PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Methyl ionones
How much Methyl ionones can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Methyl ionone, mixed isomers · Category 4, 51st Amendment
30%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Methyl ionones may make up at most 30% of the finished perfume. That only binds in a perfume stronger than 30%: in an eau de parfum at 18%, even a concentrate made of nothing else stays inside it.
Methyl ionones 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 Methyl ionones its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Methyl ionones in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | no limit at this strength |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | no limit at this strength |
| 15% | no limit at this strength |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | no limit at this strength |
| 20% | no limit at this strength |
| Extrait, 25% | no limit at this strength |
What the standard says
The limit covers the listed isomers and forms together, not each one on its own.
Which materials contain Methyl ionones?
Sold as Methyl ionones itself, counted in full:
- Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
- Alpha-n-Methyl Ionone
- Beta-Methyl Ionone
- Methyl Ionone (mixed isomers)
- Ultralia
- Isoraldeine 70™ (Givaudan)
- Isoraldeine 95™ (Givaudan)
- Iralia™ (dsm-firmenich)
- Iralia Total™ (dsm-firmenich)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prunol™ (Symrise) | 40% | no limit on its own |
| Iris (F-TEC) | 30% | no limit on its own |
| Violet (F-TEC) | 30% | no limit on its own |
| Fruity Ionone (F-TEC) | 25% | no limit on its own |
| Orris (F-TEC) | 25% | no limit on its own |
| Ionone Fruity (F-TEC) | 20% | no limit on its own |
| Orris Liquid | 20% | no limit on its own |
| Honey Oliffac DEPR 0512™ (IFF) | 13.5% | no limit on its own |
22 materials in the catalog carry Methyl ionones; 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 |
|---|---|
| Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone | 30 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 70 g |
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone brings 5.4% Methyl ionones to the finished perfume, 18% of the limit: inside it.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone 30 g Ethylene Brassylate 70 g
Questions
Is Methyl ionones banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 30% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Methyl ionones can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, as much as you like as far as this limit goes: 30% of the perfume is more than an 18% concentrate can hold. Other sources and other limits still count.
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.