Citrus scents can be such cheerful, uncomplicated fragrances, and they can brighten up a gloomy day with their connotations of sunshine, cleanliness, and good health. I particularly like to layer citrus-fragranced shower gels and lotions under my favorite summer perfumes, to boost their bright-and-crisp qualities.
However, the available range of lemon-, lime-, and orange-scented products is occasionally disappointing — especially at the higher end of the price spectrum, for some reason. One example is Strange Invisible Perfumes Wild Orange Invisible Body Lotion. I’m assuming it’s intended to be layered under Strange Invisible Perfumes’ citrus-accented perfume oils, such as L’Invisible or Fair Verona. It’s a nice enough medium-weight lotion, packaged in a bottle that suggests a fancy hair mousse. It’s all-natural, with aloe vera and olive oil for moisture. It smells like, well, sweet orange oil. But for this price, I was expecting to be amazed, and I just wasn’t. ($40 for 8 fl. oz.; for buying information see the listing for Strange Invisible Perfumes under Perfume Houses.)
NARS is best known as a creator of trend-setting color cosmetics, so I was surprised to learn that the company also sells a line of body products. Its Ginger Grapefruit Body Lotion promises a fragrance that “fuses the vibrant essence of grapefruit and cassis with the romantic floral touches of sweet peony and violet flower.” This sounds like something I’d love. However, the product’s actual scent conjures up a bowl of lemon-flavored hard candies that has been sitting out too long, until the various pieces have stuck together into one sour-sweet mass. And the lotion itself feels slightly tacky to the touch, as well. ($40 for 6.7 oz. at the NARS website)
So, then, what would I recommend for a citrus body product? There are, fortunately, a few satisfying options on the market that deliver better scents for a much lower price. For example, The Body Shop’s Total Enlivening Body Gel (shown above left) lists bergamot essential oil as its main fragrance component, but it’s also packed with extracts of orange, lemon, lime, litsea cubeba and grapefruit — and spiked with ginger, for an energizing effect. It provides light moisture, and it can also be used as an eye-opening pulse-point balm. ($24 for 6.8 fl. oz. at The Body Shop website)
4mula is a small, Philadelphia-based company that focuses on pairing natural product recipes with functional (yet appealing) design. I’m very fond of its Bodywash in “4mula 101,” (shown above right) a vegan blend of mandarin, grapefruit, and petitgrain essential oils. It’s a liquid-y product that foams up well, without any sulfates, and it fills the shower with an incredibly lifelike aroma of pulpy citrus fruits and their accompanying twigs and leaves (thanks to the petitgrain). The wide-necked bottle can be a bit difficult to maneuver, but it’s cleverly meant to be rinsed out and re-used when you’ve finished the body wash inside. ($22 for 10.25 oz. at the 4mula website)
Lemon & Lime Body Soufflé, from C. O. Bigelow Chemists (shown above center), looks and smells just like the filling of a lemon-meringue-and-key-lime pie, if such a thing exists. It feels like a creamy gel, rather than a soufflé, when it’s applied. It hydrates with aloe and glycerin and it seals moisture into the skin with various silicones. I’ve even gone “off-label” and applied a tiny, tiny bit as a finishing or de-frizzing product to my hair, where the scent lingers for a minute or two. ($15 for 8 oz. at the C.O. Bigelow website)
And, in the less-is-more category, Trillium Organics offers Organic Body Oil in a Pink Grapefruit scent. The oil itself is actually a combination of oils (sesame, safflower, olive, sunflower, joboba, and vitamin E), and the fragrance triggers the sensation of tasting a freshly sliced grapefruit. This oil can be used for massage, as bath oil, or as an intensive moisturizer after a bath or shower. It’s mouthwatering, as well as smile-inducing, and you could probably cover its cost by running a lemonade stand for a day. ($10 for 4 oz. at the Trillium website)
Have a favorite citrus-scented body product? Feel free to share in the comments section.
I love the Tocca Stella body products, especially the shower gel. It has a great, slightly tart orange scent that doesn’t linger.
Waveofinhalation,
Ah, Tocca Stella! I had a Stella mini-candle once. It was wonderful!
Love your user-name, btw!
I love Pharmacopia Citrus Body lotion! It has oils of tangerine, grapefruit, lavender and neroli. I don’t get a big lavender hit, and the neroli brings a little blossom to the crisp citrus. You can find the brand online or in natural foods places. I also like their Ginger lotion, especially on cold days, since it is a bit warming.
I also like an Yves Rocher Jardins du Monde Florida Orange body wash I got as my free gift not long ago. It’s just… oranges.
And, of course, Body Shop Satsuma anything.
Tama, I’ve tested the Pharmacoepia hand balms in Whole Foods, and I liked them; I should check out the body lotions next time I’m there. And Yves Rocher is always a great deal!
I have the Citrus hand cream too – it is a bit more “medicinal” than the lotion but very similar.
These products sound great, Jessica. I bought some lemon pomegranate body scrub from C. O. Bigelow and I almost want to drink it, not use it, since the fragrance is that succulent. Bath and Body Works made a Rich Citrus Cream line for a while that smelled like Eclix or lemon-lime meringue pie, and was one of my absolute favorite fragrances.
The Body Shop’s Satsuma line is a really good pick-me-up, too. It’s supposed to smell like the Japanese oranges, but has a bit of a candied aspect to it. It is just so impossibly cheerful and bright that I kept some around after the birth of my youngest to help wake me up on those sleep deprived mornings. It’s a bit tart, a bit sweet, and has pretty good staying power. It comes in soap, hand wash, shower gel, body scrub, lotion, body butter, home fragrance oil,and perfume oil, so you can pretty much smell from head to toe like the stuff. It’s one of my favorites from TBS and not all that expensive, either.
Absolute, I agree about the Lemon & Pomegranate; I sniffed it in the store, and it really is mouth-watering! I love almost anything with a pomegranate note, as long as it’s done well. And Satsuma is one of TBS’s classics!
oh, i loved the citrus cream from bath and body works! it was such a perfect fragrance.
I love almost all of the C.O. Bigelow Lemon line. The hand lotion smells lovely and is light weight so it doesn’t feel greasy, so I love that. The lip gloss tastes like lemon meringue pie! Anyways since I like all the rest of the line I was excited when they came out with the fragrance. I thought surely I would like that too, but I was very wrong. I took one sniff and thought I would wretch. It either smells like Lemon scented Pinesol or Pledge I couldn’t decide. I just know it smells terrible to me, not the light sweet lemony scent I’m used from the other items in the line.
Jenny, I like your Gumbie-cat name!
It’s funny, how great body product scents don’t always translate, and vice versa. But I agree, the Lemon hand cream smells great *and* works well for everyday use!
… that should have been, body product scents don’t always translate *into fragrance,* and vice versa. Sorry! 😉
I was pretty disappointed in the the fragrance, also – chemical stew.
That’s too bad; it looks great on the shelf with all the other Lemon products.
I suppose I fared a wee bit better with the Bigelow Lemon EDP. It smells like a crisp lemon on me, but fades within the hour. Good thing I bought it on sale and it’s a *huge* bottle. It reminded me a lot of BBW’s White Citrus, though I don’t have anything else in that line but a sample sized lotion. They do layer nicely together.
Original Source Lemon and Tea Tree shower gel. Don’t know if it is available stateside however it is very nice.
Also like Gap Jasmine Mandarin EDT.
Tamarind, I’ve never seen that line in the US, but I just took a peek at their website and it does look like fun stuff. Thanks!
It is lovely. They are UK based and use real essential oils and you can smell it, unfortunately where I am does not offer the full selection. My favourites are the Lemon and Tea Tree I mentioned before (to wake up) and the Lavender and Tea Tree shower gel (to go sleep) 🙂 not expensive either 🙂
also a fan of Gap’s Jasmine Mandarine
I like Pacifca’s Malibu Lemon Blossom body butter. A very nice lemon that doesn’t have the dreaded “lemon pledge” scent. I wish they’d make it in a shower gel.
Since I am one of those people who has trouble getting up and moving in the morning, I often rely on BBW’s White Citrus shower gel. They call it invigorating, but it’s really more like being slapped upside the head with the smell of grapefruit and lemon. Quite the wake-up call!
Thanks, Aparatchick! These sound like noteworthy picks, too. And the Pacifica packaging is so well-designed.
Sounds like I neeeeeed me some of that. I really love their Orange Ginger (from the Aromatherapy line), for its whap-you-upside-the-head tang.
Mals, I like the Aromatherapy line, too, although I’m still grumpy about Rose & Ylang Ylang being discontinued…!
I really like the scent of the Bigelow straight Lemon scent, but I’ve never purchased any. My favorite lemony scent is L’Occitane Verbena; love the cooling ice gel.
I really liked the (old?) Body Shop Bergamot scent, so I wonder if that Total Enlivening gel is similar.
Freskagirl! Ah yes, the L’Occitane Leaf-Light Body Gel. I’m a fan of that, in the Green Tea with Mint. Especially in summer, when I keep it in the fridge!
Hiya, first post. I decided to de-lurk to mention June Jacobs’ Citrus line (junejacobs.com). I currently have the Body Spritz and have had the Moisturizing Oil before, but you’ll see on the site that there are EdP and EdT along with all sorts of other products — and other ‘flavors.’
The scent is ever-so-slightly on the sweet side of a good citrus, but really refreshing. I used to layer the spritz over the oil to get a longer ride, so I imagine that’s a great option for the other parts of the line, too.
I will warn that I had the oil ‘turn’ after neglecting it for a while, but I had it for years, so I doubt this would happen to someone who didn’t take such a long break. The body spritz lasts forever.
Jessica, that 4mula 101 sounds wonderful!
Sadly, now that I look more closely, I can’t find the body spritz on the site any longer. Sorry, folks.
Kikilarue, Welcome! I’m not familiar with J Jacobs, but I just took a quick look at the site. Lots of citrusy products still left, even without the spritz. I was really happy tp “discover” 4mula; I was really lucky to find that shower gel on sale, but might go back and get more for full price anyway!
Hey Jessica. Nice piece. I love citrus, but I’ve also taken to unscented lotion since I’ve become such a perfume addict (I used to merely be addicted to Pre de Provence lotions). I haven’t become adept at layering scent over lotion either, but that’s a good idea.
I received a sample of the Bigelow cream (not souffle), which was so nice that I’ve really considered buying some; such a terrific lemon scent. It’s also a bargain compared to my absolute favorite product, which is the Jo Malone Lime Basil Mandarin body cream; I’m a big fan of the scent (one of my first niche samplings) and the cream is really exquisite.
Sorry, I should have been more specific: The Bigelow I enjoyed was the Lemon Body Cream; I haven’t tried the Lemon-Lime.
Hi Joe! Hey, the Jo Malone Lime Basil Mandarin body cream was one of the first fancy niche body products I ever owned! Actually, it feels a bit too strongly scented for me now, but it has good memories for me.
Tocca Cleopatra (sp?) cream is wonderful. Second jar, it is an absolutely beautiful fragrance. Grapefruit is one of the notes, not sure what else. Luckyscent carries this product.
Perfumelaydee, I’ve only dabbled in Tocca products, and I really should try them more seriously! Their scents are lovely.
Have you read the studies that state men who smell grapefruit on women consistently judge them younger than any other scent? Would this information influence your decision in choosing a scent? Inquiring minds want to know.
Oh, I usually take such “studies” with a grain of salt, and they never influence my scent-purchasing patterns. I’m not sure why it’s so desirable to appear younger, for one thing. I choose what I instinctually love, and I wear it for myself. Citrus works well to cheer me up in my morning rituals, which is why I enjoy these particular products.
Guerlain’s AA Pamplelune, which disappointed me at first for not being strictly grapefruity, now I love for being so dreamy and complex. My next citrus purchase will probably be Speziali Fiorentini’s Citrus Blend with extracts of lemon and orange, as I like a couple of their other scents — a bit more straightforwardly citrus, I imagine.
Guerlaingirl, Oh yes, Pampelune! That seems like a favorite amongst the AAs. I used to have a wonderful lemon hand cream from Speziali Fiorentini, which I actually purchased in Florence… I’ve never been able to find it again.
You’ve just reminded me of the hand cream from Santa Maria Novella — I wouldn’t in a billion years buy anything so spendy for myself (I got it as a gift), but it does smell lusciously lemony.
Lilydale,
That hand cream *is* expensive, but wonderful… and so is their Almond Paste, which I’ve used as hand cream!
J,
I tried SIP’s Wild Orange lotion when I was in the boutique and was underwhelmed as well. But you know what is amazing?? Their rose body wash and the lotion. You would love them both!! They are really fabulous.
It’s late and I can’t think of any good citrus body wash recs, but will be back if I do!
~T
Hello Trish! I’ve been trying to ignore SIP’s rose body products, as well as Prima Ballerina, in case I like them *too* much! 😉
Oh dear, Prima is gorgeous as well. I’d be happy to send some your way.
Let’s talk!
~T
Hi Jessica,
One of my favorite citrus body products is Jo Malone’s Sweet Lime & Cedar Dry body oil spray. It’s less woody/dry and very much bright light and “green”. It’s one of my favorite go-to scents when I need something cheerful.
Hi Smokeytoes,
I think Jo Malone does a great job with citrusy scents, in general… and I love their Orange Blossom shower gel, although that’s citrus *flower* rather than fruit!
How about Sudz “In the Pink” shower gel? It’s pink grapefruit and lemongrass. Organic, inexpensive, and available at health food stores (also Amazon, etc.).
Suddenly, That sounds great to me!