Fragrance allergen

Benzyl salicylate

Benzyl salicylate is an ester of salicylic acid and benzyl alcohol. It occurs naturally in some flower oils and is also made industrially. In perfume it is a faint, sweet floral-balsamic material used as a fixative, and it also turns up in soaps, detergents and sunscreens.

Formula
C14H12O3
Molar mass
228.25 g/mol
CAS
118-58-1

Where it comes from

The SCCS says benzyl salicylate occurs naturally in ylang-ylang oil, carnation oil and tuberose absolute. Other references add Peru balsam and the flower oils of hyacinths and wallflowers. The commercial material is typically made by esterifying salicylic acid with benzyl alcohol, or by reacting benzyl chloride with an alkali salicylate, or by transesterifying methyl salicylate.

Smell and use

Very faint and sweet, floral with a soft balsamic edge. Good Scents lists balsam, clean, herbal, oily and sweet, and rates the odour strength as low.

Perfumers use benzyl salicylate as a fixative, which means it helps other fragrance materials last, and as a solvent for synthetic musks. It also scents detergents, soaps and household cleaners, and it absorbs UV light, so it appears in sunscreen preparations. The SCCS opinion reports European use of more than 1,000 and less than 10,000 tonnes a year.

On the label

Named on 42% of the 6,851 perfume ingredient lists we hold (2,906 perfumes).

EU
Annex III, entry 75. Must be named above 0.001% in leave-on products (0.01% rinse-off).
Great Britain
Required, same thresholds. GB Annex III

Benzyl salicylate is one of the 26 fragrance allergens individually labelled in the EU, so it must be named above 0.001% in leave-on or 0.01% in rinse-off products. In opinion SCCS/1656/23 (2023) the SCCS gave maximum concentrations, for example 4% in hydroalcoholic fragrances. IFRA Standard 011 limits fine fragrance to 7.3%.

A list that does not name it does not prove it is absent: brands only have to name it above the threshold.

Frequency by concentration

  • Eau de parfum 44% of 4,891
  • Eau de toilette 38% of 1,227
  • Extrait 32% of 341
  • Parfum 45% of 194
  • Cologne 32% of 115
  • Body spray 48% of 42
  • Other 26% of 27

Share of the perfumes we hold a list for, in each concentration.

Named alongside

Share of the lists naming Benzyl salicylate that also name each of these.

Notes whose materials include it

Perfumes whose box names it

Common questions

What does benzyl salicylate smell like?

Very little, and sweetly. Sources describe a faint, sweet, slightly balsamic floral smell. Good Scents lists balsam, clean, herbal, oily and sweet, with low odour strength.

Is benzyl salicylate natural or synthetic?

Both. The SCCS says it occurs naturally in ylang-ylang oil, carnation oil and tuberose absolute. The material used in products can be extracted or synthesised, typically by esterifying salicylic acid with benzyl alcohol.

Why is benzyl salicylate on my perfume label?

It is one of the 26 fragrance allergens that EU cosmetics rules have long required to be named individually. It must be listed above 0.001% in leave-on or 0.01% in rinse-off products, instead of sitting inside the word parfum.