Archive Bergamot
Top note · Citrus
Bergamot.
Bright citrus with a polished, bitter edge. The classic clean opening.
Our read on the material, not a measurement.
What it smells like.
Bergamot smells like citrus peel with the sweetness taken out. There is orange in it and there is lemon in it, but the thing you notice is a dry, slightly bitter brightness, closer to the oil in the rind than the juice inside. It is the note behind almost every fragrance you would describe as clean.
In a blend it does the opening and then steps back. It gives a formula a lift in the first few minutes, sharpens sweetness so it reads as fresh rather than sugary, and makes heavy bases feel less heavy. It fades early, which is the point. If you want brightness that lasts past the first hour, bergamot is not the note doing that work.
The real material is cold-pressed from the peel of the bergamot orange, a citrus grown almost entirely around Calabria in southern Italy. It is the same fruit that flavours Earl Grey tea, which is why the opening of so many fragrances reads as faintly tea-like. We use it the way most of the industry does: as the brightest possible first impression.
Further reading: Bergamot orange, Wikipedia
In a blend.
The safest first pick there is. Bergamot lifts almost anything and argues with almost nothing. Skip it only if you want a soft opening: it arrives first and it arrives sharp.
Citrus. Bright peel and juice, sharp at the open and quick to lift. Shop the citrus scents.
Pairs beautifully with.
The 10 scents built with it.
Questions about bergamot.
What does bergamot smell like?
Bright citrus with a polished, bitter edge. The classic clean opening. Bergamot smells like citrus peel with the sweetness taken out. There is orange in it and there is lemon in it, but the thing you notice is a dry, slightly bitter brightness, closer to the oil in the rind than the juice inside. It is the note behind almost every fragrance you would describe as clean.
Is bergamot a top, heart or base note?
It is a top note, so it is one of the first things you smell and one of the first to fade. The safest first pick there is. Bergamot lifts almost anything and argues with almost nothing. Skip it only if you want a soft opening: it arrives first and it arrives sharp.
What does bergamot pair well with?
The studio would start with jasmine, cedarwood, lavender and vetiver. In a blend it does the opening and then steps back. It gives a formula a lift in the first few minutes, sharpens sweetness so it reads as fresh rather than sugary, and makes heavy bases feel less heavy. It fades early, which is the point. If you want brightness that lasts past the first hour, bergamot is not the note doing that work.
What fragrance family is bergamot in?
Citrus. Bright peel and juice, sharp at the open and quick to lift.
Which Next Fragrance scents contain bergamot?
10, including Next Rose - Eau De Parfum, Next Platinum - Eau De Parfum and Next White - Eau De Parfum. Every note listed on a product page is the real pyramid for that fragrance.
Can I use bergamot in a custom blend?
Yes. It is one of the 42 notes you can choose at the Bench, where you build across the three tiers and we blend it by hand in Adelaide.
Blend with bergamot.
Pick it at the bench, choose up to four notes per tier, and we blend it by hand in Adelaide.
Open the bench
