Zing! Limes aren’t just for summery G&Ts: a top note of lime makes for the brightest and most energising of first encounters, in a fragrance – lighter and sweeter than a lemon, but at the same time more intense. ‘A fantastically juicy, tart citrus note,’ explained perfumer Julie Massé to The Perfume Society. ‘When you smell it in a fragrance, you can almost feel it smarting on your tongue…’
Citrus aurantifolia is native to India, where lime’s used in Tantric rituals to ward off evil spirits from the body. Today, limes are farmed in many places (South Asia, Florida, Italy, Cuba and Mexico), and to capture a lime’s fragrant bounty a process of expression (squeezing) or distillation can be used. Just one downside to this uplifting fruit: the oil must be used with caution: anything but the teensiest o squeeze can prove ‘phototoxic’, staining the skin if worn in sunlight. At this time of year, spritz onto scarves
Smell lime in:
Evody Pomme d’Or
Floris Limes
Jo Malone London Lime, Basil & Mandarin
Revlon Charlie Silver
Thirdman Eau Monumentale
Penhaligon’s Extract of Limes
To read about hundreds of fragrance ingredients here
