In short
Cinnamyl alcohol is found in balsams such as Peru and storax and in hyacinth. It has a sweet, balsamic-floral note.
What Cinnamyl Alcohol smells like
Cinnamyl alcohol is sweet, warm and balsamic, with a hyacinth-like floral character and a soft cinnamic spice. Symrise describes it as sweet, balsamic and floral, tending towards hyacinth; databases list sweet, balsam, hyacinth, spicy, green, powdery and cinnamic; Pell Wall Perfumes adds a rose facet and a mild almond note. It is a widely used modifier and blender with fair tenacity, and one of the 26 fragrance allergens individually named in EU cosmetics law.
- Leading note
- Sweet balsamic
- Clear facets
- Hyacinth
- Supporting facets
- Cinnamon spice
- Faint facets
- Powdery, rose
- Character
- Sweet, warm, soft, balsamic
What makes Cinnamyl Alcohol distinctive
It is hyacinth and balsam with a breath of cinnamon — warmer and spicier than the phenylpropyl alcohols, but far gentler than cinnamaldehyde.
How Cinnamyl Alcohol is used
A widely used modifier and blender in floral compositions — hyacinth, lilac and other spring florals — and in balsamic and oriental accords.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Cinnamyl Alcohol differs from similar materials
- Phenylpropyl Alcohol
- Symrise describes phenylpropyl alcohol as more balsamic than cinnamyl alcohol; cinnamyl alcohol has the clearer cinnamic spice and powderiness. (compared directly by a cited source)
- Cinnamyl Acetate
- A glossary finds the acetate fruitier and less floral than the alcohol, which is the softer hyacinth-balsamic note. (compared directly by a cited source)
- Styrax Resinoid
- Styrax is darker, leathery and smoky; cinnamyl alcohol is the soft hyacinth-balsamic note found in it.
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 low-melting solid; a declarable allergen covered by an IFRA Standard.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Occurs in nature
- Odour family
- Floral / Spicy
- Note position
- Heart to base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Solid
- CAS number
- 104-54-1
- Molecular formula
- C9H10O
- Molecular weight
- 134.17 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- (E)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ol
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 5315892, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.
Safety and compliance
The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering Cinnamyl Alcohol:
- "Cinnamic alcohol" — 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.
Cinnamyl Alcohol is one of the 26 fragrance allergens listed individually in Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (label name: Cinnamyl alcohol), 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. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (2,033 reports): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (99.7% of reports); H302 harmful if swallowed (15.5% of reports). 1 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
-
Phenylacetaldehyde
Aroma chemical · Green / Floral — green, honeyed, hyacinth, floral
-
Benzyl Cinnamate
Aroma chemical · Amber / Gourmand — balsamic, sweet, faint
-
Styrax Resinoid
Resinoid · Amber / Leather — balsamic, leathery, cinnamic, smoky
Cinnamyl Alcohol is also suggested as a partner on the pages for alpha-Methylcinnamaldehyde, Anther, Cinnamyl Acetate, Cinnamyl Cinnamate, Hydrocinnamaldehyde and Phenylpropyl Alcohol.
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 9 published formulas
Cinnamyl Alcohol is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula, 7 accords and 1 base in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Cinnamyl Alcohol
Is Cinnamyl Alcohol natural or synthetic?
The molecule occurs in nature. Commercial Cinnamyl Alcohol may be made by synthesis or obtained from natural sources, so check the supplier's specification if the distinction matters to you.
What is the CAS number of Cinnamyl Alcohol?
104-54-1. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Cinnamyl Alcohol?
Cinnamyl Alcohol is used in 9 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Cranberry Base, Horchata Accord and Hyacinth Accord. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Is Cinnamyl Alcohol covered by an IFRA Standard?
Yes. The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering it: "Cinnamic alcohol" — Restriction, 49th Amendment. The limits depend on the product category; read the Standard itself before formulating.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 5315892, 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.
- Perflavory (The Good Scents Company) — cinnamyl alcohol (with Symrise's description) — odour database.
- Wikipedia — Cinnamyl alcohol — published perfumery reference.
- Parchem — cinnamyl alcohol technical sheet — distributor's description.
- 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.