Cinnamyl Cinnamate

What Cinnamyl Cinnamate smells like

Cinnamyl cinnamate (styracin) is faintly sweet and resinous. At 1% one listing gives mild, floral, balsamic and sweet, with jasmine and rose and a cinnamon-spicy nuance; a supplier finds it barely perceptible, with a mild balsamic warmth and soft hints of jasmine, rose and honey. It is one of the most important constituents of storax, and is also found in Peru and Honduras balsams. It is valued as a fixative that holds volatile notes without adding obvious character of its own.

Leading note

Faint resinous balsam

Faint facets

Jasmine, rose, cinnamon, honey

Character

Faint, soft, tenacious

• balsamic
• faint
• sweet
• resinous

What makes Cinnamyl Cinnamate distinctive

A fixative from storax that barely smells: it holds a composition together without speaking in it.

Where the descriptions disagree: Suppliers call it barely perceptible; a database gives a clearer floral-balsamic character at 1%.

How Cinnamyl Cinnamate is used

Used as a fixative for top and heart notes in floral, oriental and balsamic compositions, and in storax reconstructions.

Typical role: fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes).

How Cinnamyl Cinnamate differs from similar materials

Styrax Resinoid*

Styrax is the whole resin — balsamic, leathery and smoky, with lilac-hyacinth; cinnamyl cinnamate is one of its main constituents, nearly odourless on its own. (compared directly by a cited source)

Benzyl Cinnamate

Benzyl cinnamate is creamier and slightly spicy; cinnamyl cinnamate is fainter and more resinous, with jasmine and rose.

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 solid; dissolve before use.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Resinous

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Solid

Also known as

Styracin

CAS number

122-69-0

Molecular formula

C18H16O2

Molecular weight

264.3 g/mol

IUPAC name

[(E)-3-phenylprop-2-enyl] (E)-3-phenylprop-2-enoate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 1550890, 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 report it as not meeting the GHS hazard criteria (1,604 of 1,605 reports). 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

• Benzyl Cinnamate

  Aroma chemical · Amber / Gourmand — balsamic, sweet, faint

• Styrax Resinoid

  Resinoid · Amber / Leather — balsamic, leathery, cinnamic, smoky

• Peru Balsam Oil

  Essential oil · Amber / Gourmand — balsamic, vanillic, cinnamic, sweet

• Cinnamyl Alcohol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Spicy — balsamic, floral, hyacinth, sweet

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Cinnamyl Cinnamate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Cherry Lacquer

  RUŌOD House Creation

Further reading

• Incense and Resins in Perfumery: Olibanum, Myrrh and Balsams

  Olibanum, myrrh, elemi, labdanum, benzoin, balsams and styrax: their characters, incense accord styles, viscosity, haze, color and restrictions.

• Perfume Fixatives Explained: What They Do and What They Don't

  What fixatives are in perfumery, how low-volatility materials change evaporation and longevity, and the myths worth dropping before you formulate.

Questions about Cinnamyl Cinnamate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 1550890, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• ChemicalBook — cinnamyl cinnamate (CAS 122-69-0) — odour database.
• Fraterworks — cinnamyl cinnamate — distributor's description.
• The Good Scents Company — cinnamyl odour category — odour database.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.