CITRAL

Citral is an aromatic material with a fresh lemon character and a lightly sweet citrus impression. It gives perfumers a direct way to build or brighten a citrus accord without treating it as a complete lemon oil. The effect can feel green and fresh, with its prominence determined by the surrounding composition.

The name commonly describes a mixture of geranial and neral, two closely related molecular forms. Citral occurs naturally in oils such as lemongrass and litsea cubeba, and synthetic grades are also produced for fragrance use. An essential oil contains more than this one material, so citral should not be used as a synonym for the whole oil. Its name in a perfume description does not identify a natural source, supplier or manufacturing route.