Lemon Leaf
Note Profile
Also Known As
Lemon Leaves
About
Lemon Leaf is petitgrain citronnier, the steam-distilled foliage of the lemon tree. It is the leaf oil that stayed lemony: two suppliers describe the same three things in the same order, a sharp bright lemon, a clear green leaf, and a bitter-woody tail. It is cleaner than the bitter orange petitgrain most people know.
Scent Profile
Bright, tart citrus over a clear green leaf, the two roughly equal rather than one carrying the other. A dry woody bitterness runs underneath and is what marks it as a leaf oil rather than a peel oil, and an aromatic herbal thread ties it to the rest of the petitgrain family. The sour edge is the tartness of the fruit, not fermentation. Cleaner and more lemon-forward than bitter orange petitgrain.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
Origin
Steam distillation of the leaves and young branches of Citrus limon, mainly in Italy. The oil is pale, close to water-yellow, and pourable. It is less common than petitgrain bigarade from the bitter orange tree and sits alongside petitgrain mandarinier as one of the three well-known species petitgrains.
Usage in Perfumery
A heart material with top-note impact, used to extend and modify citrus accords and to give colognes, chypres and fougeres a green lemon backbone that lasts longer than peel oil. It pairs with lemon, lime and cedrat, helps build orange blossom effects, and was part of the petitgrain base of the original Green Irish Tweed. One supplier measures 16 hours on a smelling strip.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Lemon Leaf
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Lemon Leaf appears prominently.
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