PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Lilial
How much Lilial can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: p-tert-Butyl-alpha-methylhydrocinnamic aldehyde (p-BMHCA, Lilial) · Category 4, 51st Amendment
1.4%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Lilial may make up at most 1.4% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 7.77% of your concentrate: 7.77% of every 100 g.
Lilial 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.
Lilial is also banned in EU cosmetics (Regulation 1223/2009, Annex II, entry 1666, since 2022-03-01).
What the limit means at your strength
The limit is on the finished perfume, so the stronger the perfume, the less Lilial its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Lilial in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 28% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 14% |
| 15% | 9.33% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 7.77% |
| 20% | 7% |
| Extrait, 25% | 5.6% |
Which materials contain Lilial?
Sold as Lilial 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pamzest | 0.5% | 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%:
| Material | Weighed |
|---|---|
| Lilial | 12 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 88 g |
Lilial brings 2.16% Lilial to the finished perfume, against a limit of 1.4%: 1.54 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Lilial from 12 g to 7.422 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 11.66%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Lilial 12 g Ethylene Brassylate 88 g
Questions
Is Lilial banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 1.4% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Lilial can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 7.77% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Lilial. Every other source 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.