Associations
Element: Fire
Planetary Ruler: Sun
Mood: Brightening, emotionally restorative.
Folkloric: Purity, innocence
History
Neroli is the name given to the oil made from various flowers of the cirtus family, but in aromatherapy we most often mean the Bitter Orange Blossom Citrus aurantium and even more specifically, the amara variant.
Unlike the rind of a citrus fruit which is cold pressed in creating essential oils, Neroli is made from the steam distilled flowers. For those looking to use Neroli for its therapeutic properties, beware that genuine Neroli oil and Neroli floral water can be expensive and thus often doctored with other ingredients by less reputable sellers.
The Bitter Orange is a hybrid, a cross between a Mandarin and a Pomelo, and form which a cross between itself and a Citron yields a Lemon. (This handy family tree image below is allegedly the work of 'Chiswick Chap' on Wikipedia, and I'd like to thank him for his services!)
The amara cultivar first appears in the 10th and 11th centuries in the Middle East and Mediterranean and by the 17th century was distilled for use in parfumerie. The name 'Neroli' evidently comes from the Princess of Nerola, Anna Maria de la Tremoille, who would scent her gloves with the oil. Whether that is urban legend or fact, I think it's a romantic notion and will choose to believe it.
Notoriously hard to rhyme in English (unless you're Marshall Mathers), the word Orange comes to us from India. We know that the Persians identified oranges as coming from India, and called them naranj in Arabic from what appears to be a Sanskrit word, nagaranga. However, here is where opinion starts to divide (and where some extremely dubious information about the etymology begins to appear, saying some nonsense about Elephants...) I hold with the Indian scholars like Dr. Waradpande and Dr. Parpola who support the theory that nāraṅga has earlier roots in a tribal/Dravidian source. For example the Tamil word nāraṅkāy and Malayalam word nāraṅṅa having similarity. Both of these words mean 'fragrant fruit' loosely, and thus Orange becomes an extremely descriptive name.
This is especially so in today's culture where the fruit also names its own colour. Before we adopted orange as a colour name, people called it 'yellow red' or things of that nature. The linguistics and perception of colour is another super fascinating subject—like did you know in Vietnamese there is no separate words for blue and green?—but that's a topic apart from the one at hand.
Traditional Uses
Although Neroli was already in fashion in Europe by the time of Nicholas Culpeper's famous Complete Herbal, it was not yet widely used medicinally in the British Isles. Grave writes in her Modern Herbal (1931) of both Bitter and Sweet Orange in the same entry. She notes that 'Orange Flower Water' which is left over from the process of steam distillation was becoming 'increasingly used in France by biscuit-makers to give crispness to their products, and some of the English biscuit-makers have also adopted it for this purpose.' It is possible she is referring to the biscuits made in Provence in the late 18th century (and still enjoyed today!) called the navette. More on this later.
As noted above, Neroli is also a likely ingredient in the original recipes of Eau de Cologne, although the Farina family recipe has remained a closely guarded secret since its creation in 1709. In this time period, perfumes were not only seen as pleasant cosmetics, but perhaps maybe even more importantly, as health tonics. They believed in miasmas or 'bad air' causing disease, which from what we know about how viruses travel now is perhaps not far off. People would perfume themselves as well as sick houses to help cure and prevent disease, and Eau de Cologne was soon used both as a luxury good and a hospital staple.
Knowing what we know today about essential oils' powerful health benefits, and their ability to absorbed into the bloodstream just by smelling, there's another thing our historical predecessors got right! Neroli makes a fantastic mood-lightening scent, helping drive away stress, and even reduce the perception of pain during menstruation and labor (Scandurra et al., 2022)
Folklore
The navette biscuit mentioned earlier has a lot of interesting lore and legend. 'Navettes are dry biscuits (shaped as small boats) traditionally prepared for Candlemas instead of pancakes, especially in Marseille. It is a biscuit that was created by Monsieur Aveyrous in 1781 [and is] made of wheat flour, sugar, eggs and orange blossom water which gives it its flavour!'
There are various legends around its creation, the most popular belief being that the boat shape symbolises the vessel that brought the Saintes-Maries to Provence. Other accounts link it to a 13th-century statue of the Virgin found by the Lacydon which offered protection to its community of craftsmen. Since the late 18th century, the “Four des Navettes” (four meaning oven not a number) bakery by L’Abbaye Saint-Victor has made them for Candlemas. On the 2nd February the black madonna image, which is held in their crypt, is processed through the church and presented to worshipers. The Archbishop will also then bless the 232-year-old oven.
Now, it would take me literally a whole book to explain the depths to which the above fascinates me, but if anyone wanted to learn more about images of the black madonna, their connection to other world religion female deities (such as Green Tara in Buddhism) then I would highly highly recommend the book Longing For Darkness: Tara And the Black Madonna by China Galland. Whenever I think of Candlemas, I also think of Imbolc and St. Bridget, whose feast day is the day before on the 1st of February. She sometimes is referred to as being Mary's midwife or Christ's nurse when he 'came to England/Ireland' which couldn't possibly be taken literally since she was born 500 years after Christ. Rather, it is illustrating the deep connection of these powerful female figures and their ability to spread 'the message' whether that be of Christ or any other universal religion. As you can see, there are lots of delicious threads to pull on here, and to have found it while looking up Orange Water Cookie recipes has truly delighted me if you couldn't already tell. Speaking of which, another delicious thread to pull on might be making your own navettes:
Recipe for Navettes
- 500 g plain flour
- 200 g caster sugar
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 5–6 tbsp orange blossom water (adjust to taste)
- 1 pinch salt
Method
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the orange-blossom water. Add the flour and salt, mixing until you have a firm dough — it should be stiff, not sticky. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour (this makes shaping easier). Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Divide dough into equal pieces, roll each into a short sausage, then pinch and taper the ends. Use a sharp knife to slit lengthwise through the centre without cutting all the way through — this gives the “boat” shape. Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until lightly golden but still pale on top. Cool completely on a wire rack; they will harden as they cool, giving the characteristic crispness.
It is possible that in addition to adding flavour and crispness, that the association in Provence with the Virgin Mary and orange blossoms gave it significance to purity and chastity. Grieve noted in her Modern Herbal that 'the use of Orange-blossom as a bridal decoration is neither long-established nor indigenous, as it was introduced into this country from France only about a hundred years ago.'
Indeed, it is likely the popularity came from the public's fascination with the royal wedding of Queen Victoria, where she is said to have worn orange blossoms, and carried a bouquet of myrtle. From that point onward many of the other royal weddings also included an adornment of orange blossoms on the dress or hair of the bride. Queen Victoria's wedding also popularised wearing a white dress on one's wedding, where both the colour and the orange blossoms were meant to symbolise purity. If you ask me, the dress is a bit more of a golden champagne colour, but I digress. As an aside, I think it's also interesting to note that, 36 years after her wedding, she would become the Empress of India as a result of the colonisation of the British Empire. The orange blossom being almost a premonition—having come to Europe centuries before from India.
In a photo she took to re-enact her wedding day to Prince Albert, she is wearing a different dress (I think), which features bunches of flower-and-leaf arrangements sewn into the dress itself, and she is wearing flowers in her hair. It's a very captivating image, as is their love story and the various monuments and buildings around London that stand as a testament to her deep devotion. Even if the association with purity and love came originally from France, I think orange blossoms have definitely earned their place in British folklore as well thanks to Queen Victoria. May their purity, joy and beautiful scent guide us for many centuries to come!
Aromatic Profile
- Note: Top
- Scent Family: Citrus, floral, sweet
Essential Oil Safety Information
- Never ingest/take internally.
- Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes.
- Keep away from children and pets.
- Full safety information and directions will be provided in a safety card upon purchase, please read fully.
Bibliography & Sources
Battaglia, S. (2003). The complete guide to aromatherapy (2nd ed.). International Centre of Holistic Aromatherapy.
Brewer, E. (1889, February). Eau de Cologne and its history. The Leisure Hour, 102–103.
Carta, Louise (2024). Diploma Course Study Materials. The Aromatherapy Company.
Grieve, M. (1971). A modern herbal: The medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folk-lore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs & trees (Vols. 1–2). Dover Publications. (Original work published 1931)
Lavabre, M. (2020). Essential oils and aromatherapy workbook. Healing Arts Press.
Lee, S. (2020, January 28). 1840 – Queen Victoria’s wedding dress. Fashion History Timeline. Retrieved from https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-queen-victorias-wedding-dress/
Marseille Tourisme. (n.d.). The navettes of Marseille. In Gastronomy in Marseille: Culinary specialities of Marseille. Retrieved August 10, 2025, from Marseille Tourisme website: https://www.marseille-tourisme.com/en/discover-marseille/gastronomy-in-marseille/culinary-specialities-of-marseille/the-navettes-of-marseille/
Miller, J. (2018, April 3). How 20-year-old Queen Victoria forever changed wedding fashion. Vanity Fair. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/04/queen-victoria-royal-wedding
Nelson, E. C. (2009). Victorian royal wedding flowers: Orange, myrtle, and the apotheosis of white heather. Garden History, 37(2), 232–237. Retrieved from JSTOR: stable 27821599
Parpola, A. (1994). Deciphering the Indus script. Cambridge University Press.
Scandurra, C., Mezzalira, S., Cutillo, S., Zapparella, R., Statti, G., Maldonato, N. M., Locci, M., & Bochicchio, V. (2022). The effectiveness of neroli essential oil in relieving anxiety and perceived pain in women during labor: A randomized controlled trial. Healthcare, 10(2), 366. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10020366
Umney, J. C. (1913, December 5). Perfumery. Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 62(3185), 47–62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41341360
Waradpande, N. R. (1993). The non-Aryan origin of the Indo-Aryan languages. Pune: Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala.
