Citrus · Natural material · Top notes, Heart notes
Bergamot
Bergamot is the citrus fruit Citrus bergamia, whose fragrant oil is taken from the peel, mostly in Calabria in southern Italy. It smells fresh like squeezed citrus peel, with a slight bitterness and a soft floral side. In perfume, bergamot usually sits in the top notes, so it is one of the first things you smell after spraying.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does bergamot smell like?
Bergamot smells like freshly peeled citrus, but smoother and less sour than lemon. There is a light bitterness and a floral side that makes it feel neat. If you have had Earl Grey tea, the distinctive scent of that tea comes from bergamot.
On skin, bergamot is clearest in the first minutes and then slowly fades. A softer trace of bergamot often stays alongside flowers or musk in the next layer, which helps the opening and the heart of a perfume feel connected.
Where does bergamot come from?
Bergamot is a citrus fruit about the size of an orange, with yellow or lime-green skin. It is rarely eaten fresh, because the oil in the peel is what people want from bergamot. Most bergamot for perfume is grown on the Ionian coast of the province of Reggio Calabria in Italy.
Bergamot oil is cold pressed. The peel is scraped under running water, and a centrifuge separates the oil from the water. Around 100 bergamot fruits give only about 85 grams of oil.
How bergamot works in a perfume
Bergamot is almost always placed in the top notes, where it brightens the opening and links citrus to the flowers or spices in the heart. Bergamot oil is rich in linalyl acetate and linalool, which are also found in lavender, so bergamot and lavender are often paired.
Bergamot has a long history in perfume. The earliest record of its use dates from 1714, and it was a key ingredient in the classic colognes of the 18th century. Common partners are lemon and neroli in the opening, tea in the heart, and vetiver or musk in the base, which hold on to bergamot's clean feel after the citrus fades.
When to wear a bergamot perfume
A perfume where bergamot stands out suits daytime, work and hot weather, because it is light and not sweet. In humid Indonesian weather, bergamot feels fresh right after spraying. If you want the citrus back in the afternoon, a small second spray helps.
