Zesty

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!

It’s good to be green. Limes have a sharp, zesty scent and bring the shine!

The key lime grows on the Citrus aurantifolia tree, mainly cultivated in Brazil and Mexico these days although it is native to Southeast Asia. Fruits are usually picked when green and unripe, making them richer in acid and sugar than lemons. 

Limes (and their oil) contain citric acid, an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that provides gentle exfoliation and thus cleanses the skin of dead skin cells, leaving it radiant and smooth. 

Their acidity gives a lot of shine to the hair as it flattens their cuticles and so reflects light better.

It is a top note in perfume blends, meaning it’s the first one your nose will pick, but it’s also the first to evaporate on the skin.

Lush purchases lime oil from a producer in Mexico. The whole fruit, peel included, is pressed to obtain a juice-and-oil emulsion that is then steam distilled to recover the aromatic oil. We also use fresh and dried limes in our products, which can come from different places. To find out more about them, 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!

We're more accustomed to seeing frankincense fill the air with wisps of fragrant, meditative smoke, but connoisseurs know it is also fantastic in cosmetics and perfumery.

First of all - frankincense can also be called olibanum, and this is something you can undoubtedly learn at Lush as we tend to use both! They’re equally beautiful and accurate names, and it’s been hard to make a choice.

Now, what is it exactly? Frankincense/olibanum is a tree resin harvested across Africa and the Middle East. Small notches are made on the trunk of Boswellia trees, causing a milky sap to flow. Cutting the same spot several times allows this sap to become more fragrant each time. Harvested once the resin has begun to harden, the finished product looks like small rocks. These chunks can be burned to diffuse a fragrant smoke but can also be distilled, diluted or crushed to obtain other consistencies.

Its complex and evocative scent makes a beautiful base note for perfumes. It is often described as earthy, piney and spicy with fresh citrus notes.

The scent of incense is said to anchor and calm the mind, help slow breathing, and improve overall well-being.

As a fixative, it carries and enhances other fragrancing ingredients and helps perfumes last longer.

Thanks to its antimicrobial qualities, it can serve as a natural preservative.

It is often found in skincare products for its astringent, antibacterial, soothing and smoothing effects.

Frankincense was already burned during religious ceremonies by ancient civilisations and was one of the first materials used as a perfume. In the age of the Pharaohs, its preservative properties led to its use in embalming and mummification. It was also widely popularised by the Bible, which mentions frankincense as one of the rare and expensive gifts given to baby Jesus by the three kings. Even today, it can still be found smoking on altars and is particularly appreciated to purify the air or encourage meditation.

Boswellia is a genus of trees with several species producing a fragrant resin. The oil and resinoid we purchase is made from the Boswellia sacra (syn. Boswellia carterii) tree. It's been considered a Near Threatened species since 1998 and that's why the Lush buying team strives to find the best possible suppliers who respect the trees, the land and the people. Click on the links below to know more about each of our suppliers:

Olibanum oil

Olibanum resinoid

You’ll find the scent of frankincense enliven many of our products, especially our bath bombs and perfumes.