Mandarin

Mandarin is the gentlest of the citrus oils, sweet and soft where lemon is sharp. Around seven tenths is limonene, but what makes it smell of mandarin rather than orange is a trace ester with a fruity, faintly floral edge. The group covers fruit picked green, fruit picked ripe, and tangerine, which is a separate species. In lab tests the oil broke open Staphylococcus aureus cells and let their contents leak out.^[1] In animal studies it eased anxious and low-mood behaviour, which fits its reputation as a calming oil.^[2]

Mandarin

Citrus reticulata

Also Known As: Mandarin Orange, Tangerine
Family: Citrus
Perfumery Note: Top
Intensity: Light
Extraction: Cold Pressed
Plant Parts: Fruit peel
Origins: Italy, Brazil, Spain
Effect: Energy & Uplifting
Aroma: Citrus, Sweet, Delicate
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Perfumery & Fragrance Making, Cooking & Flavouring
Price: $$$$A specific harvest window between green and red; peel-pressed in large quantities

This is standard mandarin oil, cold-pressed from ripe peel. It is the citrus oil most often reached for with children and older people, because it is mild and easy to like. Limonene dominates, with methyl N-methylanthranilate giving the sweet, slightly floral lift that separates mandarin from orange. In lab tests it damaged Staphylococcus aureus cell membranes until the cells leaked.^[1] In animal studies it reduced anxious and low-mood behaviour, which is the basis for its calming reputation.^[2]

Tangerine

Citrus tangerina

Also Known As: Tangerine Orange
Family: Citrus
Perfumery Note: Top
Intensity: Medium
Extraction: Cold Pressed
Plant Parts: Fruit peel
Origins: United States, Brazil, Italy
Effect: Energy & Uplifting
Aroma: Citrus, Sweet, Fresh
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Perfumery & Fragrance Making, Cooking & Flavouring
Price: $$$$Produced in massive quantities as a byproduct of the global citrus trade

Tangerine is a different species from mandarin, though the two are constantly confused on labels. Its peel oil is even more limonene-heavy, at around nine tenths, which makes it brighter and simpler than mandarin. The same trace ester found in mandarin gives it a fruity edge.^[3] In lab tests it held back bacteria and mopped up the unstable molecules that damage cells.^[3] Reviews of limonene itself credit it with calming inflammation.^[4]

Mandarin Green

Citrus reticulata

Also Known As: Green Mandarin, Unripe Mandarin
Family: Citrus
Perfumery Note: Top
Intensity: Light
Extraction: Cold Pressed
Plant Parts: Fruit peel (unripe)
Origins: Italy, Spain, Brazil
Effect: Energy & Uplifting, Focus & Mental Clarity
Aroma: Citrus, Green, Sharp, Fresh
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
Price: $$$$Picked before full ripeness in a narrower harvest window than standard mandarin, with slightly lower peel-oil yield per fruit

Mandarin green is pressed from fruit picked weeks early, while the skin is still green. The oil is only about half limonene at that stage, against seven tenths when ripe.^[5] That leaves more room for the sharper compounds, so it smells bright, green and slightly bitter. Perfumers use it where ripe mandarin would be too sweet and round. It is the same species as mandarin red, just picked earlier, and a different species from tangerine.^[5]

Mandarin Red

Citrus reticulata

Also Known As: Red Mandarin, Ripe Mandarin
Family: Citrus
Perfumery Note: Top
Intensity: Light
Extraction: Cold Pressed
Plant Parts: Fruit peel (ripe)
Origins: Italy, Spain, Brazil
Effect: Energy & Uplifting, Sleep & Relaxation
Aroma: Citrus, Sweet, Rich
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
Price: $$$$Harvested at full ripeness in the widest, easiest harvest window with the highest peel-oil yield, keeping cost low

Mandarin red is pressed from fruit left on the tree until fully ripe. Ripening changes the oil: limonene climbs from about half at the green stage to around seven tenths when the skin turns red.^[5] That extra limonene rounds the smell out, making it sweeter and less sharp than the green version. It is the mandarin to use where you want warmth rather than lift. The calming effects seen in animal studies were found for mandarin oil generally, not this harvest specifically.^[2]

Essential Nose

Mandarin

Mandarin

Tangerine

Mandarin Green

Mandarin Red

References