Blood Orange is a citrus note inspired by red-fleshed varieties of sweet orange, grown especially in Sicily. In perfume it smells juicier, tangier and more berry-like than ordinary orange, with a bittersweet, almost raspberry nuance.

What does Blood Orange smell like?

Blood orange smells like a juicy orange with red-fruit accents: tart and sparkling, with hints of raspberry, grapefruit and a slight bitterness. The red colour comes from anthocyanin pigments, which have no smell, so the red-fruit effect in perfume is mostly created by the perfumer. Natural blood orange oil is closer to sweet orange but slightly sharper.

Where Blood Orange comes from

The main Italian blood oranges are Tarocco, Moro and Sanguinello, protected since 1996 as the IGP Arancia Rossa di Sicilia, grown in eastern Sicily around Mount Etna. The cold nights and warm days of the area help the fruit develop its pigment. Spain also grows blood oranges.

• Also known as: Arancia rossa, Tarocco, Moro, Sanguinello
• Fragrance family: Citrus (fruity)
• Type: Natural and synthetic
• Main origins: Sicily (Italy), Spain
• How it's obtained: Cold expression of the peel; often recreated as an accord
• Key aroma molecules: Limonene, decanal, octanal

Blood Orange in perfume history

Blood oranges have been grown in the Mediterranean for centuries, and Sicily's varieties developed from spontaneous mutations. Their use as a perfume note is recent, rising in the 2000s with the interest in fruity and gourmand citrus. Atelier Cologne's Orange Sanguine (2010) made the note famous in niche perfumery.

Blood Orange in modern perfumery

Blood orange is now a popular note in fresh, fruity and gourmand fragrances from both designer and niche brands, used when a perfumer wants orange with more tension and colour. Because natural blood orange oil is produced in small amounts, most versions combine sweet orange oil with grapefruit, berry and rhubarb-like notes to suggest the red flesh.

How Blood Orange wears and what it pairs with

Blood orange is a top note lasting 20 to 40 minutes. It pairs with jasmine, geranium, pink pepper, amber, sandalwood and vanilla.

Fragrances featuring Blood Orange

• Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine (2010)

Safety and regulation

Limonene is an EU-declarable allergen.