Petitgrain Essential Oil

I swear vanilla and honey floats into the air when I sniff our newest arrival of rare Greek Petitgrain essential oil. It’s a bouquet of all the notes I want in a superb petitgrain; it’s a deeply narcotic and sweet smelling, serotonin boosting, limbic brain popping aromatic that I’ve experienced in quite some time. Petitgrain Bigarde is classically distilled using leaves, twigs and occasionally immature fruit of the bitter orange tree for a more green dry down as is the case with our Italian and Paraguay Petitgrain but this Greek distillation utilizes more of the blossoms making it a useful economical Neroli replacer with its delicate honey notes. It’s a key component to classic eau-de-Cologne and toilet waters. Greek Petitgrain takes me back to the first time I discovered a field of wild bitter oranges trees in full bloom in of all places, exotic Phoenix, Arizona. It was the kind of welcome my perfumer’s nose still remembers sixteen years later thanks to those aromatic angels.

Petitgrain essential oil is the Swiss Army knife of essential oils. It supports healing a multitude of skin issues when added to cleansing wash or serums and can be added to shampoo to impart a glossy shine to hair. I add ten to fifteen drops to my organic hair conditioner and am suitably impressed that a little Petitgrain and spritz of Henna hydrosol are all I need to maintain glossy, auburn hair that has now reached my waist. Greek Petitgrain is an impressive top note Neroli replacer in natural perfumery and I really like it paired with Cistus Rock Rose, Vanilla Oleo resin and Rosemary verbenone. One of my favorite diffuser blends is Petitgrain, Rosemary and a drop of Geranium. Not that my apothecary doesn’t smell good already but it smells like I work in a happy, stress free field of flowers.

Suggested uses: Can be diffused to scent a room. Add a few drops to shampoo to add shine to hair. It imparts fresh Neroli like notes to eau de Cologne perfumery compositions and would be a useful addition to Jasmine and other similar floral notes for a fresh perfume accord. Blend with Lavender, Rosemary, Geranium, Bergamot, Orange, Neroli, Clary Sage, Benzoin, Palmarosa and Clove essential oils.