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What is petitgrain?
Petitgrain is obtained by distilling the flower, leaves or twigs of sour orange. The sour orange, on the other hand, is a tree 5 to 10 m high. It is also called bitter orange and belongs to the Rutaceae family, understand citrus trees. The latter spread at the beginning of the Christian era in India and was introduced into the south of France by the Crusades. Indeed, the Moors cultivated a lot of sour orange trees in the region of Seville in Spain. Moreover, this earned him the nickname Orange of Seville. Its leaves are oval and shiny, covered with a sort of waxy cuticle. Its flowers are bitter and sometimes white or pink. The latter bloom in early spring and the whole thing turns out to be very fragrant.
The distillation of petitgrain
Petitgrain essential oil is produced by steam distillation of the branches or leaves of the sour orange tree. Indeed, it is a technique very commonly used by perfumers in order to extract the scent of citrus fruits such as orange, lemon, mandarin or bergamot. Its scent is at the same time fresh, green, floral and sparkling. Thus, it is a characteristic scent of colognes. Likewise, petitgrain is very often present in skin creams or relaxing massage oils. In addition, many baby products also contain it. Petitgrain essential oil has similar properties to neroli essential oil. On the other hand, it has the significant advantage ofbe much less expensive than the latter, which has direct repercussions on the final price of your perfumes. On the other hand, its fine smell acts directly on the nervous balance and on the imagination. Nothing like the use of petitgrain to make your little one inventive and increase his talent!
Still, don't get me wrong, neroli also shows up in some full-fledged fragrances. Thus, it is present in the famous Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune by Guerlain, as well as in Belle de Soleil by Fragonard, in Cologne by Thierry Mugler, in Chrome by Azzaro or in Catch Me by Cacharel.
