The citrus (hesperidic) family in perfumery
Coralie Frébourg
Fresh, tonic, sparkling, vitamin-packed: citrus is perfumery's shot of pep. Welcome to the hesperidic family, the family of Colognes, summer and zest squeezed over everything.
What is the citrus family?
Citrus (or hesperidic) notes are one of the six original olfactory families defined by the French Society of Perfumers (SFP), alongside floral, woody, oriental, fougère and chypre.
The name comes from the Garden of the Hesperides in Greek mythology, where golden apples grew, often associated with citrus fruits. The family includes lemon, bergamot, orange, mandarin, grapefruit, lime…
A bit of history: Cologne
Does the name “Cologne” ring a bell? Of course: it's one of the oldest types of perfume. Its concentration is very low (3 to 6%) and it doesn't last long on the skin, but we love it in summer for its clean, fresh feeling. Napoleon was a fan, to the point of going through liters of it.
Colognes then inspired a whole family of fresh perfumes, including fougères and today's great fresh fragrances.
What do citrus notes smell like?
Fresh, tonic, sparkling and vitamin-packed smells. They combine with almost every other family: woods, flowers, herbs…
They are mostly top notes, the ones that give a perfume its first kick. The flip side: they are very volatile and evaporate quickly. Hence the importance of fixatives such as musks.
Another quirk: citrus fruits are the only fruits (along with blackcurrant bud) whose scent can be extracted naturally, by cold-pressing the zest. All other fruits are recreated through synthesis (see our guide to fruity notes).
Key raw materials
Natural materials are marked with an asterisk.
- Bergamot essence*: zesty, tea, sour
- Grapefruit essence*: orange-like, aldehydic, fresh
- Orange essence*: fruity, zesty, sour
- Lemon essence*: zesty, sour, fresh
- Mandarin essence*: bitter, tangy, orange-like
- Lime essence*: cola, lemony, sharp
- Litsea cubeba essence*: lemony, spicy, aromatic
- Citral: verbena, lemongrass, fresh
- Dihydromyrcenol: laundry, floral, fresh
- Methyl pamplemousse: grapefruit, fruity, rosy
- D-limonene: orange, tangy, vitamin-packed
Iconic perfumes
- Eau de Cologne Impériale, Guerlain (1853), Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain: aromatic citrus
- Eau Sauvage, Dior (1966), Edmond Roudnitska: aromatic citrus
- CK One, Calvin Klein (1994), Alberto Morillas: aromatic citrus
- Light Blue, Dolce & Gabbana (2001), Olivier Cresp: citrus floral
- Eau d'Orange Verte, Hermès: citrus
- Néroli Portofino, Tom Ford (2011), Rodrigo Flores-Roux: aromatic citrus
- Roger & Gallet's fresh waters, the Hermès Jardins and Jo Malone's Colognes
This list is not exhaustive: there are many beautiful launches, some iconic, others more commercial.
Where to find citrus at Versatile?
We don't sort our perfumes into families, but we love our citrus squeezed, candied or in a cocktail. The solar, marshmallowy lemon of Presser le Citron. The lemon and limoncello of Rital Date. The tonic citrus and tea of Culot Thé. And, on the bitter orange blossom side, the neroli of Sea, Sud & Sun. Our tip: as an alcohol-free Extrait de parfum, these notes last much longer than in a Cologne.
FAQ
Why don't citrus perfumes last long?
Because citrus molecules are light and evaporate fast. To make them last, perfumers play on concentration (an Extrait de parfum lasts much longer than a Cologne) and on fixatives such as musks.
Can you wear a citrus perfume in the sun?
Be careful: some citrus essences, like bergamot, are photosensitizing. Add to that the alcohol in classic perfumes… We explain everything in Perfume and sun.
What's the difference between neroli and citrus?
Neroli comes from the blossom of the bitter orange tree, not its fruit. It is floral and fresh, while citrus notes come from the zest.
