Aqueous detergent compositions

1. A liquid detergent composition comprising:

(a) an aqueous medium;

(b) about 5 wt % to about 45 wt % of a surfactant system, wherein the surfactant system comprises:

(i) about 15 to about 20 wt % of an anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of methyl ester sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, and mixtures thereof, and about 15 to about 20 wt % of an alcohol ethoxylate;

(ii) about 8 to about 12 wt % of an anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of methyl ester sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, and mixtures thereof, and about 1 to about 5 wt % of an alcohol ethoxylate;

(iii) about 5 to about 10 wt % of an anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of methyl ester sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, and mixtures thereof, and about 4 to about 6 wt % of an alcohol ethoxylate; or

(iv) about 10 to about 15 wt % of an anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of methyl ester sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, and mixtures thereof, and about 1 to about 15 wt % of an alcohol ethoxylate;

(c) about 0.1 wt % to about 10 wt % of a builder component;

(d) about 0.01 wt % to about 1 wt % of an external structuring agent, comprising particulate cellulose material containing, by dry weight, at least 60% cellulose, 0.5-10% pectin and 1-15% hemicellulose, and has a volume-weighted median particle dimension within the range of 25-75 μm, as measured by laser light diffractometry.

2. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 1 , wherein the methyl ester sulfonate has the following formula (I):

wherein R 1 is a C 4 to C 24 alkane, R 2 is methyl, and R 3 is a mono-valent or di-valent cation.

3. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 1 , wherein the builder component is selected from the group consisting of an organic acid, an alkali metal hydroxide, an amine, and mixtures thereof.

4. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 3 , wherein the builder component is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydroxide, calcium chloride, triethanolamine, monoethanolamine, and mixtures thereof, in an amount from about 1% to about 8%.

5. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 1 , further comprising a chelator.

6. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 5 , wherein the chelator is a polycarboxylic acid.

7. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 6 , wherein the polycarboxylic acid is ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, succinic acid, iminodisuccinic acid, salts thereof, or mixtures thereof.

8. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one additional component selected from the group consisting of a defoamer, an enzyme, a color component, a fragrance component, and mixtures thereof.

9. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 1 , further comprising a fragrance component.

10. The liquid detergent composition of claim 9 , wherein the fragrance component is encapsulated.

11. A fragrance composition, comprising:

(g) an aqueous medium;

(h) about 10 wt % to about 75 wt % of a an encapsulated fragrance component; and

(i) about 0.01 wt % to about 1 wt % of an external structuring agent, comprising particulate cellulose material containing, by dry weight, at least 60% cellulose, 0.5-10% pectin and 1-15% hemicellulose, and has a volume-weighted median particle dimension within the range of 25-75 μm, as measured by laser light diffractometry.

12. The fragrance composition according to claim 11 , comprising about 25 wt % of the fragrance component.

13. The fragrance composition according to claim 11 , comprising about 50 wt % of the fragrance component.

14. The liquid detergent composition according to claim 1 , wherein the anionic surfactant comprises a mixture of methyl ester sulfonate and sodium lauryl ether sulphate.