The sweetness of fresh citrus fruits invites the senses to recall bright suns on hot summer days, fresh cut grass and tall, cool drinks of sweetened iced tea. Their fruity smells are widely loved and widely imitated in all sorts of scented products, from dish soap to candles, cosmetics to juices, alcohols—- and fragrances.

Actual citrus plants like that of the orange, lemon, grapefruit and lime originate in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Many major commercial growing areas are found in southern China, the Mediterranean Basin, South Africa, parts of South America and southern States like Florida, California, Arizona and Texas.

The citrus fragrance family is made up of a collection of light, fresh notes that have taken inspiration from the plants of these regions, resulting in perfume ingredients like bergamot, orange, lemon, petit grain, and mandarin—- accords which are usually mixed with more feminine floral or deeper woods blends.

Large numbers of limes are imported from MEXICO into other world regions (including Canada and the U.S.) every year— one of the most popular members of the citrus family of fruits. Their yellow cousins, lemons, can be grown in slightly cooler and more moderate temperatures, but are still found primarily along the coast of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Freshen up with a lime in a cold beer and a spritz of citrusy-fresh unisex CK ONE, with fresh notes like bergamot, fresh pineapple, and papaya.

The mandarin orange comes from a small citrus tree and largely resembles the orange, but for being less round and more tender. The mandarin orange originated in the Spanish province of VALENCIA, and the country still has over 200,000 acres dedicated to the production of the sweet fruit. Find orange and mandarin in a number of sweet fragrances, like FRACAS BY ROBERT PIGUET and ETERNITY FOR WOMEN by Calvin Klein.

One of SOUTH AFRICA’s largest exports is a variety of citrus fruits, including oranges, clementines, grapefruits, lemons and limes. South Africa is also one of the most diverse regions on the planet, with 48 million people sharing a multitude of different origins, cultures, languages and religions. Celebrate this diversity by tossing up a sweet fruit salad and enjoying it with another citrus blend of fruity-sweet ACQUA DI GIO perfume by Georgio Armani.

The grapefruit, known for its juicy bitterness, is a hybrid fruit from the 18th century that was first bred in JAMAICA. When it was found in Barbados it was nicknamed the “forbidden fruit.” Get a little fresh and naughty with ambery-citrus scents like POISON BY CHRISTIAN DIOR or VERSENSE BY VERSACE.

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