Petitgrain

What it is

The leaves and twigs of the bitter orange tree, distilled. The same tree gives neroli from the flower and bitter orange from the fruit, which is unusual: three different materials from one plant.

What it smells like

Green, bitter and woody, the least sweet of the three. It is what gives a classic cologne its dry edge and stops the flowers reading as sugary.

Where it sits

Which layer of the pyramid it is listed in, across every fragrance here that carries it. A base note is one you smell for hours; a top note is usually gone within the first.

What it turns up with

How much more often than the catalogue average. 1.0x would be chance, so these are the things that genuinely travel with it rather than the things that are simply common.

When it is worn

Against the average fragrance here. The line marks that average, so a bar past it means this is worn in that season or setting more than most.

Houses that use it most

Counted across the fragrances here, which reflects what we cover as much as what a house makes.

Guerlain (4), Givenchy (3), Le Labo (3), Versace (3), Yves Saint Laurent (3), Armaf (2).