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Delicately floral and somewhat citrusy, the scent of neroli is distinctively cheering.

Neroli oil comes from the bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium amara), which is an evergreen member of the Rutaceae plant family. Many parts of the tree are used for perfuming and culinary purposes. The fruits flavour food and drinks, and the flowers are distilled to produce neroli oil and orange flower absolute. Petitgrain oil is also obtained from the leaves and twigs of this same tree.

Neroli is naturally uplifting and widely used in aromatherapy for its stress-relieving effects. This oil is a true luxury, as the distillation process requires a lot of flowers to produce just a little. 

Marie-Anne de La Trémoille (1642 - 1722) named the bitter orange flower oil ‘neroli’ after the city Nerola in Italy of which she was the princess. She loved to wear the oil as a perfume and created a trend in European royal courts - she would probably be called an influencer nowadays.

Lush sources a few different neroli oils from several different suppliers. To find out more, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Full of sugar and sunshine, the mandarin fruit may look small but it has big qualities.

Mandarins look a bit like small oranges, but their taste is usually slightly stronger and more acidic. The evergreen mandarin tree can grow up to six metres tall and belongs to the Rutaceae plant family. 

With an uplifting citrusy and sweet fragrance, mandarin oil clears the mind and gives a sense of wellbeing.

Mandarin’s juice and oils brighten the skin and add shine to the hair by encouraging the cuticle to lie flat and reflect more light.

Depending on the ripeness of the fruit when it’s harvested, the oil will taste and smell different. When the peel is still green, the fruit is low in sugar, and therefore the oil has a rather green and citrusy scent. When the peel turns yellow, the oil gets much sweeter, and, finally, when it's orange-red, it even takes on a floral note close to neroli.

Since 2005, Lush has sourced bergamot, lemon and mandarin essential oils directly from a family business producing citrus oils for three generations. Grown under the Sicilian sun without pesticides, the mandarins are collected by hand and pressed entirely with their peel.

We also sometimes purchase fresh fruits that can come from various locations. To find out more about them and their supplier, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Orange flower has an intensely floral aroma with fresh green notes and is one of the most popular essential oils used in perfumery.

Lush uses a few different types of orange flower (or orange blossom) in products, with varied purposes and perks to them. They’re all derived from the bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium amara), which is an evergreen member of the Rutaceae plant family. The fruits flavour food and drinks, the flowers provide neroli oil and orange flower absolute, and even the leaves and twigs can be distilled to obtain petitgrain oil.

Orange flower absolute refreshes, rejuvenates and mattifies the skin.

The flower’s fragrance calms and uplifts the mood.

Orange flower water is made by diluting the absolute in water; it has a fainter, delicate floral scent.

Orange blossom honey can also be found in Lush products. This is produced when bees collect nectar from the flowers of the bitter orange tree. The honey retains some of the beautiful floral-citrus flavour and fragrance. It is considered luxurious and exotic.

Lush purchases orange flower absolute from a producer based in the north of Tunisia. The business is run by three siblings, whose father started many years ago. They have been supplying Lush since 2005. To find out more about the other orange flower-derived ingredients and the suppliers, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!