Geranyl Formate

What Geranyl Formate smells like

Geranyl formate is fresh, green, leafy and rose-like. A chemical reference gives fresh, green, leafy and rose; Prodasynth lists fresh, green, leafy, rosy; Bedoukian a fresh, dry, ethereal green, useful for a lofty green top note. Other listings add tea rose, neroli and tea-leaf facets, a pear-like fruitiness (Moellhausen) or a gentle rose-geranium body. One supplier stresses that it is resolutely fresh and dry, with no sweetness.

Leading note

Fresh green rose

Clear facets

Leafy

Supporting facets

Tea rose, tea leaf

Faint facets

Neroli, pear

Character

Fresh, dry, green, ethereal

• rosy
• green
• fresh
• leafy

What makes Geranyl Formate distinctive

Dryness. It is the least sweet of the geranyl esters — a lofty, leafy, tea-rose green rather than a fruity rose.

Where the descriptions disagree: Some describe fruity-sweet facets; one supplier insists it has no sweetness at all.

How Geranyl Formate is used

Used to give a fresh, green, leafy lift to rose and geranium compositions and to top notes.

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

How Geranyl Formate differs from similar materials

Citronellyl Formate

Citronellyl formate is a more pungent rose petal with pronounced leafy geranium and a honeyed undertone; geranyl formate is drier and more ethereal, with tea-rose notes.

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 / Green

Note position

Top to heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Geraniol formate

CAS number

105-86-2

Molecular formula

C11H18O2

Molecular weight

182.26 g/mol

IUPAC name

[(2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienyl] formate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 5282109, 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 (1,708 reports): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (77.4% of reports). 357 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

• Geraniol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Citrus — rosy, sweet, citrus, fresh

• Citronellyl Formate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — rosy, green, fruity, fresh

• Geranium Oil

  Essential oil · Floral / Green — rosy, green, minty, fresh

• Geranyl Acetate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — fruity, rosy, pear, fresh

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Geranyl Formate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Cut Stem Atelier

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “Geranyl Formate 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

Further reading

• How to Make a Rose Accord

  Build a rose accord from phenylethyl alcohol, citronellol and geraniol, add acetates and powerful traces from dilutions, and balance it by ratio trials.

• 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 Geranyl Formate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 5282109, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• The Good Scents Company — geranyl formate (with Bedoukian, Prodasynth and Moellhausen descriptions) — odour database.
• ChemicalBook — geranyl formate (CAS 105-86-2) — odour database.
• Fraterworks — geranyl formate — 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.