Mood Scent 4 Orange Blossom, Fruit and Branches
It’s is time for our monthly Mood Scent 4 post! Where Portia (on A Bottled Rose), Samantha (I Scent You A Day), Megan (Megan In Sainte Maxime) and I write about a different subject relating to perfume. This time we concentrate on the bitter orange tree also known as Seville orange tree or it’s official Latin name: citrus aurantium var. amara (or bigaradia). It might be due to my Spanish heritage but I love everything from the bitter orange tree, Neroli, Orange Blossom and Petit Grain, which I will discuss in this post and three of my favourites perfumes.
First some background about the different parts of the bitter orange tree which are used in perfumery; the twigs/branches and leaves, orange blossom and peel. The bitter orange fruit can not be eaten as it is too bitter but the peel is used to make Seville marmelade. The tree was brought to Spain by the Arabs in the 8/9th century.
Cold-pressing the orange fruit peel produces bigarade, which is the essential oil of the bitter orange, distilling the twigs and leaves gives petit grain (bigarade, this method is also used for other citrus fruits like mandarin and lemon) and the orange blossoms result in neroli using steam distillation while the same flowers result in precious orange blossom absolute by using solvent extraction.
To make things even more diffuse, there is another kind of very bitter orange tree on the Caribbean island Curaçao which is used to make the liqueur Blue Curaçao. This tree is called laraha (in Latin C. aurantium var. currassuviencis).
Some perfumes are a tribute to the whole bitter orange tree like Neroli Intense from Patricia de Nicolai and Ramon Monegal Entre Naranjos. I will discuss both in this post.
Parfums de Nicolai Intense Eau de Parfum
Neroli Intense is a tribute from French perfumer Patricia de Nicolai to the whole bitter orange tree. With its refreshing green crisp leaves reminiscent of a recently steam ironed white cotton shirt, blossoming orange flowers dripping of honey and sweet candied mandarin, each part of the bitter orange tree is captured in a refined and elegant Eau de Parfum. The tart green orange tree leaves stay around for a few hours, showing Patricia de Nicolais talent and craftsmanship as a perfumer. This longevity is a true delight for those of us who are always disappointed by its usual short presence in fragrances.
Ramon Monegal Entre Naranjos
In Entre Naranjos (meaning Among Orange Trees in Spanish) Spanish perfumer Ramon Monegal created an even crispier tribute to the bitter orange tree by adding a large amount of petit grain from the leaves of the bitter orange tree creating a colognesque scent.
Tradionally neroli, petit grain, flowers (roses) and herbs (rosemary or lavender), spices and some woody notes are used in cologne. But Ramon Monegal uses refreshing spearmint instead of rosemary and a touch of clove reminiscent of the classic Spanish cologne Alvarez Gomez from 1912. This way adding a modern and Spanish touch to the fragrance.
Entre Naranjos wears luxurious due to the anchoring woody cedarwood, patchouli and amber accord providing more depth and longevity to the fragrance. Luckily you can still smell Entre Naranjos after a few hours unlike a typical cologne.
In Andalusian (in Southern Spain) cities like Seville, Cordoba and Malaga bitter Orange trees decorate the old centres, scenting it’s narrrow streets and squares. Entre Naranjos brings to mind walking in the centre of Malaga with its small blossoming orange trees and passing a handsome elegantly dressed Spanish man scenting of recently used shaving cream and an expensive cologne.
Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger
Fleurs d’Oranger is probably one of my most worn orange blossom fragrances. Although it means orange flower, Fleurs d’Oranger smells of lush white orange blossoms and tuberose. These flowers smell as bold the glitz and glam of the 1980s with its oversized shoulder pads and wavy long hair. Not freshly picked dewy petals in the morning but flowers in full bloom at the end of the day leaving the impression of blossoming flowers dripping of thick honey.
Fleurs d’Oranger smells like golden luminous sunshine shining on the pavement of an avenue near the Mediterranean Sea at the end of a late summers day.
These are the three bitter orange (neroli, orange blossom and petit grain) fragrances I picked. Have a look on Samantha’s blog I Scent You A Day Megan’s blog Megan in St. Maxime and Portia on A Bottled Rose! I love to read their picks and see what they chose. Sometimes we choose the same fragrances which is great as we don’t know the scents we will pick.
Do you like orange blossom, neroli or petit grain in perfumes? Which ones are your favorites ?
More posts of bitter orange fragrances I wrote include: Penhaligon’s Castile A scent of Azahar , Parfums d{Empire Azemour , Editions Frederic Malle Cologne Bigarade .
Disclosure: All fragrances mentioned in this article were bought by me. I won Neroli Intense in a contest at the Perfume Lounge. Bottles which are sold now, could be different from the ones on the photograph. The Serge Lutens bottle is from January 2009. I haven’t tried other Fleurs d’Oranger formulations but can imagine more recent formulations being different.
All the photographs were made by me and an artistic expression.
Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan 
Hermes Caleche 
Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte 
Guerlain Shalimar 
Dior Miss Dior original 
