Perfume comes from the Latin per fumus (through smoke). The smoke
of incense, burning woods and spices were the most ancient scents.

Some useless facts courtesy of directcosmetics.com

When Cleopatra headed down the river to meet Mark Anthony, her
ships we perfumed so that he could smell her coming.

At the court of Louis XV, etiquette decreed that a different
perfume be worn every single day.

Rumour has it that en route to the guillotine, Marie Antoinette
trailed drops of her favourite Houbigant perfume along the way.

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