the.com/perfumery

alchemy that turns whale vomit and beaver glands into things you spray on dates

means A perfumery is a place where perfumes are made or sold — or the craft and art of making them.

from From French parfumerie, built on parfum ("perfume"), which traces back to the Latin per fumum — literally "through smoke," recalling the ancient practice of burning incense and aromatic resins so their scent rose with the smoke. The -ery ending (as in bakery, brewery) marks the place or trade where the thing is made. So buried in the word is the oldest idea of fragrance: not something sprayed, but something smoked into the air.

ambergris
prized scent base from sperm whale intestinal waste
castoreum
vanilla-like flavor harvested from beaver rear glands
nose careers
master perfumers are literally called noses
oldest known
4,000-year-old perfume factory found in Cyprus
molecule count
a single fragrance can blend hundreds of ingredients
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