Guaiyl Acetate

What Guaiyl Acetate smells like

Fraterworks describes guaiyl acetate as a soft floral-woody material from the acetylation of guaiacwood oil, ideal for extending and fixing rose bases, especially tea rose, through its nuance of rose, spice and wood; it distinguishes it from guaiol acetate, made from the pure molecule, as more complex, with soft, sweet, spicy and slightly smoky notes. Hekserij describes guaiyl acetate as sweet, spicy and woody with a rosy note, for sweet woody accords and rose fragrances, and warns that on its own it can smell dull or even unpleasant, so it is a material for blending.

Leading note

Tea rose wood

Supporting facets

Spicy

Faint facets

Smoky, sweet

Character

Soft

• tea rose
• woody
• spicy
• smoky
• sweet

What makes Guaiyl Acetate distinctive

Rose, spice and wood from acetylated guaiacwood oil, more complex than the acetate of the pure molecule.

How Guaiyl Acetate is used

Used to extend and fix rose bases, especially tea rose, and as an alternative or supplement to vetiveryl acetate.

Typical role: fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes); blender (smooths the joins between other materials).

How Guaiyl Acetate differs from similar materials

Guaiac Wood Oil

Guaiac wood oil is rose and smoke at once; its acetylated form is softer and sweeter, more rose-floral, made to extend rose bases.

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.

Formulation considerations

An acetylated fraction of a natural oil, made mainly from guaiol and bulnesol, so a mixture rather than one molecule. Guaiol acetate (134-28-1), made from pure guaiol, is a different material.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Semi-synthetic

Odour family

Woody / Floral

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Viscous liquid

Also known as

Guaiacwood acetate, Guaiac wood oil acetates

CAS number

61789-17-1

The CAS number was checked on 25 October 2026 against a PubChem substance record that gives it for this material. A natural material is a mixture, so it has no single formula; its composition varies with origin and processing.

Safety and compliance

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

• Guaiac Wood Oil

  Essential oil · Woody / Resinous — smoky, woody, rosy, sweet

• Vetiveryl Acetate

  Aroma chemical · Woody / Green — woody, vetiver, dry, clean

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — rose, honeyed, soft, floral

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 3 published formulas

Guaiyl Acetate is an ingredient in 3 perfume formulas in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

• Hindi Maliki Qadeem

  Community Formula

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Guaiac Rose

  RUŌOD House Original

• Rosewood Cello

  RUŌOD House Creation

Further reading

• Woody Notes in Perfumery: Naturals and Aroma Chemicals

  A map of woody materials — cedarwoods, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, smoky woods and woody aroma chemicals — and how to build a woody base.

Questions about Guaiyl Acetate

Sources

• PubChem — substance 135347441, checked 25 October 2026.
• Fraterworks — Guaiyl Acetate — distributor's description.
• Hekserij — Guaiyl acetate — distributor's description.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.