Orange Terpenes

Super-fresh top-notes extracted from sweet orange oil. This is effectively d-limonene (CAS 5989-27-5) as a natural isolate since it is almost all that chemical. This product is produced by extraction from Sweet Orange but we also stock orange terpenes from Blood Orange, which has more orange character, which may be preferred in some applications

Arctander describes this staple of perfumery like this: “Fresh, light and sweet citrusy odor with strong resemblance to Orange peel oil. Commercial grade d-Limonene may be redistilled ‘Citrus Terpenes’ and will then carry more Orange-like odor than a highly purified Limonene. Poor tenacity.” 

He goes on to talk about usage: “This hydrocarbon is used very extensively in perfume compositions as a refreshing top-note, particularly in the large-volume type of fragrances for household products, where the Citrus-odor is desirable or at least compatible with the product and the purpose.

It may give lift without giving a true Orange character, and it can therefore be used in a multitude of fragrance types, including floral types from Jasmin to Lavender “bouquets”, and in Pine, aldehydic, woody, fruity or green odors.

In detergent perfumes it is often found together with Benzyl acetate. It has the added advantage of being colorless. It is often annoying to introduce an intensive yellow or orange color when cold-pressed sweet Orange oil is used in Citrus fragrances. This color may often fade away after a few months in the perfume composition and cause variations in the color of the perfume, not always understood by the customer.” 

Arctander goes on to point out that although inexpensive the use of d-limonene is not confined to ‘cheap perfumes’.