Neroli, 8 Million Hand-Picked Flowers for 1 Kilo of Oil

Top: fresh, sweet-floral, slightly citrusy with a green-terpeney lift. Heart: rich, warm, honeyed-floral, delicate yet surprisingly tenacious. Base: soft, slightly animalic, powdery-warm. Neroli oil is brighter and fresher; orange blossom absolute is heavier, warmer, more honeyed.

Neroli is the essential oil steam-distilled from the freshly picked flowers of the bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium var. amara). It is named after a 17th-century Italian princess, Anne Marie Orsini of Nerola, who popularized its use to scent gloves and bathwater. Today it remains one of the most important and costly citrus-floral oils in fine perfumery.

The flowers are picked by hand in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and to a smaller extent in the south of France and the Comoro Islands. Timing is critical, the flowers must be processed within hours of picking. Steam distillation yields the precious neroli oil, while the distillation water is collected separately as orange flower water (a product used in both perfumery and cooking). Solvent extraction of the same flowers yields orange blossom absolute, a different product with a richer, more honeyed character.

Neroli oil is a pale yellow mobile liquid with a fresh, sweet-floral, slightly terpeney top note and a rich, warm, almost animalic-floral body. Its character is simultaneously delicate and powerful, a sweetness that is not cloying, a freshness that is not sharp, and a floral quality that is neither heavy like jasmine nor green like lily of the valley. The indole content (lower than in jasmine, but present) gives neroli a subtle depth and sensuality.

Orange blossom absolute is darker, thicker, and sweeter, a dark orange viscous liquid with a honeyed, deeply floral warmth that is more suited to the heart and base of compositions. While neroli sparkles in the top notes of colognes and eaux de toilette, the absolute adds warmth and richness to heavier florals and orientals.

Both materials are indispensable in cologne formulations and blend naturally with bergamot, lavender, rosemary, petit grain, jasmine, and all the classic fougère and chypre materials.