First thing first, some info about history of perfumery

July 21, 2006 at 6:45 am (History of Perfumes)

Perfume is thousands of years old – the word “perfume” comes from the Latin per fume “through smoke”. One of the oldest uses of perfume comes form the burning of incense and aromatic herbs used in religious services, often the aromatic gums, frankincense and myrrh, gathered from trees. The Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture followed by the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. The earliest use of perfume bottles was by Egyptians and dates to around 1000 BC. The Egyptians invented glass and perfume bottles were one of the first common uses for glass.There has always been a trade in scents and by the year 2002 perfume had become a $10 billion industry. Today women have fragrance wardrobes of at least six different perfumes, rather than a single signature perfume, keeping one special perfume for occasion moments.

Products that enhance the feel of skin and the smell of the body have been highly valued in every culture.  Trade routes introduced spices to other parts of the world and a wider range of scents could be made.  In the past people often mixed their own potions using home methods creating their own aromatherapy products.  Many homes had a still room where essences were steeped out of flowers and herbs.

Chemical advances in perfumery: The late 19^th century was the first real era of perfume as we know it when new scents were created because of advances in organic chemistry knowledge.  Synthetic perfume products were used in place of certain hard to find or expensive ingredients.

Now this industry is so huge and so technologically advanced that it is impossible to explain everything in one article, however, I would be posting various posts regarding the current status of this industry. 
Information given above has been taken from following sources:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blperfume.htm
http://www.fashion-era.com/perfume_history.htm