In ancient Egypt, the priests honored their gods through prayers accompanied by perfumed fumigations. They used powerful scents such as turpentine resin, Oliban, Galbanum; Ladanum, and Myrrh, highly cherished by the Egyptians and favoring the elevation of the soul.

Perfumed oils, ointments and make-ups are also used in the rituals : each morning, the priests cleanse the statues of their gods, then oint and make-up their faces.

With these offerings, the Egyptians could be ensured of their gods' protection for the journey into the beyond, which required the maintenance of their bodily integrity. This belief explains the practice of embalming which preserves the body intact in rot-resistant and perfumed substances.

To prepare these substances, the Egyptians used genuine laboratories where they employed techniques such as cold-pressing, high temperature maceration in olive, sesame, or almond oil, as well as a technique resembling a form of distillation. Besides the gum-resins, countless flowers and leaves enter into perfume composition. However, the most sought after odors remain those of the lotus, the lis, and the iris.

Perfumed ointments and oils obtained in this manner are then preserved in precious receptacles made of stone, metals, or glass paste (stained glass).

Mortals are not indifferent to perfumed substances and make-ups, using them initially for their magical and therapeutic powers. Because of their olfactory and esthetic power they quickly become instruments of seduction. The use of make-ups spawns the fabrication of various accessories : spoons, mortars, spatulas, kohol pots and applicators...

In spite of this profane use, perfumed substances remain for the Egyptians first and foremost a prayer or an offering to their gods.

"The brain is first removed through the nostrils with the help of an iron hook and by injecting dissolving drugs. After incising the flanks with a sharp Ethiopian stone, the intestines are removed and washed with palm wine and purified with ground aromatics. The abdomen is filled with myrhh, cinnamon, and other aromatics and then sewn back up. The cadaver is then plunged into a natron solution where it lies for 7O days...Afterwards the body is washed and enveloped with fine strips of linen caked with a rubbery substance..."

Herodotus (circa 484 - circa 420 b.c.)

Receptacles of various shapes contain all the ointments placed into the tombs : rounded belly receptacles or majestic goblets characterized by a large opening, covered with a flat cork and a cloth. All sorts of stones are used to this effect but Alabaster dominates.

The vases and small receptacles used for storing perfumes and more or less liquid scented oils (mainly in alabaster up to the New Empire, at which point glazed frit is used in a rare display of audacious fabrication and technique) are sometimes replaced by small flasks in multicolored glass. They are all typified by their resemblance to long necked vials fit with handles, and thus more appropriate for pouring liquids rather than storing them, as in the ointments' case.

In order to keep her skin white as a symbol of her high social status, the Egyptian noblewoman, covered her face with white make up. She colored her cheeks with a mixture of iron oxide and calcium carbonate and spruced up her lips with red ochre mixed with fat.

The key is to highlight the eyes. While the use of make-up is initially therapeutic -to protect the eyes from frequent illnesses in a country where the light is often blinding - it becomes an element of seduction afterwards.

Men and women circle their eyes with a broad green contour of Malachite green, but more often they use galena black known as Mastim or Stim, meaning "that which makes the eyes speak" by lengthening the eye's opening. Even today, certain countries such as those of the Near East and India remain attached to the use of kohol.