PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Verbena oil
How much Verbena oil can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Verbena oil and absolute (Lippia citriodora Kunth.) · Category 4, 51st Amendment
0.69%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Verbena oil may make up at most 0.69% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 3.83% of your concentrate: 3.83% of every 100 g.
Verbena oil 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, as Lippia Citriodora Absolute.
Verbena Essential Oil is also banned in EU cosmetics (Regulation 1223/2009, Annex II, entry 450).
What the limit means at your strength
The limit is on the finished perfume, so the stronger the perfume, the less Verbena oil its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Verbena oil in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 13.8% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 6.9% |
| 15% | 4.6% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 3.83% |
| 20% | 3.45% |
| Extrait, 25% | 2.76% |
What the standard says
It is restricted on two grounds at once, sensitisation (skin allergy) and phototoxicity (a reaction with sunlight). The standard also names one kind of verbena oil that should not be used at all, so read the standard itself before relying on the figure alone.
Which materials contain Verbena oil?
Sold as Verbena oil itself, counted in full:
A worked example
A 100 g concentrate, bottled as an eau de parfum at 18%:
| Material | Weighed |
|---|---|
| Verbena Essential Oil | 5.8 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 94.2 g |
Verbena Essential Oil brings 1.04% Verbena oil to the finished perfume, against a limit of 0.69%: 1.51 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Verbena Essential Oil from 5.8 g to 3.755 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 11.89%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Verbena Essential Oil 5.8 g Ethylene Brassylate 94.2 g
Questions
Is Verbena oil banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 0.69% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Verbena oil can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 3.83% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Verbena oil. 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.