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Saturday Question: What Are Your Top 3 Citrus Perfumes?

Following great tradition started by two wonderful bloggers, Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) and Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies), once a week I or one of the guest writers will keep the lights on in this virtual leaving room, but I hope that you, my friends and readers, will engage in conversation not only with me or the other host, but also with each other.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #20:

What Are Your Top 3 Citrus Perfumes?

If ever it is time to wear citrus perfumes, July is it almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. So, what are your best citrus perfumes? Do you wear them only in summer, or are you a year-round citrus wearer?

In the interest of the idea of engaging in conversation with others, if you see somebody mentioning perfume that you also like, reply to their comment: not only it’ll add your vote to that perfume, but also it’ll allow you to name more than three perfumes total (usually everybody has issues with naming top N of anything, whatever that N is, whatever that “anything” is).

And a bonus question: what is your favorite citrus fruit to eat?

My Answer

I’ll start with a fruit: if I had to choose just one citrus to eat, even though it would be very hard (I love many of them), my choice would be grapefruit.

When it comes to citrus perfumes, there are not that many of them in my collection: when it’s hot, I tend to wear light florals rather than citruces. But I can do top three, I think: my long-time favorite grapefruit Guerlein Pamplelune, (though, I still haven’t moved beyond the second mini bottle), Atelier Cologne Clementine California that I’ve been enjoying for a while and my most recent discovery and a new love J-Scent Yuzu.

 

 

What Are Your 3 Top Citrus Perfumes?

 

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72 thoughts on “Saturday Question: What Are Your Top 3 Citrus Perfumes?”

  2. Eau de Guerlain, Eau de Cologne (Chanel Exclusif), and The Different Company Divine Bergamot, as was.

    But that Orange Sanguine mentioned above is lovely too! Good job I don’t like grapefruit or the question would be even tougher. ;)

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    • Ah, I love Eau De Cologne from Chanel, too-so now I get to name three more, correct? And I’ll slightly cheat here: all of Goutal’s citrus scents please me-I find they really know how to do citrus. Cologne Bigarade also has a place in my wardrobe. And I find that Bond 9 doesn’t seem to get a lot of love online, but their Little Italy is amazing-jucy mandarine, with a jasmin dry down. The man who made it worked with Goutal on Eau de Hadrien. As for citrus fruit-in the middle of winter we get Ugli fruit, which is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarine. It’s a funny looking fruit-it has a slightly misshapen appearance. The rind is super thick so it’s easy to peel. And it’s jury and delicious.

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  3. Orange Sanguine is top of the list for me too. I’m a bit stuck to come up with two more as citrus is a genre that’s not well represented in my collection. I also have Blood Orange from Shay &Blue, slightly different drydown to OS. Will have a look to see if I have any more. Back soon. . .

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  4. Hi Undina, I love citrus too. For eating, those juicy big satsumas that we only get in winter here in the UK are sublime. For my scents? One of them has been discontinued and only exists now going off in rare bottles on Ebay – Les Eau des Caron Fraiche, lemons and oak moss, gorgeous stuff.
    My current squeeze (get it?) is Guerlain’s super fleeting Eau de Fleur de Cedrat and my all-time love is Clarins Eau Dynamisante. I wrote about in the attempt to get more guys giving it a whiff, it would be an amazing unisex scent. Here you go:
    http://odiferess.blogspot.com/2015/10/review-clarins-eau-dynamisante-my.html
    I thought about you this morning as I tried to get Joseph to pose for a feline perfume shot, he’s not as compliant as Rusty!

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    • As Rusty gets older (and more jaded and less curious), it is harder and harder to interest him into anything new long enough to take a nice picture, but having iOS “live pictures” definitely helps.

      I won’t be chasing discontinued beauties, but if I get a chance, I’ll check out Clarins Eau Dynamisante.

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  5. Have I gone into spam again? I have no idea what the problem is with my WordPress account? It constantly kicks me out and I have to log in every time I comment. And then it sometimes sends comments into the ether. I’m

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  6. My favorite citrus is Acqua Viva by Profumum Roma, with lots of glorious Amalfi lemon. My 2nd favorite is Teo Cabanel’s Meloe and equally loved is Chanel’s Deauville. I’m wearing the 2 latter scents, but unfortunately my budget will not allow a bottle of the Profumum so I wear little dabs from my samples from time to time.

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      • Rusty is extremely cute. But I take all the credit for the pictures: he isn’t too good at posing, but I learned some tricks how to make him to earn his treats. I’m sure that had I been able to explain the concept of effort/reward, he would have been following me to check if I wanted to take more pictures ;)

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    • Acqua Viva is a little too citrus-y for me, but I agree that it’s nice. I don’t think though that this type of a scent is worth the price of that perfume – at least, not for me.

      I like and wear Deauville as well.

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  7. Hi there Undina and crew,
    Citrus! I have a very particular memory that still makes me smile. Way back at the turn of the century I went to India for the first time to meet my partners family and do some travelling. We took six weeks and by week four I was so sick of Indian food that I craved ANYTHING that reminded me of home. Varun bought me some mandarines. The first bite was one of the happiest mouthfuls ever. It totally saved the last two weeks of the holiday. So ever since I have loved mandarines the most.
    Perfume? There are a few citrus frags here that I love but these are the three that get the most wear by far. In order of most wear.
    Liberté by Cacharel is orange marmalade
    Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Hermès is kumquat
    4711 Remix Cologne 2018 is a citrus mix
    Portia xx

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    • Portia, I loved that story! I know exactly how you felt! You described it so vividly and sincerely.
      Mandarins also hold special place in my heart (and stomach :) ): this was one of a few treats for New Year holidays when I was growing up.

      Out of the three you mentioned, I tried only Hermes and only on paper. I’ll give it another go if I find my sample.

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  8. I’ll have to choose 3 of my Guerlains
    Limon Verde
    Pampeluene
    Eau de cologne Imperiale

    I love thoselarge juicy Satsumas as well

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  9. I found two more. Lancôme O d’Azur and R & G Fleur D’Osmanthus, which has a very definite sparkling citrus opening.

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  10. As I’m currently searching for a new perfect citrus I’m really looking forward to what others suggest.
    For me for now I’d name these:

    Jul et Mad Aqua Sextius
    Chanel Paris-Deauville
    Prada Infusion de Mandarine

    I also enjoy Nishane Ambra Calabria or Green Water from Jacques Fath. AC Clementine California is lovely too

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  12. Great question. I’ve tried several citrus perfumes, thinking I’d find a perfect one I think, and just seem to settle on a couple after all. I think in general instead of citrus I tend to go for neroli, which is sort of citrus but not quite what you mean I don’t think.
    So, the fact that I’m half way through my 4th bottle of Mandarin Basillic suggests that I really like that one, along with Pamplelune. In the last year I’ve replaced wear time for Pamplelune with Passiflora which smells like a less peepee Pamplelune to me.
    I’ve gone through a bottle of Chanel’s eau de Cologne also, gorgeous lemon. But I think the citrus I love the most might not even be considered a citrus even though it has lots of citrus in it to my nose anyway is Malle’s Eau de Magnolia.

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    • I’m not sure if I’ve tried Mandarin Basilic: since in general I’m not a Guerlain fan, I don’t pay attention to the AA line-up.
      True, I wouldn’t think of Malle’s Magnolia as of citrus perfume, but it doesn’t really matter how to classify perfume – as long as we enjoy it.

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  13. My favorite citrus to eat is grapefruit. I did a sugar detox program that allowed grapefruit as the one fruit per day and by the end I thought it was delicious. My current favorite citrus perfumes are Chanel Paris-Deauville, AC Pacific Lime, and Nicolaï L’Eau Mixte.

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    • How long did your detox go? Have you stopped craving sugar after it? Do you eat it now?

      I find grapefruits delicious even without sugar withdrawal – so I can only imagine how great it should seem if it’s the only fruit you get to eat for a while.

      I’m not familiar with that Nicolai perfume. The other two I like (though, I don’t own Pacific Lime).

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  14. I like Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte, Batucada for its Caipirinha note with lime and Ninfeo Mio. But citrus is not my favorite note, so I don’t have many scents with citrus

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  15. Hi Undina! I love citrus scents! I’ll list six, there’s so many good ones out there.
    Patou’s Eau de Patou, Chanel’s Cristalle edt, Guerlain’s Pamplemousse, Mandarine Basilic, and Philtre d’ Amour, and Clarins’ Eau Dynamisante.

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    • Interesting! One more vote for the Clarins’s perfume: I feel I’m missing out on it :)

      I didn’t consider Cristalle as citrus – I need to revisit my sample.

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      • Clarins scents are under rated (IMO), they have several that are quite good! Eau Dynamisante also comes in a deodorant spray. That was my gateway into my love of scented deodorants.

        Eau des Jardins is a spicy green rose with black currant notes, moderate sillage and great longevity, beautiful dry down….
        Sunshine (by Clarins) is a citrus/yellow floral with tonka, patchouli and linden blossom.

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  16. Funny, I don’t think I even own 3 predominantly citrus heavy perfumes… Not my thing, it seems. I enjoy wearing Cologne du 68 once and again, otherwise freshness for me can come more in the shape of a very cool iris, of LotV. In summer I enjoy white flowers as well.
    I read through all the answers to get inspired, and found it with smokeytoes :-)
    I like Philtre d’amour a lot, and seem to remember liking Eau de Patou ( that’s two and a half :-D ). Which had me very interested in retesting Mandarine Basilic and Cristalle.

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    • I think a recipe for a nice citrus for me is a bright and juicy opening that develops in something interesting. “Standard” citruses disappear too quickly to be seriously considered.
      I also now want to test (again) some of the perfumes mentioned in comments.

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  17. Atelier Cologne Clementine California – Thanks for the encouragement awhile back to purchase…It’s a favorite!
    Jo Malone’s Orange Blossom
    Atelier Cologne Pomelo Paradis – sadly I am out of the sample that I received and haven’t gotten around to purchase

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    • Atelier Cologne is now sold in many stores (Nordstrom, Sephora, NM, etc.), so if you check those out in the next 4-5 months, there will be a sale where you could get PP with some discount.

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  18. I don’t necessarily reach out for citrus when it’s hot … I just look for something not heavy and most turn out to have some kind of citrus.

    Some of my favorites:
    – Orange Sanguine, like many here. I have it in all sorts of sizes AND the special bottleporn not so limited edition since it still seems to be available. I couldn’t resist a good deal (% off at Bergdorfs plus a free 30mL of something else.
    – Les Infusions de Prada Mandarine (SOTD today!)
    – Profumum Acqua Viva – I got my bottle at Fumerie. I met up with AnnE (I think that’s her screen name when she lived in OR) and Ede. We had loads of fun there (and dinner afterwards). I had $300 reward money to spend and I ended up spending the exact amount for the bottle plus two soaps.

    Mandarine Basilic is really nice too. I just have a decant.

    Oh, and not to enable or anything … there is a very nice limited edition gorgeous blue Clementine California bottle.

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    • Prada Mandarin is nice! I should wear it tomorrow.
      As much as I like blue bottles, I’ll pass on a back-up bottle (especially since I can’t even find it online :) ).

      Perfumes bought during trips are usually even more special than other bottles in our collection: they come with their own story from the beginning.

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  19. Citruses are my jam and along with Madagascar vanilla, dominate my collection. My signature scent is L’Occitane Citrus Verbena. Limiting my response to only most-beloved citrus themed scents, I would have to say AdP Bergamotto di Calabria, Fred Segal #10 Citrus Zest, and Guerlain AA Limon Verde. So many others that I dearly love (Nest Paradise, Versace Versense, AG Eau d’Hadrien, Atelier Pacific Lime, AdO Choeur des Anges, AdO Riviera Drive, Fresh Hesperides, Hilde Soliani Bacio, L’Occitane Pamplemousse Rhubarb, Lili Bermuda Sunkiss, By Rosie Jane Lake, Neom Grapefruit Lemon, Tory Burch Tory Burch, Jo Malone Yuja, D&G Italian Zest)–and the list goes on and on!

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    • I love verbena as well! Have you tried the Pre de Provence line? You can order online at Baudelaire dot com. Their vervain soap is glorious, green, and refreshing, French-milled and vegetal based. I’ve used it and the corresponding eau de toilette spray for 30 years.

      They are having a Bastille day 20% off sale (July20) right now, fyi…

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    • That’s an impressive list! And I tried only 3 (three!) out of … 18 (?) you’ve mentioned. Maybe I do love citrus perfumes but just haven’t tried enough of them? :)

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  20. I have several perfumes where citrus is just in the top notes and the rest is a light green floral perfume or citrus and tea notes.

    The best two citrus perfumes I own are Guerlain AA Pamplelune and Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine. As a third one I would name Eau de Patou. I went through several bottles, but hesitate to pay full retail for the re-launched version, so am without it now.

    I am wearing Clementine California and got a compliment on it, so clearly it appeals to many. I find the travel spray I have is enough for me, even if I have used more than half of it in less than a year. Mandarine Basilic fits the same place in my collection, but that’s one I’m a bit tired of. Lancôme Ô de l’orangerie is a very good citrus, and still affordable unlike many other perfumes.

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    • My Orange Sanguine travel spray is almost empty, which makes me now slightly nervous: everybody likes it, will it be available when I need it? :) But I know that it’s not rational :)

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  22. I don’t focus much on citrus fragrances per se, but I love the citrus notes in Un Jardin Sur Le Nil. And another commenter reminded me of Atelier des Ors’ White Collection, which has a common theme of citrus notes. I really love their Nuda Veritas!

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  23. Late to this party, but I want to weigh in. I love green perfumes, which have a tart, bright overlap, but I only have one citrus: Les Nuits d’Hadrien. And citrus is only part of what’s going on there. I think of it as my “summer amber” (though I have no problem wearing heavy heavy Orientals in Texas in summer) wherein the citrus is part of the bitter green herb accord offsetting the amberness. I read somewhere it was being discontinued, so I hastened to buy a backup.

    Chanel Cristalle and original Dior Eau Sauvage have huge doses of hedione, which reads as a lemony jasmine to me. They deliver that bright freshness. I used up a big sample of Atelier des Ors Choeur des Anges because EauMG described it as an orange creamsicle. That comes close enough. Fruity gourmands are not my thing, so I have no desire to revisit, but it was fun and interesting. Powerful stuff. My husband got to take the orange journey along with me, and that was dabbing from a little vial.

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    • It’s never too late on my blog, so thank you for chiming in!

      Les Nuits d’Hadrien is a nice citrus. I forgot about it. I should wear it soon (I have a small bottle). It’s not my most favorite perfume, but still it makes me sad when I learn that good perfume is being discontinued.

      It’s interesting how some words we read stay with us. I did my share of buying and testing based on some bloggers’ reviews.

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