- Latin name
- Citrus aurantium (bitter orange)
- Family
- Rue family (Rutaceae)
- Origin
- Paraguay, Italy, Tunisia, Spain
- Parts used
- leaves and young twigs
- Raw materials
- essential oil
- Extraction
- steam distillation
- Olfactory group
- citrus (green)
- Position in the pyramid
- top and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- linalyl acetate, linalool
Petitgrain is the oil from the leaves and young twigs of the bitter orange — the same tree that gives neroli and orange blossom. It is the “green” side of the orange tree.
How it smells: fresh, green, slightly bitter: crushed orange leaves, a light floral shade of neroli and a woody dryness. Petitgrain sounds cleaner and cooler than peel citrus oils, with a feel of fresh greenery.
Petitgrain is one of the classic ingredients of colognes, next to bergamot and neroli. It gives fresh compositions a longer “green” life, because it lasts on the skin a little longer than citrus peel oils.
What it pairs with: with neroli and bergamot — the classic cologne, with lavender — fresh fougères, with jasmine and orange blossom — green white florals, with vetiver — fresh elegance, with musk — clean “crisp shirt” fragrances.
Good to know: “petit grain” is French for “small grain”: the oil was once obtained from small unripe fruits that looked like peas, and only later from the leaves.
Fragrances with Petitgrain
