PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Eugenol
How much Eugenol can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Eugenol · Category 4, 51st Amendment
2.5%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Eugenol may make up at most 2.5% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 13.8% of your concentrate: 13.8% of every 100 g.
Eugenol 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 Eugenol its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Eugenol in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 50% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 25% |
| 15% | 16.6% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 13.8% |
| 20% | 12.5% |
| Extrait, 25% | 10% |
Which materials contain Eugenol?
Sold as Eugenol 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Clove Stem Essential Oilnatural | 90% | 15.4% of the concentrate |
| Pimento Leaf Essential Oilnatural | 82% | 16.9% of the concentrate |
| Clove Bud Essential Oilnatural | 80% | 17.3% of the concentrate |
| Clove Essential Oilnatural | 80% | 17.3% of the concentrate |
| Clove Leaf Essential Oilnatural | 78% | 17.8% of the concentrate |
| Clove Bud CO2 Extractnatural | 76% | 18.2% of the concentrate |
| Pimento Berry Essential Oilnatural | 75% | 18.5% of the concentrate |
| Clove (F-TEC) | 60% | 23.1% of the concentrate |
128 materials in the catalog carry Eugenol; 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 |
|---|---|
| Eugenol | 6.9 g |
| Clove Stem Essential Oil | 9.3 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 83.8 g |
Eugenol alone brings 1.24% Eugenol to the finished perfume, and Clove Stem Essential Oil adds 1.51%. Each looks modest, but the perfume holds 2.75% against a limit of 2.5%: 1.1 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Eugenol from 6.9 g to 6.168 g and Clove Stem Essential Oil from 9.3 g to 8.313 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 16.37%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Eugenol 6.9 g Clove Stem Essential Oil 9.3 g Ethylene Brassylate 83.8 g
Questions
Is Eugenol banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 2.5% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Eugenol can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 13.8% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Eugenol. Every other source counts toward the same total.
Does Eugenol from essential oils count?
Yes. The limit is on the total in the finished perfume, whatever brings it: Clove Stem Essential Oil typically carries 90%. 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.