PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Cuminaldehyde

How much Cuminaldehyde can you put in a perfume?

IFRA standard: Cuminaldehyde · Category 4, 51st Amendment

0.47%

of the finished perfume, at most

Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Cuminaldehyde may make up at most 0.47% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 2.61% of your concentrate: 2.61% of every 100 g.

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

Perfume strengthMost Cuminaldehyde in the concentrate
Cologne, 5%9.4%
Eau de toilette, 10%4.7%
15%3.13%
Eau de parfum, 18%2.61%
20%2.35%
Extrait, 25%1.88%

Which materials contain Cuminaldehyde?

Sold as Cuminaldehyde 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
Cumin Seed Essential Oilnatural30%8.7% of the concentrate
Cassie Absolutenatural0.5%no limit on its own
Lysmerex™ (Fraterworks)0.21%no limit on its own
Ambrettex XNM 0512™ (IFF)0.021%no limit on its own
Oud Oliffac™ (IFF)0.001%no limit on its own
Honey Supreme™ (Fraterworks)0.0002%no limit on its own

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
Cuminaldehyde1.3 g
Cumin Seed Essential Oil5.2 g
Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit93.5 g

Cuminaldehyde alone brings 0.234% Cuminaldehyde to the finished perfume, and Cumin Seed Essential Oil adds 0.281%. Each looks modest, but the perfume holds 0.515% against a limit of 0.47%: 1.1 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Cuminaldehyde from 1.3 g to 1.18 g and Cumin Seed Essential Oil from 5.2 g to 4.719 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 7.69%.

Or paste these lines into the calculator:

Cuminaldehyde  1.3 g
Cumin Seed Essential Oil  5.2 g
Ethylene Brassylate  93.5 g

Questions

Is Cuminaldehyde banned in perfume?

No. IFRA restricts it: at most 0.47% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).

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

At 18%, at most 2.61% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Cuminaldehyde. Every other source counts toward the same total.

Does Cuminaldehyde from essential oils count?

Yes. The limit is on the total in the finished perfume, whatever brings it: Cumin Seed Essential Oil typically carries 30%. 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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