success of this fragrance proved to be a water-shed in the perfume industry.
Nowadays, the fragrance ingredients market is dominated by synthetic materials which offer a reliable source of inexpensive building blocks for the creative perfumer.
What is more, these materials usually offer improved performance over their natural counterparts when it comes to perfuming functional products such as detergents, hard surface cleaners or dishwashing powders.