Orange Bitters

This wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I really love it anyway! With the name Orange Bitters I was thinking of tart orange peel, an acrid, dry citrus, backed up with a deep dark plummy jam, giving it a hint of earth. Instead, while this is a definite orange fragrance, I get no plum whatsoever. The orange isn't sweet, but nor is it quite bitter. It's well-rounded and even a bit juicy and sits atop a really gorgeous spiced sandalwood, which can easily veer masculine. This fragrance is like some kind of fantasy orange and sandalwood cream, both of these bold notes have been softened about the edges and whipped together in a cosy and bright scent that - while not very complex or even very original really - is just a delight to wear. It's very unisex I think, and I personally enjoy the sandalwood which makes me think of an expensive men's shaving soap. This is a great non-gourmand comfort scent and I hope they keep bringing it back. If you're really looking for a fragrance which would suit the name of 'Orange Bitters', I'd recommend Tokyo Milk Dark Everything & Nothing.

April 2019 Found a bottle and its on its way to me. Oooooooooo. I will have fun with this one? Sampled it combined with Blackberry and Bay! Pow! I think this will be one of my favorites to pair with other fragrances. This needs to be in the permanent lineup. There is just enough orange to be bright, but whatever makes it "heavier", not so sweet, is what I am falling in love with. Aqua di Parma has a Peonie scent and I paired it with that and I got several compliments as I shopped yesterday, And it lasted well into the day. April 2019 Discoverd this today. Have to have it. Never knew it existed until today. I am a fan and have no idea how this one has gotten past me. I will hunt it down and get a bottle. On first test, it smelled incredible paired with Blackberry and Bay!!! The one I found today has a gold foil label not the one pictured here.

This is really good. Far more interesting scent comparing to the regular line. Different from those regular citrus scents, It starts with an bitter orange note with powdery feeling to create a bitter-powdery scene without being juicy or watery. And it turns to drydown like around 30mins (i applied 1 spray only). the dry down is sweet and powdery, and surprisingly the drydown reminds me of hypnotic poison, i didnt know why but thats the case. The drydown projects well and kept around 4 hours on my skin. Actually I was very disappointed when i first sprayed this, but i was wrong, its a very unique, delightful, winter-ish type of citrus, highly recommended to anyone to try no matter if you interested in those notes or not :D Dont be fooled by the name, its a totally fall/winter scent. Scent: 8/10 Originality: 9/10 Sillage: 7/10 Longevity: 7/10

I honestly did not think I would like this fragrance, much less love it, so I recommend trying it! I don't care for fruity scents, especially outside of warmer months. However, Orange Bitters smells like oranges and cinnamon rolls at Christmas breakfast, with afternoons of games and cozy drinks with wind and snow flurries outside. At first spray it smells very orangey, and then turns into a soft boozy, woody and a little bit powdery. I don't get much orange after dry down, and I definitely think this is a more feminine fragrance. If you're a Christmas person but not a big fan of green or gourmand scents, I think this is it. I just love it!

Amazing fragrance, and a pity that it’s only offered seasonally. Living in a hotter climate, I consider it a fall fragrance that is suited for the warmer part of fall. The amberous notes are most prominent, and I would consider this similar to neroli fragrances in their brightness and warmth, but with a fall twist. The orange is quite sublimated by the other notes. Strong sandalwood presence. Strength is where I need it to be. I consider this an “Indian summer” fragrance, and it even gets better with age. Will definitely buy next holiday season. Be advised that it is seasonal and sells out quickly.

Ok so boom! I love it lol but I’m confused this is the second JM that I’ve smelled that I immediately was like oh yea that’s a nice vetiver in there and then I look here and there’s no vetiver listed! Like maybe it’s the plum and sandalwood mixing in the base. I love it. On me the orange doesn’t last very long. I mostly get just a tiny hint of citrus but it’s mostly a very smooth rounded earthiness like sipping ice cold sweet tea in summer time over grown grass while sitting under the shade of a tree with a nice cool breeze going. Orange blossom blooms on the tree but not whole oranges present.

I think this actually is my favourite Jo Malone fragrance. It smells so delicious. I don't usually like fruity-leaning fragrances, but this isn't that bright, fruity, juicy type of orange. It's more like a mellow, vanilla-amber, creamsicle type orange, and the sandalwood gives it that slight earthy, woody touch. It smells like a beautiful dessert, not too bitter, not too sweet, just a great balance of both. Out of all the Jo Malone fragrances I've tried, this one also performs the best on me with great projection and longevity compared to the others

I bought this on a whim and I'm glad I did. The scent reminds me of happiness - a bright sunny day when all the citrus trees are bursting with fruit. It reminds me of a brighter, more summertime version of Hermes d'Orange Vert (the cologne version). I actually wear the two together now. To me, the JM makes the Hermes more feminine and using them together boosts the longevity. I've also used this fragrance to sweeten up a few floral scents that were too "old lady". I'm really happy with the versatility of this cologne.

Today, it’s snowing pretty heavily where I live and I immediately went for Orange Bitters. Sprayed my wrists. Mmmmmm...let the Christmas season begin!! This is the perfect Holiday/Snowy winter day scent. It is citrus-y woody and slightly spicy (very subtle, in the background). I love wearing this during the Holidays and winter months because it lifts my mood and pairs wonderfully with the cold weather! A gem from Jo Malone and the bottle design itself is truly festive and gorgeous!🍊🍊🎄🎄⭐️⭐️

This is by far one of my favorite Jo Malones, and I owe more than 30 of them from limited edition to permanent editions. This is a very Christmas perfume, with spicy notes of sandalwood, amber and citrusy bright orange. Everything blends it together gorgeously. I agree it's a very realistic orange that is juice, with a peel, and lots of character. It's unusual, unique, well-blended, absolutely safe and unisex, inoffensive, this perfume is everything!

Orange Bitters is a precious gift from Jo Malone in 2016. It is one of the best citrus fragrance in winter, fresh and warm in the sametime. The amber in this perfume makes it's longevity lasting. However, I would like to try the former scent which blends with chocolate as limited edition in 2013 because I could not collect and test it in those time. I have just been a JM fc since last year. T_T Overall for this gem, I rated at 5 stars.

I am in Sunny California, dealing with a week of typical 100+ degree heat and wearing this beautiful Jo Malone bitter orange fragrance. To read these reviews that this is a “holiday” scent makes me LMAO! This gorgeous baby is made to be worn in the Summer heat, sipping on a lemon drop martini by the pool. This is orange peel in a bottle, fresh and citrusy. I love this!!

The name speaks for itself; orange bitter. It’s deep, creamy, woody & citrusy. Jammy kind of citrus. To me the orange note starts to come around during the dry down, which is somehow weird because it opposes almost everyone’s experience but that’s the charm I guess! I wear this during family related occasions because it's definitely a homely fragrance.

I have been struggling to find a new winter scent and I am so happy to have discovered this one ! Smells warm orange, citrus. With a little bit of spice but without the heaviness. I get a lot of compliments. It is also an easy one to mix with different perfumes. As it is a “Christmas” edition I got 2 bottles. This will be my winter signature scent !

I'll always associate this one with a trip to rainy Portland in October. When I first smelled it at the Nordstrom counter, I was smitten. I don't know how they captured both powder AND zest? It's heavenly. It's quite distinct from an orange blossom while still rocking in the citrus family. I just bought a second bottle!

Nice smell on its own, not as sweet and girlish as Orange Blossom, but pair it with Pomegranate Noir and this becomes a smell from heaven. It reminds me very much of the original Bogner for Men, but the combination of Orange Bitters and Pomegranate Noir is truly unisex with a pretty good longevity. Love it.

Christmas in a bottle for me. Oranges in the stockings and a big bowl in the center of the table, while classic holiday dishes are cooking in the background. Performance is the usual Jo Malone bad & thankfully Dua fixed it with their version - Citrus Saturation

This is a really nice "holiday" (or fall/winter) scent. It's spicy and sweet, and warm. I think it's one of the better Jo Malone's that has come out recently. Definitely give it a try! The packaging is cute too this year for holiday Jo Malone products!

Almost all of my perfumes are pretty, feminine, and welcoming. I wear this perfume when I'm in a bad mood and I don't want anyone to talk to me. I consider it unfriendly. I don't have any others that I use in this way sadly. 10/10

Inoffensive bitter orange. It's bright at first and dries down very warm. Mixes very well with other scents in and out of the JM line.

An interesting, capricious scent. I received 2 deluxe samples at a Jo Malone event years ago & stored them properly in my fragrance armoire w/o trying them; intended to but forgot about them until now. Wore both bottles, one on each wrist to test. Each bottle reacted completely opposite to the other. The 1st bottle opened as a pure oud, albeit a JM version of oud (i.e. transparent, airy, skin close). It's warm, spicy, smoky w/ only the vaguest hint of orange. The 2nd bottle opened as true orange w/ only a slight oud under note. Sandalwood moves to the fore in dry down for both. Orange makes more of an appearance in the 1st bottle, both orange & oud remaining constant into the mid. In the 2nd bottle, orange recedes, giving it up to sandalwood & smokey spice. Both bottles crescendo in unison, pushing sandalwood offstage in favor of smoke which remains throughout, becoming wispier until it's nothing more than a gossamer puff. Then! Just when you thought the curtain was about to drop...Hellllooo, orange. Welcome back! (bottle 1). Helllooo, smoky spice! (bottle 2) Both bottles resurrect for nearly another hour to finish out a subtle game of peek-a-boo, the players being anyone's guess.

I own a bottle of this fragrance and can safely say that it is not for me. It starts smelling like flat orange soda, and it dries almost aftershave-like - too woodsy and masculine for me. It's very warm, but it stays fresh at the same time. It's an elegant scent and, if you can pull it off, then more power to you. I can't. EDIT: fast-forward 10 months and I now enjoy it. I bought this in the fall and did not like it back then. I sprayed it again in the height of the Summer and changed my mind about it. The heat and humidity brought out the beauty of this juice, and I now wear it often. I now get mostly sweet orange, plums and something sparkly, akin to a carbonated drink. The woodsy notes are still here, but sitting quietly in the background. Glad I tried it again!

Orange Bitters is one of my fragrances that I wear exclusively for festive activities, this way I can connect it to those cozy and lovely days with family and friends. Initially, I tried to wear it in warmer weather because of the citrus notes. However, the fragrance develops an ambery warmth and heaviness in the drydown that seemed suffocating in summer. What keeps me from absolutely loving Orange Bitters is a sharp musky note, something à la Ambroxan, but I can also see that one can evoke a bitter sensation this way. The other day, I sprayed my friend’s Black Opium Le Parfum over Orange Bitters and it was a match made in heaven! Black Opium took away some of that musky sharpness and added a tad of sweetness, just perfect.

Orange Bitters starts with a blast of oranges, not so juicy, more like orange rinds, fresh, bright, but it goes fast to a woodsy balsamic undertone,, with a rich plummy liquorish note...I find it rather unisex. it is a different Malone here, if you like citrus scents and are looking for something a bit unique, I would say go for it..,as for me, I don't care for citrus perfumes, and I don't like the woodsy balsamic edge on fruits...it gives the scent a dry masculine undertone...interesting fragrance, not my taste. Longevity isn't great, it turns rather fast in a skin scent..

Came to fragrantica before i bought this and saw the reviewer below saying that this Dolce the one, and then thought to myself how could this possibly be. How can i be more wrong! This is d&g the one, with better performance. If you are expecting a fresh citrusy orange fragrance, this isnt it. This is like a cocktail type orange, with warmth and depth to it. Better performance than average jo malone frag. Pretty nice and leans more masculine. If you like dolce the one for men but scrap it for its abysmal performance, try this and you will be a happy camper.

I'm on a roll sampling Jo Malone fragrances and I was quite intrigued to test this Christmas special. When this fragrance opened, I was underwhelmed- orange, orange and more orange. I put aside my tester and focused on other more interesting samples only to come back to this one to find that it had opened up in the most interesting way- bitter orange stole the show and sandalwood began to make its appearance. Although I enjoy the fragrance, I picture it more as a refreshing, bright room scent rather than something I'd like to smell like. That's all.

I've just bought a bottle of bitter orange essential oil. I can confirm that there is a lot of that in here. I love the smell of oranges so that's fine with me. There is quite a bit of amber surfacing after a while. This a tour de force for the orange note and a perfectly unisex fragrance. I find it quite fresh, not very sweet and yes, a touch bitter. Sandalwood becomes much more evident after an hour. I can see me wearing this on a warm summers evening. Good longevity for a JM and also for a citrus fragrance.

Normally I hate scents that have stereotypical “Christmas” notes since they’re too close to candle territory, but Orange Bitters is just wonderful. It evokes a holiday feel *without* making me feel like I’ve just walked into a craft store and been assaulted by artificial pine and cinnamon. I blind bought the 9ml secondhand along with the accompanying mini candle and am happy with it, can see myself wearing this a lot for the rest of the winter. Excited to see how it will age over time, too

Blind buy. It starts with a burst of oranges which I am not sure how much I like, almost gives me headache but it calms down and becomes warmer and a bit more quiet. It stays close to skin. It is like nothing else in the Malone line or anything else I have ever smelled. Interesting scent. Definitely more masculine than feminine. edit- after wearing it for couple of weeks I noticed that i constantly reach for it beside having tons of other fragrance. it simply makes me happy.

This smells amazing...... starts off a bit zesty and then you smell the smooth and creamy sandalwood and Amber. I truly hope this is released in the permanent line for everyone to enjoy always. There was extremely limited stock when this came out in very disappointing numbers of bottles available. I only hope this was a 'teaser' and Jo Malone will release it in permanent line or re release it in another limited edition collection.....with MORE stock to meet demand!!!!!!

Starts off orange pith-y and becomes darker as the berry and amber become more pronounced. Lasts much longer than the typical Jo Malone fragrance and even develops some chocolate tones towards the end. I would recommend it for the nighttime as the sun can make this nauseating. But overall, it's a dark orange fragrance that has a gingerbread feel to it.

Juicy effervescent pulpy orange opening that slowly morphs into sandalwood, which I sensed as iso e super here. The late dry down is especially lovely. Overall the scent is reminiscent of old antique Asian furniture shop with orange citrus wax polish. Quite a warm cozy old world charming feel it imbibes to the wearer I think. Definitely a like for me.

Leans more male due to the men’s cologne-leaning amber note. It’s not a soft vanilla-balsamic one. The burst of bitter orange adds freshness, but I think the dry down is where more of the softness balances the scent. I like it for fall/winter as it reminds me of the holidays but I would probably mix it w/ a more feminine scent or use body products.

it feels very nostalgic and festive. its spicy and bitter and cozy in a really lovely way. a perfect balance of sweet and spice. it reminds me of terry’s chocolate oranges, as if jo malone bottled the orange oil they use for it. as much as i agree that it's best suited for the colder months, it's a shame you can't buy it whenever you want.

As it is a Christmas special edition, I was expecting it to be utterly Chirstmasy, like those oranges being soaked in mulled wine or combined with caramel. Yet, it is quite fresh, like the white tangerine fibre, slightly bitter, very authentic. But still, makes a great perfume. I would say, it suits for all year long.

Smells very good quality to me. Tried it mid-summer but it's a very autumn / winter warm spicy smell. I put it in the same category as time of year where I'd wear Grand Soir, or Mandoloro Di Sicilia, whilst the scents are different they all have that warmth and quality roundness to them.

I really like this scent as it smells like a natural, slightly dried orange peel. Unfortunately it feels a bit heavy and too bitter on me and it seems to be a better fit for gentlemen than ladies though an experienced woman could pull it off.

Beautiful Amber orange, spicy and sweet. Ideal for Christmas with it's spiced, warming vibe and all year around in my opinion. Unisex I feel, long lasting, different and full bottle worthy, it's a shame that it's a limited edition.

Orange with the peel, I like it! Jo Malone always captures scents well. Slightly a bit more to the pricey side.

2021 to 2022 edition; aprox. Longevity 4h not more, very skin scent. Dont buy, i dont recommend this.

Very realistic to my nose like you're in a bar at Christmastime

Orange Bitters was unfortunately kind of an anticlimax for me. The note list looks right up my alley, and I love the idea of oldfashioned cocktails as a perfume inspiration, but in practise this one fell rather flat - at least to my taste, which is of course very individual. The opening is the only part that I really enjoy: I love the high quality, very well-executed bitter orange note that's the star of the show at this point. It's really sparkling and delicious, and it goes together perfectly with the sweeter citruses and plum, and with the hint of spicy warmth that's all that's noticeable of the other notes at first. Very nice! It's just a shame that this phase lasts for all of five minutes, before it starts to go wrong to my nose: the citrus becomes pricklier and more synthetic, and gradually the warmer, spicier notes start to dominate - except for the plum, which soon disappears altogether. This is not exactly bad, but it's not an evolution for the better in my opinion, and what's worse is that any sillage disappears very quickly as well. Most of the day, I don't remember I'm wearing a perfume at all - in fact, the mandarin orange that I had on my desk today positively stole the show...

This is pretty masculine. This smells exactly like a suited, briefcase, cold office guy at a professional law firm to me haha. It's very heady in a way that reminds me of a less offensive and a lil more luxurious axe deodorant and so like most colognes(sorry guys) it can start a headache when overdone. Definitely smells boozy almost in the same way that makes me think of Margiela's Jazz Club. I think I'll occasionally sniff this around Christmas– that's the only time orange smells warm and can pass as festive to me. Otherwise, it's a surprisingly standoffish smell to me at any other time of the year ;;

I thought Orange Bitters would not show up at my local Jo Malone counter, but today it surprisingly did. And I'm glad I was able to test it, because I now know that I don't need it. It's an okay fragrance. 90% orange and faint warm base notes. I don't get a christmas vibe from this and I think it's a bit boring. Too light for winter, too warm for summer and gone quite quickly, even on my skin that holds fragrances very well.

I bought this for Christmas, the lady said it smells like an Old Fashioned. But I have to say I regret it, it doesn't last that long, and is a little too tangy for me. Too much bitter, not enough orange/fruity. And for the price it doesn't last long on me (like most Jo Malone fragrances I've had). I might try to mix with something sweeter to balance it, but haven't figured out what yet.

I don’t find the orange notes in Jo Malone London’s Orange Bitters particularly pronounced. However, when they meld with the creamy sandalwood, they evoke a warm, cozy ambiance reminiscent of the festive season. The fragrance unfolds as a pleasant, linear accord, settling into a skin scent after one hour.

It's not bad, but im not always a fan of citrus scents bc it tends to lean bathroom cleaner to me. BUT this develops in a good way so Im not mad about it ̄_(ツ)_/ ̄. I got a mini version as a freebie when I got my 30ml Nectarine Blossom & Honey bottle.

Orange Bitters is a little too powdery for my taste... and the powdery element really dominates any hint of actual Orange Bitters. Very old school ‘80s Chanel vibe here: if you like that, you’ll like this; if you don’t, you won’t.

Extremely orange, check. Extremely bitter, check. Nothing more, nothing less.

Very meh...just OK. I’ve experienced a number of other fragrances that have more genuine citrus notes (see almost all Atelier fragrances). Does open with a pleasant orangey note. Pleasant enough but nothing to write home about. Dry down brings forth a nice amber/sandalwood vibe. Nothing that would withstand colder months. Interesting how most say this is cold weather fragrance. IMHO, nothing here would tell me to wear this during colder months. This is Spring/summer for me. Longevity is below average...maybe 4/5 hours. Projection is average at best. Is unisex and best for spring/summer. Certainly sample before purchase. For me, this is not the best value. It’s just an OK pleasant citrus fragrance with a somewhat different dry down vs your standard citrus/musk combo. Pretty pricey for what you get.