I’ve always loved perfume but not everyone feels that way. When I was a teenager, I used to pour on some of the perfume from my mother’s dresser before we went to a family event and my uncle, who was blinded in the war, used to bark when I walked in the door – ‘who’s wearing the perfume?’
He never liked perfume to begin with and after he was blinded, his sense of smell may have become more acute. She was a fan of some of the heavier perfumes and like most women from that time, she had Chanel No. 5 in her collection, which remains a favorite to this day.
What many people may not realize is that men wore perfume in ancient times, where it was used, how and why. So, where does perfume hail from? The use of perfume and scent is mentioned as far back as the bible and in ancient manuscripts, with references to production sites in ancient Egypt, the land of Israel, India, Mesopotamia and in the Far East.
The importance that incense and perfume gained exceeded in many cases that of silver, gold, and precious stones. Yes, even for men. A lot of the plants and spices to make perfume were brought from the east: cinnamon from Ceylon and China; aloes from India, Spikenard – one of the more expensive perfumes plants – from Nepal and the Himalayas.
The first civilization to go on the record as using perfume regularly and with nuance was Egypt according to Ackerman’s Natural History of the Senses, a book dedicated to senses, of which, smell is the first chapter. Taken from her book about early Egyptian times, “their elaborate burial and embalming practices required spices and unguents. They burned tons of incense in elaborate worship rituals.”
Scent apparently also became an obsession during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut of the New Kingdom and this was B.C. (1558-1085).
The Egyptians used massive quantities of perfume and incense in religious cults, anointed their bodies to ward off magical hexes, used it for medicinal reasons and of course, for reasons they do today – as beauty lotions. Many of the gorgeous and decadent bottles (not the ones in this article) came from the Egyptians who created glass vessels to display them and many Venetian glassmakers modeled their styles after the ancient Egyptians and Romans centuries later.
Alexander the Great was known to wear perfume and was a heavier user of incense, using saffron to soak his tunics. Ancient he-men were heavier perfume users as well, as a way to extend their territory so to speak.
In Ackerman’s Smell chapter, she notes that the pre-Greek culture of Crete used perfume and athletes anointed themselves with aromatic oils before the games. Additionally, “Greek writers around 400 B.C. recommended mint for the arms, thyme for the knees, cinnamon, rose or palm oil for the jaws and chest, almond oil for the hands and feet, and marjoram for the hair and eyebrows.
Egyptian men at a dinner party, would receive garlands of flowers and their choice of perfumes at the door. Flower petals would be scattered so they could make a fragrant stir when guests trod on them. Statues at these banquets often spurted scented water from their orifices. Before retiring, men would crush solid perfume until it was an oily powder and scatter if onto his bed so that he could absorb its scent while they slept.
Babylonian and Syrian men wore heavy makeup and jewelry, as well as laboriously arranged coiffures of tiny ringlets set with perfumed lotions. Apparently in ancient Rome, the passion reached such heights that both men and women took baths in perfume, soaked their clothes in it and perfumed their horses and household pets. The gladiators applied scented lotions everywhere before they fought.” 
Doesn’t this all sound heavenly? Leave it to the Christians to screw things up. Wearing of perfume died down for awhile with the rise of Christianity and their culture of constraint, guilt and being anti self-indulgent (oh please). John Trueman points out in The Romantic Story of Scent, “The men of the ancient world were clean and scented and the European men of the Dark Ages were dirty and unscented. Those of medieval times and of modern times up to about the end of the 17th century, were dirty and scented…….Nineteenth-century men were clean and unscented.”
Damn puritans…..I’d love a culture that embraced oils and scents in my bed, on my floor and draped around the men in my world. I asked a friend of mine who spends half his time in Antarctica about the ratio of men to women there and then quickly added, “how often do men bathe up there?” It’s one of those ridiculous questions someone would ask if they’re clearly not familiar with a particular culture and Antarctica is most definitely, foreign to me. It’s the only continent I’ve never been to…..his response made me laugh. “There’s JUST enough women in Antarctica to make the men bathe and shave.”
Bathing and shaving doesn’t mean that they adorn themselves with perfume but Antarctica too is about as foreign to northern African, Middle Eastern and the Mediterranean cultures who embraced perfume from early days.
The French were on board too. Louis XIV used to perfume his rooms with rose water and marjoram, wash his clothes in cloves, nutmeg, aloe, jasmine, orange water and musk and according to Ackerman’s research, he insisted that a new perfume be invented for him every day. CRIKEY! “At ‘The Perfumed Court’, of Louis XV, servants used to drench doves in different scents and release them at dinner parties, to weave a tapestry of aromas as they flew around the guests.”
While we wear perfume in today’s culture and the Puritans no longer get in the way, it isn’t embraced the way it was in ancient times. So many people are allergic to perfumes or have skin sensitivities because of all the added chemicals that come with modern scents, that the world of scent and fragrance isn’t quite as much fun as it was in ancient times. That said, there are plenty of original natural oils, from lavender and rosemary to sage and wintergreen that can not only perk up your nose but provide healing and relaxing benefits as well.
Like my mother, grandmother and great grandmother, all of whom I had the pleasure to experience, more than one bottle of perfume sits on my dresser and that tradition isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Photo credits in order: Wysinfo.com (first two), Ancient Roman Glass Bottles (courtesy of Israel Antiquity Authorities), RobbinsRanch Art Glass, ChessaleeinLondon
Renee Blodgett is the Founder and Managing Editor of We Blog the World, a global travel, culture and lifestyle publication exploring the world through the lens of meaningful experiences, human connection and cultural depth. Having lived in 10 countries and traveled to 95, Renee has spent much of her life immersed in the people, traditions, landscapes and ideas that shape how we experience the world.
Since launching We Blog the World in 2007, she has written and produced extensive editorial coverage spanning boutique and luxury travel, culinary experiences, arts and culture, wellness, adventure, technology, spiritual traditions and transformative travel. Her work is rooted in the belief that travel is about more than where we go—it is also about what a place, culture or encounter awakens within us.
Renee brings more than three decades of experience across journalism, photography, media, brand strategy, technology, wellness and global storytelling. She has worked with companies and organizations around the world on brand positioning, communications, product launches, media strategy, speaker positioning and storytelling. Through Blue Soul Media, she works with authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and purpose-driven brands to clarify their message and expand their impact, which includes speaker coaching/training for high-profile stages such as TED and bringing authors’ work to market while retaining authors rights.
She is also the co-founder of Blue Soul Earth, an educational platform exploring consciousness, ancient wisdom, spirituality, healing and the intersection between science and the nature of reality. Renee is the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS, a conversational series bringing together leading voices in science, technology, consciousness, wellness and spirituality.
Her growing body of work also includes Blue Soul Living, which extends her interest in consciousness and well-being into the spaces we inhabit, exploring how intentional design, energy and environment can support greater harmony and connection.
Renee is the award-winning co-author of the bestselling Magdalene’s Journey and founder of the Magdalene Collection, inspired by women’s voices, stories and wisdom across cultures and generations.
A longtime photographer and storyteller, Renee has documented people, places and cultures around the world and produced photographic collections focused on destinations including the Galápagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome and Ecuador. She also co-founded Traveling Geeks, an international initiative that brought entrepreneurs, journalists, creators and technology leaders together with their counterparts in other countries to exchange ideas and explore innovation across cultures.
Renee’s work has been recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and others for her influence in media and social storytelling. Across her work in travel, media, consciousness and culture, a common thread remains: curiosity about the world, the stories that connect us and the ways meaningful experiences can change how we see ourselves and one another.
