How much Citronellol can you put in a perfume?

IFRA standard: Citronellol · Category 4, 51st Amendment

12%

of the finished perfume, at most

Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Citronellol may make up at most 12% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 66.6% of your concentrate: 66.6% of every 100 g.

Citronellol 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 Citronellol its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:

Perfume strength	Most Citronellol in the concentrate
Cologne, 5%	no limit at this strength
Eau de toilette, 10%	no limit at this strength
15%	80%
Eau de parfum, 18%	66.6%
20%	60%
Extrait, 25%	48%

Which materials contain Citronellol?

Sold as Citronellol 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:

Material	Typical content	Alone at 18%, at most
Geranium Heart, Natural™ (Robertet)	63.2%	no limit on its own
Geranium Oil Chinanatural	42%	no limit on its own
Rose Otto (Rosa damascena)natural	38%	no limit on its own
Rose Otto Turkey (Rosa damascena, Isparta)natural	34%	no limit on its own
Geranium Absolute (Pelargonium graveolens)natural	30%	no limit on its own
Rose Otto Iran (Rosa damascena, Kashan)natural	30%	no limit on its own
White Rose Otto (Rosa alba)natural	30%	no limit on its own
Geranium Essential Oil Bourbonnatural	28%	no limit on its own

79 materials in the catalog carry Citronellol; 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%:

Material	Weighed
Citronellol	30 g
Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit	70 g

Citronellol brings 5.4% Citronellol to the finished perfume, 45% of the limit: inside it.

Open this example in the IFRA calculator

Or paste these lines into the calculator:

Citronellol  30 g
Ethylene Brassylate  70 g

Questions

Is Citronellol banned in perfume?

No. IFRA restricts it: at most 12% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).

How much Citronellol can I use in an eau de parfum?

At 18%, at most 66.6% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Citronellol. Every other source counts toward the same total.

Does Citronellol from essential oils count?

Yes. The limit is on the total in the finished perfume, whatever brings it: Geranium Oil China typically carries 42%. 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.