LEMON BASE

Sweet and juicy lemon scent. Undeniable. It has a candy-like tone. It enhances the fragrance's introduction, adding diffusion and lightness. It creates a joyful mood. Classically paired with bergamot, it conveys hints of champagne. Top notes.

After sweet orange oil, lemon peel oil is the most important citrus oil. It is obtained by pressing (manually or mechanically) the peel of ripe lemons after the juice has been extracted from the fruit (by mechanical or biscuit pressing), or it can be pressed before removing the pulp and juice. Distilled lemon oil is of little use for creating fragrances and perfumes. Even the distillation of crushed lemon peel with steam under partial vacuum does not produce a useful lemon oil.

The most modern and mechanized processing of lemons and other citrus fruits takes place in California and Florida (USA), as well as on the island of Cyprus. Pressed lemon oil is produced in California, Cyprus, Italy, Guinea, Brazil, Tunisia, Israel, Mexico, Jamaica, India, Pakistan, Spain, China, Australia, South Africa, and many other countries where the Citrus limon tree grows.

The lemon tree probably grows in eastern India and Burma, and was introduced to Europe by the Crusaders in the 12th century. It is also known that Columbus brought lemon and orange seeds on his second voyage to Hispaniola in 1493, thus establishing the world's largest lemon industry (California, late 19th century). The largest producer of pressed lemon oil is California, followed by Cyprus.

Freshly pressed lemon oil is a mobile liquid ranging from yellow to greenish yellow or pale yellow in color, with a fresh, light, and sweet scent reminiscent of the peel of a ripe lemon. There should be no turpentine-like terpene notes in the perfume paper. Good oils retain their fresh, lemony scent virtually unchanged on the blotter until it fades completely. The scent of lemon oil is not very persistent, but its duration depends greatly on the extraction method. The oil should be clear and not cloudy, and should not contain resinous deposits. It has become common to treat lemon oil (and other citrus oils) with antioxidants to slow the deterioration of the oil after opening the original packaging, exposing the oil to air, sunlight, and especially humidity or water. Old stabilizers such as absolute alcohol (with an added 5%) or olive oil are not without their effects, but modern antioxidants can be used effectively in much lower amounts (antioxidant combinations of approximately 0.005%). This treatment is preferable, as it will not affect the further use of the oil with the fragrance or essence. Most antioxidants are useless if the oil does not contain water.

If stored in a cool, dark place at a constant temperature, in a dry, iron-free container, with a small amount of atmospheric air above the surface or without air (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or another inert gas can be introduced to replace the air in the container), lemon oil can be preserved for years without losing its freshness and pleasant properties. The exceptional preservation qualities of Cypriot lemon oil may be due to advanced processing, in which the oil is very effectively purified not only from pulp and pith particles, but also from water (in high-speed, silver-coated centrifuges).

Lemon oil, obtained by pressing, is used in perfumery and for flavoring due to its refreshing, sweet, and fruity notes. It is one of the most important ingredients in old-fashioned citrus colognes, eau de Cologne, lotions, aerosol sprays, and so on. It is widely used as a deodorant and the main ingredient in countless perfumes. Lemon oil combines well with other citrus oils, including lavender, lavandin, elemi, labdanum, petitgrain, neroli, and other oils. Common lemon oil fixatives include coumarin, vanillin, cinnamates, elemi resinoids, oakmoss products, and araucaria oil. Lemon oil often contains aliphatic aldehydes as modifiers of the lemon scent. For food flavorings, concentrated lemon oils or sesquiterpene-free lemon oils are preferred, as the high concentration of terpenes creates solubility problems and usually imparts bitter notes when added to moist or aqueous products (carbonated drinks, sweets, sorbets, etc.). The masking effect of lemon oil is well known from everyday life: lemon halves or quarters are often served with fish and other seafood. The fresh lemon scent completely masks the amine odors of seafood. This masking effect is achieved thanks to the small amount of oil from the peel that inevitably ends up on the dish when lemons are squeezed. The juice plays an important role in masking: the citric acid in the juice neutralizes the amines contained in seafood, partially eliminating the unpleasant odor.

Lemon oil, along with vanillin and other synthetic flavorings, forms the basis of the old "custard" flavor, and some types of candy are flavored exclusively with lemon oil in an acidic environment.

IFRA restrictions for 4 categories (perfume) - 20% in product finished.