Ethyl Safranate

What Ethyl Safranate smells like

Ethyl safranate (Givaudan) is hard to pin down, one distributor says: a spicy, anise-like scent with apple and mint on one side, and a clear fruity floral in the direction of rose and red fruit, much like the damascones, on the other. Another supplier lists floral-rose, herbal, damascone-like, spicy-saffron, fruity-apple, rose and woody. A third finds it very similar to the damascones (apple, rose) but a little sweeter and fruitier — and, unlike them, not heavily restricted. One user found it overwhelming at higher doses.

Leading note

Fruity rose with saffron spice

Clear facets

Apple

Supporting facets

Saffron spice, anise, mint

Faint facets

Woody

Character

Fruity, spicy, warm, sweet

• saffron
• fruity
• rosy
• spicy

What makes Ethyl Safranate distinctive

A damascone with saffron in it: rose and apple with a spice-and-anise edge, and far fewer restrictions.

How Ethyl Safranate is used

Used to add a saffron note to damascone-rich rose bases and in fruity-spicy compositions.

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

How Ethyl Safranate differs from similar materials

alpha-Damascone*

A distributor finds ethyl safranate very similar to the damascones but sweeter and fruitier, with a saffron-spice and anise side. (compared directly by a cited source)

Safranal

Safranal is the cold, metallic, leathery saffron itself; ethyl safranate is fruitier and rosier, with saffron as a spice nuance.

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.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Synthetic

Odour family

Spicy / Fruity

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Ethyl 2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylate

CAS number

35044-59-8

Molecular formula

C12H18O2

Molecular weight

194.27 g/mol

IUPAC name

ethyl 2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 118201, 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 (1,542 reports): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (86.8% of reports); H412 harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects (86.8% of reports). 204 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

• Safranal

  Aroma chemical · Spicy / Leather — saffron, leathery, spicy, warm

• Rose Oil (Rosa damascena)

  Essential oil · Floral / Fruity — rose, honeyed, spicy, fresh

• Agarwood Oil (Oud)

  Essential oil · Woody / Animalic — woody, animalic, smoky, leathery

• beta-Damascenone

  Aroma chemical · Fruity / Floral — fruity, cooked apple, plum, rose

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 3 published formulas

Ethyl Safranate is an ingredient in 3 perfume formulas in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Dune Spice Market

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “Ethyl Safranate 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

• Guaiac Rose

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “Ethyl Safranate 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

• Saffron Lacquer

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Ethyl Safranate 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

Further reading

• How to Build a Saffron Accord

  A saffron accord from saffron-type aroma chemicals, leather, hay and rose: an illustrative accord, rose–saffron–oud, color, stability and restrictions.

• 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.

Questions about Ethyl Safranate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 118201, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• De Hekserij — Ethyl safranate — distributor's description.
• The Fragrance Foundry — Ethyl safranate (Givaudan) — distributor's description.
• Anthea — Ethyl safranate — manufacturer's description.
• 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.