During the eighteenth century, changes of fashion trends did not much affect perfume production. Foundations and beauty powders took an important place in the industry. Strong perfumes, commonly used during the seventeenth century, were substituted by lighter scents. One of the most famous was manufactured in Cologne (Germany) from an Italian recipe and soon became the first European perfume.

The new appeal for spas and thermal cities, the growing interest for baths, and a progressive return to better hygiene rules would considerably augment the production of toilet soap and lotions. The nineteenth century started the third era of perfumery.French perfumers, liberated from corporate constraints, found in the middle class, created from the Revolution, a new clientele and started to build prosperous businesses that since 1809 used a nearby glass factory.

The finished perfume product became synonymous with Paris and following the trend, perfume from Paris would soon obtain a European reputation. It is around 1830 that the process of vapor distillation came into general use in the perfume industry. This new process made the use of alembics bigger and more complete. We see the birth of a giant factory where usage and discoveries of the new analytic chemistry necessitated the addition of real laboratories at the same time that the culture of aromatic plants became commerialized and understood.

The amount of raw materials coming from overseas opened the way to new compositions and manufacturing processes that would benefit from synthesis chemistry started in 1791 with the discovery of the artificial caustic soda used in the soap and cosmetic industry.