PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Coumarin
How much Coumarin can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Coumarin · Category 4, 51st Amendment
1.5%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Coumarin may make up at most 1.5% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 8.33% of your concentrate: 8.33% of every 100 g.
Coumarin 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.
What the limit means at your strength
The limit is on the finished perfume, so the stronger the perfume, the less Coumarin its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Coumarin in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 30% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 15% |
| 15% | 10% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 8.33% |
| 20% | 7.5% |
| Extrait, 25% | 6% |
Which materials contain Coumarin?
Sold as Coumarin 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tonka Bean CO2 Extractnatural | 70% | 11.9% of the concentrate |
| Tonka bean absolutenatural | 65% | 12.8% of the concentrate |
| Liatrix absolutenatural | 55% | 15.1% of the concentrate |
| Sweet Clover Absolutenatural | 40% | 20.8% of the concentrate |
| Tonkarome™ (Synarome) | 40% | 20.8% of the concentrate |
| New Mown Hay (F-TEC) | 30% | 27.7% of the concentrate |
| Olibanum CNC™ (Fraterworks) | 13% | 64.1% of the concentrate |
| Black Opoponax 199699A™ (Fraterworks) | 12.6% | 66.1% of the concentrate |
54 materials in the catalog carry Coumarin; 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 |
|---|---|
| Coumarin | 4.2 g |
| Tonka Bean CO2 Extract | 7.1 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 88.7 g |
Coumarin alone brings 0.756% Coumarin to the finished perfume, and Tonka Bean CO2 Extract adds 0.895%. Each looks modest, but the perfume holds 1.65% against a limit of 1.5%: 1.1 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Coumarin from 4.2 g to 3.773 g and Tonka Bean CO2 Extract from 7.1 g to 6.378 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 16.35%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Coumarin 4.2 g Tonka Bean CO2 Extract 7.1 g Ethylene Brassylate 88.7 g
Questions
Is Coumarin banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 1.5% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Coumarin can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 8.33% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Coumarin. Every other source counts toward the same total.
Does Coumarin from essential oils count?
Yes. The limit is on the total in the finished perfume, whatever brings it: Tonka Bean CO2 Extract typically carries 70%. 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.