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Orange blossom in perfumery

Orange blossom has many facets in perfumery. Sylvaine Delacourte was surrounded by it during her trips to Seville in Spain and Marrakech in Morocco. It inspired her to create the Orange Blossom Collection.

Origin of orange blossom

Orange blossom is native to Asian countries, India and China. In the 9th century, orange tree was planted all around the Mediterranean thanks to the Arab conquests.

Initially cultivated all around the Mediterranean basin, orange blossom is nowadays mainly produced:

In Tunisia, in the regions of Cap Bon and Nabeul. Tunisia is the world's leading producer of orange blossom.
In Egypt, in the south of the Nile, where the land is suitable for its cultivation.
In Morocco, in the northern regions, towards Rabat and Fez.

Orange blossom is cultivated in these countries on an area of about 600 hectares.

For perfumery, orange blossom has been cultivated in France since the beginning of the 19th century. The decline of the production began about fifty years later. Indeed, in 1956, the winter was very hard on the crops, which were lost one by one. Only the farms in Vallauris, a small town in Provence, continue to cultivate the bigaradier today.

Botanical description

The Bigaradier tree produces neroli, orange blossom absolute, orange blossom water absolute, bitter orange essence and petit grain. Also known as bitter orange tree or Seville orange tree, it is a tree of the Rutaceae family that can grow from 3 to 7 metres in height. It has smooth, green and oval leaves, the flower is small and white. Its yellow heart exudes both the sweetness and beauty of childhood and woman's sensuality.

Harvest and olfactory power

Orange blossom tree reaches full maturity at 15 years. One orange tree can produce up to 15 kg of orange blossoms. The harvest takes 3 to 4 weeks. A picker collects about 10 kg of flowers per day.

Orange blossom is appreciated for its olfactory and medicinal powers, but also for perfuming dishes.

Its characteristic trail is due to the following molecules: limonene, linalool, linalyl acetate, indole, ocimene, neryl acetate, geranyl acetate, nerolidol, beta-caryophyllene, etc.

Yield and price

One tonne of orange blossoms produces about 1.1-1.3 kg of neroli and 1.2-1.4 kg of orange blossom absolute. When 1 kg of flowers costs 1-3€, 1 kg of neroli is worth 3000€-5000€. 1 kg of orange blossom absolute is worth 4000€-6000€.

Beliefs

Thanks to its recognized benefits in aromatherapy, orange blossom relaxes, reassures and awakens positive thoughts. The whiteness of orange blossoms evokes an ideal of purity and chastity in the Renaissance. Earlier in the 15th century, orange blossom was seen as a symbol of love, marital longevity and prosperity.

In the Christian tradition it is perceived as a symbol of Mary's virginity. Indeed, the orange tree is associated with the Virgin: Mary is a virgin and a mother, just as the orange tree bears flowers and fruit. Because of this association with religion, the orange blossom is still a symbol of marriage today.

Orange blossom was also very popular at the court of Louis XIV. In addition to the vast orangery outside the castle, many orange trees adorned the interior of the palace.

Orange blossom fragrances

Orange blossom produces neroli and orange blossom water through distillation. It gives absolute orange blossom through volatile solvents. Its branches and leaves are distilled into petit grain. The peel of the orange fruit produces the essence of bitter orange.

There is also a little-known product obtained from the leaves of the orange blossom called eau de Brout. It is the water recovered from the distillation of the petit grain. Its scent has floral notes with slight animalic overtones. There is also a Brout water absolute.

These different extracts obtained from the bigaradier tree make it an essential pillar of perfumery. These essences and absolutes can be combined with many different olfactory families, from bewitching orientals and gourmands to musks and white flowers. Each scented product extracted from the bitter orange tree can have fresh, green, aromatic, white floral, citrus, fruity, honeyed, leathery and animalic facets.

These facets are highlighted and worked in Sylvaine Delacourte's perfumes. For an icy orange blossom, discover Oranzo, which glides over the skin like a fresh and rejuvenating waterfall. Oscarine, goddess of the northern forests, evokes a fruity and juicy orange blossom. Ozkan, an Ottoman prince-poet, leaves a trail of leathery orange blossom behind him. An Italian princess named Olyssia will reveal a floral orange blossom with velvety petals on your skin. Finally, our olfactory journey ends in Egypt with Osiris, king and god of ancient Egypt, who transmits to the wearer all the roundness of a delicious orange blossom confronted with sesame.

Orange blossom in perfumes

Eau de Colognes:

Original eau de Cologne - 4711 (1792)
Eau de Cologne impériale - Guerlain (1860)
Cologne Come Together - Mugler (2001)
Escale à Portofino - Dior (2008)
Neroli Portofino - Tom Ford (2011)
Cologne indélébile - Editions de parfums Frédéric Malle (2015)
White Neroli - Mizensir (2015)
Matin Blanc - Yves Rocher (2019)

Eau de parfum:

Narcisse Noir - Caron (1911)
L’heure Bleue - Guerlain (1912)
Giorgio - Giorgio Beverly Hills (1981)
Classique - Jean Paul Gaultier (1993)
24 Faubourg - Hermès (1995)
Zagara - Santa Maria Novella (1996)
La chasse aux papillons - l’Artisan Parfumeur (1999)
Fleurs d’Oranger - Serge Lutens (2003)
Fleur d’Oranger - Fragonard (2004)
Pure Poison - Dior (2004)
Néroli Blanc Intense - Au pays de la fleur d’Oranger (2005)
Fleur d’Oranger 27 - Le Labo (2006)
Divin’Enfant - Etat libre d’Orange (2006)
Armani Code Femme - Giorgio Armani (2006)
Love, Don’t Be Shy - By Kilian (2007)
Louanges Profanes - Pierre Guillaume (2008)
APOM - Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2009)
Infusion de fleur d’Oranger - Prada (2009)
Le parfum - Elie Saab (2011)
Guimauve - Reminiscence (2013)
Love Story -Chloé (2014)
La fille de L’air - Courrèges (2015)
Nue au Soleil - Prada (2015)
Perdizione - Nobile 1942 (2016)
Eau de Néroli Doré - Hermès (2016)
Guimauve de Noël - Parle moi de parfum (2016)
Tomboy Néroli - Parle moi de parfum (2016)
Néroli Outrenoir - Guerlain (2016)
Eau des Sens - Dyptique (2016)
Basil & Néroli - Jo Malone (2016)
Une amourette Roland Mouret - Etat libre d’Orange (2017)
Sale Gosse - Editions de parfums Frédéric Malle (2017)
Histoire d’orangers - L’Artisan Parfumeur (2017)
Comme une fleur - Roos & Roos (2017)
Parco Palladiano VIII - Bottega Veneta (2017)
Zagara - Via dei Mille (2017)
Berber Blonde - Sana Jardin (2017)
Néroli Intense - Nicolaï (2018)
Shalimar Souffle d’Oranger - Guerlain (2019)
Libre - Yves Saint Laurent (2019)
Oranzo - Sylvaine Delacourte Paris (2019)
Oscarine - Sylvaine Delacourte Paris (2019)
Ozkan - Sylvaine Delacourte Paris (2019)
Olyssia - Sylvaine Delacourte Paris (2019)
Osiris - Sylvaine Delacourte Paris (2019)

Sylvaine Delacourte fragrances

Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musk and Vanilla Collections. You can try them thanks to the Discovery Boxes (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials as you have never smelled them before.