It sure seems like nearly every quality women's perfume comes from France, which has been the center of the fragrance industry for over 300 years. The actual beginnings of using fragrance have different origin though.

History shows us that it is actually Egypt that birthed the use of fragrances with them being used in rituals, as incense, and in lotions and ointments as far back as 3500 years ago, a few hundred years after that the women of Egypt were using certain scents for their cosmetic and aphrodisiac qualities.

Getting back to our story, France began expanding into the perfume industry in the 1600's by first offering perfumed gloves. It seems that ladies didn't like the way that leather gloves made their hands smell so they were perfumed. It was so popular that perfume makers and glove makers joined together to market them.

Within a century or so the use of fragrances had advanced to the point that they were used by themselves on a large scale and the invention of the eau de cologne using citrus and spices caused a virtual revolution in the fledgling industry. Along with the topical applications these early scents were even combined with wine and used as a mouthwash.

Believe it or not the fragrance industry, especially in France has never seen a decline. The statistics of usage are astounding with nearly all women using some kind of perfume and half of the men! Every year sees at least a hundred new perfume scents brought to market in France and the cost of bringing these products out isn't cheap, it can be as much as twenty million dollars. Add to that the fact that a fragrance it not even considered to be successful unless it does over $200 million in sales.

The exact geo center of the world's fragrance market can probably be narrowed down to the city of Grassed near Cannes. This is where the industry developed from the early partnership with the glove makers, a fad that didn't last, to now being the center for perfume making. Most perfume makers today use more chemicals and synthetics to make their fragrances but the flowers that grow here in Grassed are where they draw their inspiration.

The area employs over two thousand people in the fragrance industry and is responsible for over a half billion dollars in sales annually, making up half of the entire French perfume market. No wonder they are known all over the world for fine perfume.