This Summer, Dial in Orange Blossom
What’s hot or not this summer? What should the keynote of your aroma be in the coming months?
Want your sillage to be captivating, trendy, refreshing, discreetly sexy, uplifting, and, above all, buzzy?
According to influencers and discerning Noses, Orange Blossom is THE summertime scent this year. Patchouli has had its day in the sun. Gourmand is the go-to. Zesty is in. Was it ever out? The top summer orangey scent must be Houbigant Paris Orangers en Fleurs.
The orange tree is the symbol of fertility and abundance, and also the emblem of eternal love. The orange tree has been eternally associated with weddings. One of the House of Houbigant’s historic clients, Queen Victoria, wore a silk headdress wreathed in orange blossoms and ornamented her white, silk-satin gown bodice with petal sprays at her 1840 marriage to Prince Albert. From that point onward, Victorian brides wore pastoral coronets of orange blossoms. Orange Blossom, Rose Absolute, and Egyptian Jasmine Absolute headnotes; heart notes of Tuberose, Eau de Brouts, Ylang Comores, and Nutmeg and base notes of Cedar Wood and Musk.
But there are also:
Netherlands-based Hiram Green’s new Tryst which uses 550 blossoms to make one 59ml bottle. Green is a self-trained Canadian perfumer living in the Netherlands. He says: “A perfumer never chooses favorites, but I cannot lie – orange blossom is a special material to me. There is a ton of it in the TRYST formula!”
Jo Malone London Orange Blossom Cologne
24, Faubourg from Hermès
Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger
Parfum d’Empire Azemour les Orangers by perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato,
L’Artisan Parfumeur
Parfums De Marly Valaya Eau de Parfum
Diptyque‘s Eau Des Sens Eau de Toilette
Le Labo Fleur D’Oranger 27
Orange blossom may be used to create a wide variety of perfumes. It is also used as a natural “fixative” to extend the shelf life of other components in a perfume.
Says the Experimental Perfume Club: “Orange blossom is a complex ingredient, almost a fragrance in itself. It has a complex scent and can be interpreted within a large palette of notes. Sometimes, it builds on its heady, floral-animalic note while at the same time, it has a fresh, baby-like, soapy clean scent.
“Because orange blossom natural extracts are extremely expensive, perfumers often reproduce the smell of the flower from a blend of natural and synthetic perfumery raw materials. Synthetic components like Aurantiol, Anthranilate de Methyl, and Nerolidol can be used to reconstitute the smell of orange blossom, as part of an accord.”
The evergreen Bitter Orange tree of the Rutaceae plant family is believed to be a hybrid, bred from the Pomelo and Mandarin Orange trees. Around 100lbs of blossom produces approximately 1lb of oil.
Both Orange Blossom and Neroli oil are derived from the Citrus aurantium. Petitgrain is extracted from the leaves. When steam distillation is used to extract the oil from the flowers, the oil produced is called Neroli. When’s when solvent extraction is used, the by-product oil is called Orange Blossom. Neroli tends to have green, spicy tones whereas Orange Blossom is sweeter and more floral.
Anne Marie Orsini, Princess of Nerola in Italy introduced the essence of the Bitter Orange tree into the fashionable circles of the 17th Century Italian aristocracy. To fragrance their gloves.
The best high-end Neroli eau de toilettes and eau du parfums include Czech & Speake Neroli, Eauso, Acqua di Parma Colonia, Prada’s Infusion de Fleur D’Oranger and Tom Ford Neroli Portofino Acqua, which was launched in 2019 and the result of an expedition undertaken by Edward Bodenham, acing the footsteps of his ancestor Robert Floris. Inspired by a maritime voyage Neroli and lemon combine with oceanic notes of sea-salted bracing freshness in its top layer with the dominant Neroli accord continuing into the heart, wrapped in jasmine flower, ginger, and aromatic fennel seed. Oakwood (indigenous to Corsica), musks and amber create a warm, woody, and aromatic base that has staying power.
North African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt are highly regarded sources of orange blossom. As, increasingly, is Californian.
Orange blossom is also indolic (an aphrodisiac) because it contains indoles. Tryptophan is found in the proteins of indoles. This is the same chemical in your Thanksgiving turkey, which makes you feel replete!
