Fragrance allergen

Pogostemon Cablin Oil

Patchouli oil is the essential oil taken from the leaves of Pogostemon cablin, a bushy herb native to tropical Southeast Asia. It smells earthy, woody and a little camphor-like, and it is a base note. It is one of the natural oils the EU added to its list of fragrance allergens named on labels.

Where it comes from

Patchouli oil is steam-distilled from the dried, fermented leaves of Pogostemon cablin. Indonesia produces over 90 per cent of the global supply, and its producing areas include Sulawesi, Sumatra and Java, while India, China and the Comoros also make it. The main component is the sesquiterpene alcohol patchoulol, at 27 to 35 per cent. Other constituents include alpha-bulnesene and alpha-guajene.

Smell and use

Earthy and woody, with dry, balsamic, spicy and slightly minty sides. Fresh distillate is rougher and sharper, while aged oil turns smoother and darker, with an almost chocolatey warmth once the camphor notes recede.

Patchouli is a base note. The Good Scents Company lists a substantivity of 400 hours at full strength for one patchouli oil grade. It anchors the chypre accord of bergamot, oakmoss, labdanum and patchouli by giving the mossy base its earthy darkness. The same site lists it as blending well with vetiver, sandalwood, cedarwood, oakmoss and oriental-type bases.

On the label

Named on 8% of the 6,851 perfume ingredient lists we hold (514 perfumes).

EU
Annex III, entry 365. Must be named above 0.001% in leave-on products (0.01% rinse-off).
Great Britain
Not on Great Britain's list. It came to the EU list in 2023 and a GB label need not name it.

Patchouli oil was added to the EU list of named fragrance allergens by Regulation (EU) 2023/1545. The SCCS opinion SCCS/1459/11, adopted in 2012, covers it among natural extracts, citing patch-test studies, and notes the ISO standard ISO 3757:2002 for the oil. Great Britain has not adopted the 2023 expansion, according to one industry source.

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 8% of 4,898
  • Eau de toilette 4% of 1,227
  • Extrait 7% of 341
  • Parfum 32% of 191
  • Cologne 1% of 108
  • Body spray 7% of 42
  • Other 11% of 27

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

Named alongside

Share of the lists naming Pogostemon Cablin Oil that also name each of these.

Perfumes whose box names it

Common questions

What does patchouli oil smell like?

Patchouli smells earthy and woody, with dry, balsamic and spicy sides and a hint of camphor. Fresh oil is sharper, and aged oil becomes smoother and darker, sometimes described as almost chocolatey.

How is patchouli oil made?

Leaves of the patchouli plant are dried and partly fermented, then steam-distilled. Indonesia supplies over 90 per cent of the world's patchouli oil, and the main component of the oil is patchoulol.

Why is patchouli oil on my perfume label?

The 2023 EU regulation added patchouli oil to the allergen list. Where it passes 0.001 per cent in a leave-on product, it must be named in the ingredient list in addition to the general term "parfum".