Lemon is the least mysterious note in perfumery and one of the hardest to do well: everyone knows the smell, so cheap versions read as dish soap instantly. Good lemon is photorealistic, zest, pith and oil, and it brings a scrubbed, optimistic brightness no other citrus quite matches (bergamot is rounder, grapefruit more bitter). Light Blue is the note's modern monument, Sicilian lemon over apple and cedar, practically a citrus grove with a dress code. Bleu de Chanel uses lemon as part of its polished opening chord, and Eros flashes it against mint and tonka. Lemon burns off fast, so treat it as a scent's first act, not its plot. Summer, mornings, heat: that is lemon's home turf.
Designer fragrances built with Lemon. 14 perfumes that feature the note, from top to dry-down.