Sometimes bitter orange is referred to ‘bigarade’ – but many of us know it best as the too-sour-to-suck-on Seville orange, used for making marmalade. The bitter orange tree is actually incredibly versatile, in perfumery: most neroli/orange blossom and petitgrain extracts come from this single tree, giving their soft/sweet/fresh qualities to countless delicious perfumes. (Petitgrain, which you can read about here, is extracted from the leaves, for instance.) But bitter orange is a fragrance note in its own right, widely used in eau de Colognes and chypre fragrances, as well as adding a whoosh of freshness to florals.
Smell bitter orange in:
Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta
Christian Dior Miss Dior Cherie L’Eau
Giorgio Armani Armani Code
L’Occitane Orange Leaves Eau de Cologne
Loilta Lempicka L de Lolita
Van Cleef & Arpels Cologne Noir
