PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Clove oil
How much Clove oil can you put in a perfume?
2.77%
of the finished perfume, at most
By its typical composition, Clove Stem Essential Oil can make up at most 2.77% of a finished perfume: its Eugenol content meets that IFRA limit first. At 18% that is at most 15.4% of your concentrate.
Grades differ, and the table below has each one.
Grade by grade
Each grade in PerfuMate's catalog, read through its typical composition by the calculator's engine:
| Material | Held by | At most, of the perfume | At 18%, of the concentrate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clove Bud CO2 Extract | Eugenol 76% | 3.28% | 18.2% |
| Clove Bud Essential Oil | Eugenol 80% | 3.12% | 17.3% |
| Clove Essential Oil | Eugenol 80% | 3.12% | 17.3% |
| Clove Leaf Essential Oil | Eugenol 78% | 3.2% | 17.8% |
| Clove Stem Essential Oil | Eugenol 90% | 2.77% | 15.4% |
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 |
|---|---|
| Clove Stem Essential Oil | 23 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 77 g |
Clove Stem Essential Oil brings 3.73% Eugenol to the finished perfume, against a limit of 2.5%: 1.49 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Clove Stem Essential Oil from 23 g to 14.051 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 12.07%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Clove Stem Essential Oil 23 g Ethylene Brassylate 77 g
Questions
Why is Clove oil limited if it is natural?
Because IFRA limits molecules, and a natural is a mixture of them. Clove Stem Essential Oil typically carries 90% Eugenol, which has its own Category 4 limit of 2.5%.
How much Clove oil can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, Clove Stem Essential Oil may be at most 15.4% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Eugenol. Every other source of Eugenol counts toward the same total.
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.