PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Cinnamyl alcohol

How much Cinnamyl alcohol can you put in a perfume?

IFRA standard: Cinnamic alcohol · Category 4, 51st Amendment

1.2%

of the finished perfume, at most

Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Cinnamyl alcohol may make up at most 1.2% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 6.66% of your concentrate: 6.66% of every 100 g.

Cinnamyl alcohol is also one of the EU's declarable fragrance allergens: above 0.001% of a leave-on product it must be named on the label.

Check your own formula in the free IFRA calculator

What the limit means at your strength

The limit is on the finished perfume, so the stronger the perfume, the less Cinnamyl alcohol its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:

Perfume strengthMost Cinnamyl alcohol in the concentrate
Cologne, 5%24%
Eau de toilette, 10%12%
15%8%
Eau de parfum, 18%6.66%
20%6%
Extrait, 25%4.8%

Which materials contain Cinnamyl alcohol?

Sold as Cinnamyl alcohol itself, counted in full:

It also arrives inside other materials. The limit is on the total, so the calculator adds every source together. The largest carriers in PerfuMate's catalog, by their typical composition:

MaterialTypical contentAlone at 18%, at most
Hyacinth (F-TEC)8%83.3% of the concentrate
Hyacinth Absolutenatural8%83.3% of the concentrate
Styrax (F-TEC)8%83.3% of the concentrate
Hyacinth Body™ (IFF)5%no limit on its own
Syringa (F-TEC)5%no limit on its own
Floranol 959281™ (Fraterworks)4.5%no limit on its own
Styrax resinoidnatural4%no limit on its own
Benzoin (F-TEC)3%no limit on its own

35 materials in the catalog carry Cinnamyl alcohol; the calculator counts every one of them.

Shares are the catalog's typical values. A real batch varies with origin and season, and your supplier's analysis (GC-MS or certificate of analysis) is the real figure.

A worked example

A 100 g concentrate, bottled as an eau de parfum at 18%:

MaterialWeighed
Cinnamyl Alcohol3.3 g
Hyacinth Absolute50 g
Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit46.7 g

Cinnamyl Alcohol alone brings 0.594% Cinnamyl alcohol to the finished perfume, and Hyacinth Absolute adds 0.72%. Each looks modest, but the perfume holds 1.31% against a limit of 1.2%: 1.1 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Cinnamyl Alcohol from 3.3 g to 2.742 g and Hyacinth Absolute from 50 g to 41.548 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 1.1%.

Or paste these lines into the calculator:

Cinnamyl Alcohol  3.3 g
Hyacinth Absolute  50 g
Ethylene Brassylate  46.7 g

Questions

Is Cinnamyl alcohol banned in perfume?

No. IFRA restricts it: at most 1.2% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).

How much Cinnamyl alcohol can I use in an eau de parfum?

At 18%, at most 6.66% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Cinnamyl alcohol. Every other source counts toward the same total.

Does Cinnamyl alcohol from essential oils count?

Yes. The limit is on the total in the finished perfume, whatever brings it: Hyacinth Absolute typically carries 8%. The calculator adds every source.

Does this limit apply to candles or soap?

No. This is Category 4, fine fragrance on skin. Other products sit in other IFRA categories with other limits, which these pages and the calculator do not cover.

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