This one almost led to ruin. Neroli essential oil, made by distilling orange flowers (it takes a kilo of flowers to make a gram of the oil), now over $400 an ounce, is so expensive that few perfumers use it anymore, they use petitgrain, made from the branches. There is no petitgrain in this eau fraîche.

Since the most lovely and memorable aromas are natural things, I present them as they are, untouched by chemical additives. I combine enough neroli with pure drinking alcohol until it comes through in all its floral spender. Tinctures of pure absolutes and essential oils are magnificent, but I must mention that my eaux fraîches don’t cling to the skin and they don’t last. I mean, at all. This is typical of many natural ingredients. They’re splendid room and après bain fresheners and their aroma so irresistible, it’s easy to get carried away. (My three other eaux fraîches—galbanum (green and herbal), vetiver (green and gassy), violet leaf (very green)—are made in the same way.

Given the price of natural essential oils, I probably won’t make these eaux fraîches again, they’d be too expensive. I do have a small stock I am selling here.