Orange Blossom and Neroli Recs

[AlectoFurious]

Neroli is a floral that I associate in my mind with other heady, strong, white florals. Like the gardenias, jasmines, and tiare or monoi. Not shy and super sexy but with some warmth.

[lookingglass]

DUUUUUUDE Succubus.

 

You have to try Succubus.

Isn't it D/Cd?

[elka_knits]

I have a friend who is big on orange blossom... she swears Paramatman is pure orange blossom on her...

 

orange blossom, east indian sandalwood, champaca

[Gateau]

Neroli is a floral that I associate in my mind with other heady, strong, white florals. Like the gardenias, jasmines, and tiare or monoi. Not shy and super sexy but with some warmth.

 

What I especially like is that it doesn't have any of that rough edge that some of the other white florals (hello, jasmine!) can get. it's always so lovely and creamy.

[mermaidsdream]

Vixen! I Vixen. Seriously, I don't know why I don't own a bottle (or 4) of this! And it ages ridiculously well.

 

While neither have Neroli, both 'Changing the Shadows' and 'A Wonderful Light' have orange that I adore; Changing the Shadows has carnation, which usually goes straight to baby powder on me, but strangely works in this one.

[AlectoFurious]

Neroli is a floral that I associate in my mind with other heady, strong, white florals. Like the gardenias, jasmines, and tiare or monoi. Not shy and super sexy but with some warmth.

 

What I especially like is that it doesn't have any of that rough edge that some of the other white florals (hello, jasmine!) can get. it's always so lovely and creamy.

 

Exactly!!

[ivyandpeony]

I love that softness you get from orange blossom & neroli as well. A few years back I read a book on perfumery and in a brief discussion of white florals, the author said that most of them contain a substance called indole that contributes to the deep, heady scent. Indole also naturally occurs in feces. It really clicked on a light bulb over my head. I love white florals, I really do, but sometimes it's like they're so good they're bad. Or vice-versa.

 

My favorite orange blossom scent is Jezebel. I think the honey & orange blossom are a great combination. Now I have to go thru my imps and bottles and see what else I've been loving with these notes!

[grashopper8]

DUUUUUUDE Succubus.

 

You have to try Succubus.

Isn't it D/Cd?

 

It is, but you can still find some on the forum sometimes. And sometimes people send you presents to try. hehehe

[DJ Sin]

If you can track down Peach V I recommend it for a neroli blend.

[bitterstar]

I am compelled to weigh in, being a bit of an orange blossom fanatic -- some of my go-to commercial fragrances are Narciso Rodriguez For Her (orange blossom, peach, musk, vetiver), Hermes 24 Faubourg (orange blossom and amber, basically) and I'm not ashamed to say I love straight up Coppertone. Continuing the obsession, I also use Lush's exorbitantly expensive face cream Gorgeous because of the strong pure orange blossom fragrance . . . and Jo Malone's obscenely overpriced Orange Blossom body cream.

 

It's an illness.

 

(I wonder if this all began because I lost my virginity wearing Coco Mademoiselle (basically orange blossom, rose, bergamot and tonka.) )

 

Actually, I just think orange blossom is just a deservedly popular fragrance -- it's sexy but fresh, light but rich, sweet but not syrupy.

 

This was addressed earlier but I wanted to confirm it: the difference between orange blossom and neroli is in their collection. Orange flower absolute (orange blossom) is extracted, neroli is a steam distillation. I couldn't tell the difference between the two until I moved to a house with an orange tree in the backyard -- orange blossom smells more like the actual tree in bloom, and neroli, to my nose, is more musky. But it all depends on how it's blended and what it's blended with, so as always with perfume, your mileage may vary.

 

Anyway I have not tried all (or even most) of BPAL's orange blossom/neroli fragrances but I've tried a few so I wanted to do a little compare/contrast.

 

My BPAL Holy Grail is Xiuhtecuhtli. I mention it because it's referenced earlier in the thread, but I would not place this in the orange blossom/neroli category firmly, just because there is so much going on that the sweet orange takes a backseat. It's a bright, warm, resiny masterpiece but I wouldn't offer it as an example of orange blossom.

 

Catherine is a spa scent, very fresh and herbal with that nice orange blossom note. I find it extremely relaxing, actually, which is kind of funny given the namesake. It doesn't have great silage or longevity but it's lovely while it lasts.

 

Tweedledee is a lot of fun but the kumquat stays quite strong on me, so it's a very sweet, fruity orange blossom.

 

Jezebel is a great example of orange blossom at it's most luscious and rich. The honey brings out the natural sweetness of orange blossom. I think the sandalwood and the rose get totally trampled on in Jezebel, it's straight up orange blossom and honey.

 

Lily (Pretty Deadly) is a lot of white florals and the neroli note is not a standout to me.

 

Seraglio is very woody on me. The almond, clove and sandalwood come together in a warm, comforting way, and the floral notes (Bulgarian rose and neroli) are not as prominent.

 

Vixen is a simple enough formulation that you can really smell the orange blossom, and on dry down it's almost an orange blossom single note (unless your skin does crazy things with patchouli and then all bets are off). It starts with bright ginger and then softens. Amazing silage and longevity and a little goes a long way.

 

Masquerade is also orange blossom and patchouli but the patchouli is a lot more prominent (probably because it's paired with ambergris) and I find that the carnation emerges more than the orange blossom.

 

Katharina and Pandy are rather similar, both orange blossom and apricot. Pandy is younger and more energetic, Katharina is more stately. But both are really pretty. Apricot is such a great foil for orange blossom -- it adds a little tart to keep orange blossom from being too heady.

 

Caterpillar is a gorgeous floral incense blend but I can't pinpoint the neroli.

 

Phantasm is a very light, airy neroli -- neroli is actually the base note in Phantasm so you understand how light we are talking. I think it's very pretty but it doesn't last a long time. I think the green tea and lemon verbena are a sparkly, ethereal complement to neroli.

 

Edited to add Akuma! I forgot about Akuma, which is silly because Akuma is quite close to a neroli single note, especially when wet. It dries rather berry-ish (though still very pretty), but you really get a great jolt of pure neroli when you first apply.

Edited April 13, 2015 by bitterstar

[lady_pandora]

I loves me some orange blossom. Jezebel mostly blends together really well on me and I can't really make out any of the notes on their own, most of the time, but I do like it and have a big bottle. Les Bijoux is a huge favorite of mine and has orange blossom. Some days I amp it more than others. I also like Hunger and Paramatman, and the OB is the best part (to me) of Tavern of Hell, which was too masculine overall for me, but ohhh that lovely note. The recent LE Alma Venus also has some lovely neroli and OB going on, and I also like the OB in Visions of Autumn IV. An older LE I love is Bijoux Y'ha-nthlei, which starts out with a nice neroli note.

[lucycat]

I also get almost pure neroli from Akuma. I tested a frimp of it just last week, and wrote in my notes, "Neroli lovers, this one's for you."

[AlectoFurious]

I'm always so happy to see this thread get bumped. I love neroli and always want to see what new recs people are coming up with. Has anyone mentioned The Gaoler's Daughter lately? It's gardenia, neroli, white peach, vanilla amber, cream, and honey. It's divine.

[Aviatrix]

Khrysee is also a very beautiful and invigorating orange blossom blend. It's vanilla, amber, and orange blossom.

[annemathematics]

I agree/second the alma venus. that is sublime orange blossom. the bptp bo Time of Gold has some nice orange blossom as well.

[stellamaris]

Well, not a perfume, but I finally know what Neroli smells like. Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses, which I have the Giant Size Bath Oil of, is allegedly that. And I love it. I was wondering what the gorgeous flower was in that, now I know.

Wishing I'd ordered Alma Venus now...

[AlectoFurious]

Oh yes, Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses is neroli heaven.

[ljaylh]

My big favourite in this category is Khrysee (Vanilla amber and orange blossom) - reviews here - so simple, but so very beautiful (and also, sadly, so very hard to find).

 

Although it's not an orange blossom or neroli blend, one of my favourite 'orange' BPALs is Lilith and the Giant Crab - Tangerine cream, benzoin, white sandalwood, white pear, tonka, and ambergris accord - reviews here. I don't see it up for sale very often though.

 

In the GC, my picks would be:

• Vixen (the innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli)
• Akuma (blood orange, neroli, and raspberry)
• Hunger (Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla)
• Seraglio (Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel)
• From the Snake Pit - Australian Copperhead (Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla)
• Old Demons of the First Class (Siberian musk, black clove, opoponax, tonka, black pepper, and neroli) is a worthy inclusion for something different to the typical 'fruity' or 'citrus' blends

Oh, and Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses (orange blossom and honey) bath oil is absolutely divine.

 

*with apologies if any of those GCs are discontinued - I haven't been keeping up with recent news, sorry.

[AlectoFurious]

Finally scored some Scrappy Damsel, also a lovely neroli blend.

[vanitas]

Does anyone have any suggestions for something that smells more like an orange tree/orange blossom? Thanks.

[sqwook]

Does anyone have any suggestions for something that smells more like an orange tree/orange blossom? Thanks.

 

There's a great orange-blossom thread here:

http://www.bpal.org/topic/24950-orange-blossom-and-neroli-recs/page-4

 

Akuma would be a good one to try!

[LiberAmoris]

Mod Note: Posts have been split. Please talk about orange blossom and neroli in this topic—and oranges, satsumas, tangerine, and mandarin over here. Thanks!