Cinnamaldehyde

What Cinnamaldehyde smells like

Cinnamaldehyde is the character odorant of cinnamon and cassia: sweet, spicy and warm, with the candy-like 'red hots' note of cinnamon sweets in The Good Scents Company's listing. It makes up most of cinnamon bark and cassia oils. It is a well-known skin sensitiser, and IFRA restricts it.

Leading note

Hot cinnamon

Clear facets

Sweet, candy

Supporting facets

Warm spice

Character

Hot, sweet, sharp, powerful

• cinnamon
• spicy
• sweet
• hot

What makes Cinnamaldehyde distinctive

Cinnamon reduced to its hot, sweet core — the candy cinnamon, without the bark's woody body.

How Cinnamaldehyde is used

Used in small amounts in spicy and oriental compositions and widely in cinnamon flavours; its sensitising potential limits it in fragrance.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).

How Cinnamaldehyde differs from similar materials

alpha-Methylcinnamaldehyde

The alpha-methyl derivative is softer and more balsamic, with a woody, slightly floral side; cinnamaldehyde is the sharper, candy-like cinnamon.

Cinnamyl Nitrile*

Cinnamyl nitrile is a cinnamon note that IFF describes as stronger and more stable than cinnamic aldehyde; cinnamaldehyde is the natural odorant itself. (compared directly by a cited source)

Cinnamon Bark Oil*

The bark oil is mostly cinnamaldehyde, with minor constituents adding a woody, rounded body. (compared directly by a cited source)

Cassia Oil*

Cassia oil is mostly cinnamaldehyde with some methoxycinnamaldehyde; cinnamaldehyde alone is the candy-like core. (compared directly by a cited source)

An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

A strong skin sensitiser; a declarable allergen covered by an IFRA Standard. Use sparingly.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Spicy / Gourmand

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Cinnamal, Cinnamic aldehyde

CAS number

104-55-2

Molecular formula

C9H8O

Molecular weight

132.16 g/mol

IUPAC name

(E)-3-phenylprop-2-enal

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 637511, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering Cinnamaldehyde:

• "Cinnamic aldehyde" — Restriction, 49th Amendment, published 2020-01

Limits differ by product category and are set out in the Standard itself; this page does not reproduce them. The list above reflects the library as read on 19 October 2026.

Cinnamaldehyde is one of the 26 fragrance allergens listed individually in Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (label name: Cinnamal), which must be named on cosmetic labels above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products. Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 extended the list; see the fragrance allergens list.

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. It has a harmonised EU classification (Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, Annex VI): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (2,854 reports): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (99.7% of reports); H315 causes skin irritation (98.1% of reports); H319 causes serious eye irritation (95.6% of reports); H312 harmful in contact with skin (76% of reports). 5 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. A skin sensitiser classification concerns handling the neat material and the dose in a finished product; the IFRA Standards, where they apply, set the limits. 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

• Cinnamon Bark Oil

  Essential oil · Spicy / Gourmand — cinnamon, spicy, sweet, hot

• Eugenol

  Aroma chemical · Spicy / Floral — clove, spicy, warm

• Vanillin

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Amber — vanilla, sweet, creamy

Cinnamaldehyde is also suggested as a partner on the pages for alpha-Methylcinnamaldehyde, Cassia Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Cinnamyl Acetate, Cinnamyl Nitrile and Eugenyl Acetate.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 2 published formulas

Cinnamaldehyde is an ingredient in 2 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Chocolate Accord

  Community Formula · Accord

• Hyacinth Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Cinnamyl Aldehyde”

Further reading

• Spicy Notes in Perfumery: Warm and Fresh Spices

  Warm and fresh spice materials, their key constituents, why cinnamon and clove are closely restricted, and how to build warmth within the limits.

• The Fragrance Allergens List: The 26, the Expanded EU List and Their Sources

  The 26 EU-listed fragrance allergens, where each typically occurs, the two now prohibited, the expanded 2023/1545 list, and other markets.

Questions about Cinnamaldehyde

Sources

• PubChem — compound 637511, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• IFRA — Standards Library, read 19 October 2026.
• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex III.
• The Good Scents Company — cinnamon odour category ((E)-cinnamaldehyde) — odour database.
• Erowid (Rhodium archive) — Cinnamomum oils (FAO monograph) — published literature.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: several independent published descriptions, which agree. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.