PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Nootkatone
How much Nootkatone can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Nootkatone · Category 4, 51st Amendment
no percentage limit
IFRA sets no percentage limit for Nootkatone in fine fragrance. Its standard is a quality specification instead: it must be at least 98% pure, with a melting point of at least 32 °C; lower grades must not be used.
Which materials contain Nootkatone?
Sold as Nootkatone 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 |
|---|---|
| Sinensal Essential Oilnatural | 5.5% |
| Grapefruit (F-TEC) | 1% |
| Vetiver Absolutenatural | 1% |
| Vetiver Bourbon Essential Oilnatural | 1% |
| Vetiver Essential Oilnatural | 1% |
| Vetiverolnatural | 1% |
| Chinotto Essential Oilnatural | 0.7% |
| Grapefruit Essential Oilnatural | 0.4% |
12 materials in the catalog carry Nootkatone; 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 |
|---|---|
| Nootkatone | 20 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 80 g |
Nootkatone at 20 g in 100 g is 3.6% of the finished perfume. The calculator lists it as a Quality specification: it never fails a formula on the amount; what matters is the quality of the stock.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Nootkatone 20 g Ethylene Brassylate 80 g
Questions
Is Nootkatone banned in perfume?
No. IFRA sets no percentage limit for it; its standard is a quality specification.
Does Nootkatone from essential oils count?
Yes. The limit is on the total in the finished perfume, whatever brings it: Sinensal Essential Oil typically carries 5.5%. 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.