Anisyl Acetate

What Anisyl Acetate smells like

Anisyl acetate is a mild, sweet, fruity-floral ester with a balsamic, vanilla-like touch. It is described as a mild fruity-floral, slightly balsamic-vanilla odour of the plum and lilac type, also reminiscent of cherry, and excellent in sweet florals such as lilac, acacia, mimosa, violet and honeysuckle. Givaudan gives floral, anisic, fruity and slightly balsamic; Sigma-Aldrich almond, cherry, coumarin, creamy, lilac, plum, sweet and vanilla. On its own it can seem dull.

Leading note

Sweet fruity floral

Clear facets

Plum, cherry

Supporting facets

Lilac, balsamic vanilla

Faint facets

Anisic

Character

Mild, sweet, creamy, powdery

• sweet
• fruity
• anisic
• lilac

What makes Anisyl Acetate distinctive

Plum and lilac: the fruitiest of the anisyl materials, with a creamy, coumarin-vanilla softness.

How Anisyl Acetate is used

Used in sweet florals — lilac, acacia, mimosa, violet, honeysuckle — and in fruity and gourmand compositions.

Typical role: blender (smooths the joins between other materials).

How Anisyl Acetate differs from similar materials

Anisyl Alcohol

The alcohol is softer and more powdery-floral, with lilac and heliotrope; the acetate is fruitier, with plum and cherry.

Amyl Benzoate

Amyl benzoate is the milder, balsamic fruity-floral blender; anisyl acetate is fruitier, plum and lilac, with a creamy vanilla softness.

Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Floral / Fruity

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

4-Methoxybenzyl acetate

CAS number

104-21-2

Molecular formula

C10H12O3

Molecular weight

180.2 g/mol

IUPAC name

(4-methoxyphenyl)methyl acetate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 7695, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (1,736 reports): H315 causes skin irritation (18.8% of reports); H319 causes serious eye irritation (17.1% of reports). 1,304 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

• Anisyl Alcohol

  Aroma chemical · Powdery / Floral — floral, powdery, sweet, anisic

• Anisaldehyde

  Aroma chemical · Powdery / Floral — anisic, hawthorn, floral, sweet

• Heliotropin

  Aroma chemical · Powdery / Gourmand — powdery, almond, vanilla, floral

• Canthoxal

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — anisic, sweet, liquorice, herbal

Anisyl Acetate is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Methyl Anisate.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Anisyl Acetate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Anise Ink

  RUŌOD House Creation

Further reading

• How to Make a Lilac Accord

  Building lilac from aroma chemicals: terpineol, heliotropin, phenylethyl alcohol and indole, an illustrative accord, balancing it and restrictions to check.

• Perfume Materials by Odor Family: A Formulator's Palette Map

  Which materials build each odor family — citrus, floral, woody, amber, musk and more — their usual roles, what to watch for, and links to each in depth.

Questions about Anisyl Acetate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 7695, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• Perflavory (The Good Scents Company) — anisyl acetate (with Givaudan's description) — odour database.
• Parchem — para-anisyl acetate — distributor's description.
• Fraterworks — anisyl acetate — distributor's description.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.