There are accounts throughout history in the use of perfumes among every nationality. From religous ceremonies to scented baths, the love of perfumes is found among all classes and in every civilized country.

To put is plainly, strong odors are in bad taste. I do not object with the use of perfumes, but their abuse is extremely disagreeable. What is perfume, but the counterfeit aroma of sweet flowers. All extracts should be like the faint breath of flowers, floating lightly on the air, but never burdening it. Too much of a good thing is good for nothing.

Victorians held the colonial attitude that everything should be put to good use. For instance, the scented geranium that perfumed victorian parlors was also utilized in the victorian kitchen to scent sugars, scented jams, or rose-scented pound cakes. For recipes click here.

Sprigs of the scented geranium plant were also used in finger bowls at the dinner table. The Behavior Book by Miss Eliza Leslie told of a man who misled the slice of lemon floating in a finger bowl, took it up, drank from it, and exclaimed, "Well! If this ain't the poorest lemonade I ever tasted!"

Victorian women would tie a few fresh scented geranium leaves in a sachet and drop them in the bath for a calming experience that would today be called "aromatherapy." For body & bath recipes click here.

Many women kept journals of their recipes and formulas, and many of these recipes have been passed from generation to generation. For scents to use around the home click here.