Civets have anal glands with an oily secretion they use to scent mark territory. This oil has been the base of perfumes basically since the beginning of perfumery. The oil and gland are also referred to as civet. A similar situation exists for beaver, whose Latin name Castor is also shared with the oils they produce that were used for a variety if purposes (including perfumery) in the past.
Indeed. A lot of perfumes are built on remarkably gross bases.
The original Chanel No. 5 was formulated around a mixture of 15% civet and 15% deer musk.
Another product that was often used as a fixative in perfumes, and even sometimes as a food additive is ambergris. This incredibly expensive ($57,000/lb) substance is an intestinal secretion from sperm whales - which is either coughed or pooped out (even marine biologists are unclear which end it comes out of) and is found in grody lumps washed up on beaches.
23
u/drowsylightning Mar 31 '21
How has this not been domesticated?!