The recordsAll odour descriptors

Station 5 of 13 · Perception · the record

Citrus

Citrus: the bright, zesty smell of citrus peel oils such as bergamot and lemon.

On record here, the word is carried by methyl dihydrojasmonate (Hedione), α-terpineol, geraniol, bergamot essential oil and others. Each carrier says who uses the word and on what evidence: a source, the trade’s convention or the house’s own reading.

Read the essay · Everyday words to scent concepts: the Scent Translator

The record

Each field carries its evidence: open a chip for the source, the quoted words and the confidence. A field with nothing behind it says so and stays empty.

Term
citrus
perfumery convention

the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source

the trade’s shared vocabulary; the word as the records and sources use it

confidence B

Family
citrus
perfumery convention

Classification of 1. top notes: a) citrus, b) aldehydic, c) fruity, d) green and e) herbaceous/herbal, 2. heart notes: a) floral light, b) floral green, c) floral fresh, d), floral fruity, e) floral heavy and f) floral woody and 3. bottom notes: a) aromatic, b) balsamic, c) moss/leather/animalic, d) musk, e) amber and f) wood.

ISO-2 · Stepanyuk A, Kirschning A · read 2026-09-30

the family name as the published classification the review gives (top, heart and bottom notes) spells it

confidence B

Definition
The bright, zesty smell of citrus peel oils such as bergamot and lemon.
house interpretation

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

the house’s own definition, written for this vocabulary

confidence C

Also written
citric, citrus-like, Hespéridé
as used

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

the words the carriers below use for this term; each carrier names its own source

confidence B

Carried by
  • methyl dihydrojasmonate (Hedione) (as used: “citric”)
    documented

    hedione (methyl dihydrojasmonate), … has a fresh, citric and slightly floral scent – but is commonly categorized as a middle note

    KLE-1 · Kleoff M, Kiler P, Heretsch P · read 2026-09-30

    confidence A

  • α-terpineol (as used: “citrus-like”)
    documented

    α-terpineol | CAS 98-55-5, 7785-53-7, 10482-56-1 | Odor quality: floral, citrus-like

    OT-1 · Kreissl J, Mall V, Steinhaus P, Steinhaus M · read 2026-09-30

    confidence A

  • geraniol (as used: “citrus-like”)
    documented

    geraniol | CAS 106-24-1 | Odor quality: rose-like, citrus-like

    OT-1 · Kreissl J, Mall V, Steinhaus P, Steinhaus M · read 2026-09-30

    confidence A

  • bergamot essential oil (olio essenziale di bergamotto) (as used: “recalling the bergamot’s peel”)
    documented

    odore: caratteristico, gradevole, fresco, richiamante quello del pericarpo del Bergamotto;

    PDO-1 · Disciplinare per la denominazione di origine protetta “Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria – oli · read 2026-09-30

    the specification’s odour line, in English; colour “da verde a giallo verdastro”, green to greenish yellow (PDO-1)

    confidence A

  • Eau de Cologne Impériale (Guerlain, 1853) (as used: “Hespéridé”)
    documented

    Eau De Cologne Impériale GUERLAIN 1853 EDC Hespéridé Pierre-François-Pascal

    OSMO-1 · Osmothèque, Conservatoire international des parfums · read 2026-09-30

    the Osmothèque’s family and sub-family for this fragrance: a classification (a perfumery convention), not a measurement of its smell

    confidence A

  • Eau Sauvage (Dior, 1966) (as used: “Hespéridé”)
    documented

    Eau Sauvage DIOR 1966 EDT Hespéridé Fleuri Chypré Edmond Roudnitska

    OSMO-1 · Osmothèque, Conservatoire international des parfums · read 2026-09-30

    the Osmothèque’s family and sub-family for this fragrance: a classification (a perfumery convention), not a measurement of its smell

    confidence A

Related terms
In teaching accords

Sources

  1. ISO-2 · Stepanyuk A, Kirschning A. Synthetic terpenoids in the world of fragrances: Iso E Super® is the showcase. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2019;15:2590–2602. doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.15.252 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY 4.0
  2. KLE-1 · Kleoff M, Kiler P, Heretsch P. Synthesis of odorants in flow and their applications in perfumery. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2022;18:754–768. doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.18.76 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY 4.0
  3. OT-1 · Kreissl J, Mall V, Steinhaus P, Steinhaus M. Leibniz-LSB@TUM Odorant Database, Version 1.2. Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich: Freising, Germany, 2022. www.leibniz-lsb.de/en/databases/leibniz-lsbtum-o… · read 2026-09-30 · free of charge; scientific use encouraged with full acknowledgement; systematic download or reproduction needs written permission (its copyright page, read 2026-09-30): single values are cited with their references, the responses are not filed
  4. PDO-1 · Disciplinare per la denominazione di origine protetta “Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria – olio essenziale” (the Italian PDO production specification, six articles and Annex A). Ministero dell’agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste (MASAF), Disciplinari DOP e IGP prodotti agricoli, 2.10 Olii Essenziali; PDF, undated. www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.p… · read 2026-09-30
  5. OSMO-1 · Osmothèque, Conservatoire international des parfums. Collection Osmothèque, juin 2015 (PDF list: name, house, launch year, concentration, family, sub-family, perfumers). www.osmotheque.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Col… · read 2026-09-30 · no reuse licence stated; quoted row by row, not filed

These records are published under CC BY 4.0.

this record as data: /data/descriptor/citrus.json · version 1 · updated 2026-09-30 · confidence B