Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, a fixative, and alcohol used to give parts of the human body and sometimes other objects a long-lasting and pleasant smell. Bath fragrances for the caring woman tend to be relaxing and comforting.

Scents and fragrances enhance and mystify women

The essential oils are obtained by distillation of flowers, plants, and grasses, such as orange blossom and roses. Extraction by enfleurage is used if distillation is not possible, for example in the case of Jasmin Absolute. Enfleurage is basically extraction by absorption of aroma materials into wax and then extracting the odorous oil with alcohol. Aromatic chemicals are also used. Fixatives, which bind the various fragrances together, include balsams, ambergris, and secretions from the scent glands of civets and musk deer (undiluted these have unpleasant smells but in alcoholic solution they act as preserving agents). The amount of alcohol added depends on whether perfumes, Eaux de toilette, or Eaux de Cologne are required.

Plants have long been used in perfumery as a source of essential oils and aroma compounds. These aromatics are usually secondary metabolites produced by plants as protection against herbivory as well as to attract pollinators. Plants are by far the largest source of fragrant compounds used in perfumery. The sources of the these compounds may be derived from various parts of a plant. A plant will often be more than one source of aromatics, for instance coriander aerial portions and seeds have remarkably different odors from each other. Orange leaves, blossoms, and fruit zest or the respective sources of petit grain, neroli oil, and orange oil.

* Flowers: Undoubtably the largest source of aromatics. Includes the flowers of many species of roses and orchids, as well as jasmine, osmanthus, mimosa, and tuberose. Although not traditionally thought of as a flower, the unopened flower buds of the clove are also a commonly used flower. Orchids are not commercially used to produce essential oils or absolutes.
* Leaves: Leaves commonly used for perfumery include patchouli, sage, violets, rosemary, and citrus leaves. Sometimes leaves are valued for the "green" smell it brings to perfumes, examples of this include hay and tomato leaf.
* Roots, rhizomes and bulbs: Commonly used terrestrial portions in perfumery include iris rhizomes, vetiver roots, various rhizomes of the ginger family.
* Seeds: Commonly used plant seeds include coriander, caraway, cocoa, tonka, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, and anise.
* Fruits: Commonly used fruits include raspberry, strawberry, apple, citrus zests such as those of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. However, fruits do not always impart the expected "fruity" odors to perfumes. Notable exceptions include vanilla pods, star anise, pepper, allspice and durian.
* Woods: Highly important in providing the base notes to a perfume, wood oils and distillates are indespensible in perfumery. Commonly used woods include birch, cedar, sandalwood, juniper, larch, and pine.
* Bark: Commonly used bark includes cinnamon bark.
* Resins: Valued since antiquity, resins have been widely used in incense and perfumery. Highly fragrant and antiseptic resins and resin-containing perfumes have been used by many cultures as medicines for a large variety of ailments. Commonly used resins in perfumery include labdanum, frankincense/olibanum, myrrh, Peru balsam, gum benzoin, agarwood, and various copals. Pine and fir resins are a particularly valued source of terpenes used in the organic synthesis of many other synthetic or naturally occurring aromatic compounds.

Fragrance oils, also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, and flavor oils, are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils that are diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil.