Lime in Perfumery: The Sparkling Green Citrus
Lime is a small green lemon with strong character; it blends with all olfactory families. Perhaps because it brings to mind the Caipirinha or the Mojito, it is credited with exotic accents; it is a citrus fruit that adds vibrancy to a perfume; it is joyful and dancing.
The tree is called the lime tree; the botanical family of lime is the Rutaceae family. Lime is part of the Hesperidia notes (cf. Citrus Facet), that is to say, citrus notes like bergamot, lemon, orange, grapefruit, mandarin, and yuzu. These notes participate in the top notes.
Botany: Lime Varieties
There are two varieties of lime, which are fruits resembling lemons, but smaller and rounder, with green skin.
- Citrus aurantifolia: equivalent to the Key Lime, which is smaller and rounder in shape than the limette latifolia. It is used for cocktails in syrup or lemon juice for its marked and refreshing flavors and aromas, but it is also used in pastry making for desserts and also in perfumery.
- Citrus latifolia: this variety looks like a dark green lemon and is used solely in perfumery.
Formerly, lime came from Persia, hence the name Persian Lime, but the fruit comes essentially from Mexico.
Production and Extraction: A Dual Method
The main producers are Mexico, Peru, Haiti, and Brazil. Lime fruits are harvested by hand and brought to the factory. The fruits are sorted by hand and then washed. They are then sent to a peeling machine to remove the zest, which, once recovered, allows them to be distilled by steam entrainment.
Lime essential oil is obtained by cold expression (cf. Expression): expressed lime, as well as by the steam distillation process (cf. Distillation). It is the only citrus fruit treated in these two ways. The perfumer can also use the top fractions obtained by cold molecular fractionation, which are very interesting.
Olfactory Description: Coca-Cola and Sour Candy
It is a fresh, lively, green (cf. Green Facet), tonic, and uplifting note. It possesses a natural Coca-Cola note as well as a sour candy smell when treated by distillation. It is a very striking smell in a composition, more so than that of a lemon, for example.
Use in Perfumery
Lime essence is most often associated with fresh perfumes: fresh fragrances and eaux de Cologne. It brings freshness and a sparkling side to fragrances. It will be perfect in a citrus accord, associated with other citrus fruits in top notes such as bergamot, lemon, orange, mandarin, and yuzu.
Furthermore, it can be used to refresh the top notes of an oriental perfume (cf. Oriental Family), in order to bring a smile to it.
Finally, it can be used to create a breath of air in exotic floral notes. It blends particularly well with flowers like ylang-ylang or frangipani, as well as with coconut (cf. Fruity Facet). It is present in the Mojito accord (mint, rum, and lime) which was the base of the perfume Guerlain Homme, a perfume I developed when I was at Guerlain.
Virtues of Lime
Lime possesses antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, and sedative virtues.
Perfumes Containing Lime
Here is the list of main perfumes that contain lime:
- Guerlain Homme by Guerlain
- Eau de Shalimar by Guerlain
- Habit Rouge by Guerlain
- Light Blue by Dolce&Gabbana
- Coconut Fizz by Guerlain
- Limette 37 San Francisco by Le Labo
- Pacific Lime by Atelier Cologne
