Ingredient Guide
There are two main types of orange used as fragrance materials: sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and bitter orange (Citrus bigaradia). Sweet orange trees are smaller than bitter orange trees, but their fruit is larger. Furthermore, although bitter orange is phototoxic, sweet orange essential oil obtained by expression is not phototoxic. With bitter orange, the flowers (neroli and orange blossom) and the leafy branches (petitgrain) are also used to produce essential oils, whereas sweet orange is essentially used for its fruit alone.
In the perfume industry, sweet orange, sometimes simply called orange, tends to be preferred to the more bitter-smelling bitter orange.
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
Natural sweet orange essential oil brings a sweet, juicy brightness to top notes, like the moment an orange peel is squeezed. Obtained from the peel, it creates a succulent citrus impression centered on its main constituent, d-limonene. Combined with other citrus materials, lavender, or spices, it makes a fragrance’s opening softer and more approachable. Its character changes with processes such as expression, distillation, and decolorization. Sweet orange peel oil is a different material from neroli, obtained from bitter orange flowers, or petitgrain, obtained from the leaves.
Choosing Sweet Orange Fragrances
Sweet orange is a useful starting point if you enjoy orange’s rounded sweetness. Lemon brings tartness; berries and flowers add a more colorful character. Herbs or woods can leave a quieter scent after the citrus.
Fragrances to Explore
Colonia Eau de Cologne (Acqua di Parma)
Sweet orange, lemon and bergamot lead into lavender, rosemary and woods. An eau de cologne pairing rounded citrus sweetness with herbs.
Essential Scents R03 BLACKCURRANT BERET (THREE)
Sweet orange and mandarin are layered with blackcurrant, ho leaf and geranium, with jasmine and frankincense. For those who want berries and flowers alongside their orange.
Find Your Next Fragrance
To explore more fragrances through the notes you enjoy, open our Fragrance Finder. Choose “Favorite fragrances & notes”, then search under “Favorite notes”. Select from the suggestions shown and press “Next”. You can start with notes even if you do not have a favorite fragrance.
