Armenian paper

At the end of the 19th century, Auguste Ponsot discovered that Armenian households would burn plants in the genus Styrax as a fragrance.

Ponsot adopted this habit, and, with the help of the pharmacist Henri Rivier, created his own recipe wherein benzoin (resin) was dissolved in alcohol then let to soak into blotting paper.

[3] The company Papier d'Arménie, based in Montrouge in the suburbs of Paris, has been managed by the co-founder's great grand-daughter, Mireille Schvartz, since 1991.

The strip is lit and blown on until the paper begins to glow and release the vanilla scent characteristic of resin compounds.

Papier d'Arménie has been found to release benzene and formaldehyde in a study of interior deodorizers conducted by a consumer's union.