Citrus familyTop note
Grapefruit
Grapefruit is a top note from the citrus family: tart and slightly bitter with a pink, juicy facet.
- 01Family
- Citrus
- 02Pyramid
- Top
- 03Best seasons
- Spring, Summer
- 04Type
- Note
What does grapefruit smell like?
Grapefruit: tart and slightly bitter with a pink, juicy facet.
From our page: Citrus fragrance familyIs grapefruit a top, heart or base note?
Grapefruit is a top note.
- Top15 minutes to 2 hours
- HeartHour 1 to hour 5
- Base4 to 12+ hours
Because the molecules are so light, the citrus family lives almost entirely in the top notes, so the base from a supporting family determines whether the scent lasts an hour or all afternoon.
From our page: Citrus fragrance familyTop notes are the first impression: you smell them in the air before the perfume even touches skin, and they fade within an hour or two.
From our page: Top, Middle, Base: How the Notes Pyramid Actually WorksWhat does grapefruit pair with?
Citrus top notes are frequently rounded by neroli or petitgrain from the bitter orange tree, and longevity improves when the scent is built on a woody or musky base.
Named partners
Also in the citrus family
The citrus family bridges to
Read more about grapefruit
ScienceTop, Middle, Base: How the Notes Pyramid Actually WorksThe fragrance notes pyramid explained: what top, middle and base notes are, why perfume opens bright and dries down warm, and how to read a pyramid.
EducationThe Fragrance Families, Decoded: From Chypre to GourmandA complete guide to the eight fragrance families with named examples from Tom Ford, Mancera, and Diptyque. For fragrance buyers who want clarity, not poetry.
Find the perfumes built around grapefruit.
Fragnatique reads every perfume down to its notes and scores it against your own taste, with the reason behind each match written out. Start from a note you love and let the app do the narrowing.