Petitgrain

When speaking of femininity in perfumery, it can refer to many different styles. Indeed, women do not reveal themselves through a single facet and can just as easily appear as femmes fatales as fresh and spontaneous young women. Perfumers therefore hold many secrets in order to reveal an image of femininity that is sparkling, fresh and soft. In this case, note that petitgrain is an ingredient widely used to this effect.

What is petitgrain?

Petitgrain is obtained by distilling the flower, leaves or twigs of the bitter orange tree. The bitter orange tree, for its part, is a tree measuring between 5 and 10 m in height. It is also called the sour orange tree and belongs to the Rutaceae family, meaning citrus trees. It spread at the beginning of the Christian era to India and was introduced to the south of France through the Crusades. Indeed, the Moors cultivated a great many bitter orange trees in the Seville region of Spain. This, in fact, earned it the nickname of Orange of Seville. Its leaves are oval and glossy, covered with a sort of waxy cuticle. Its flowers, for their part, are bitter and sometimes white or pink. They bloom in early spring and prove to be highly fragrant.

The distillation of petitgrain

Petitgrain essential oil is produced by steam distillation of the branches or leaves of the bitter orange tree. This is indeed a technique very commonly used by perfumers to extract the scent of citrus fruits such as orange, lemon, mandarin or bergamot. Its scent is fresh, green, floral and sparkling all at once. As such, it is a signature scent of eau de cologne. Petitgrain is also very often present in skin creams or relaxing massage oils. Furthermore, many baby products contain it as well. Petitgrain essential oil has properties similar to those of neroli essential oil. However, it has the significant advantage of being much less expensive than the latter, which has a direct effect on the final price of perfumes. Moreover, its refined scent acts directly on nervous balance and on imagination. There is nothing like the use of petitgrain to make a little one inventive and to enhance their talent!

That said, do not be mistaken, neroli also appears in its own right in certain perfumes. It is present in the famous Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune by Guerlain, as well as in Belle de Soleil by Fragonard, in Cologne by Thierry Mugler, in Chrome by Azzaro, and in Catch Me by Cacharel.