Isobutyl Phenylacetate

What Isobutyl Phenylacetate smells like

Isobutyl phenylacetate is sweet and honeyed, with floral, musky and cocoa facets. Parchem lists sweet, floral, honey, cocoa and fruity with a waxy nuance; ChemicalBook a sweet, musk-like fragrance and a honey-like flavour; supplier entries sweet, cocoa, floral-rose, musky and honey, or leafy rose with a honey undertone. Arctander is quoted as describing a powerful and very diffusive leafy-rosy-musky odour with exceptional top-note effect.

Leading note

Honey-cocoa

Clear facets

Rose, leafy

Supporting facets

Musky

Faint facets

Waxy, fruity

Character

Sweet, diffusive, warm

• honey
• sweet
• floral
• musky

What makes Isobutyl Phenylacetate distinctive

Honey with cocoa and a leafy rose — the honey ester that leans towards chocolate.

How Isobutyl Phenylacetate is used

Used in honey, rose and floral compositions for a diffusive sweet top, and in honey and cocoa flavours.

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

How Isobutyl Phenylacetate differs from similar materials

Phenylethyl Phenylacetate

Phenylethyl phenylacetate is heavier, a dense honey-rose base note; the isobutyl ester is more diffusive, with cocoa.

Methyl Phenylacetate

Methyl phenylacetate is a brighter honey with jasmine; the isobutyl ester adds cocoa and a leafy, musky rose.

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

Synthetic

Odour family

Floral / Gourmand

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

2-Methylpropyl 2-phenylacetate

CAS number

102-13-6

Molecular formula

C12H16O2

Molecular weight

192.25 g/mol

IUPAC name

2-methylpropyl 2-phenylacetate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 60998, 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 (1,650 of 1,688 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

• Ethyl Phenylacetate

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Floral — honey, sweet, floral, fruity

• Methyl Phenylacetate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Gourmand — honey, sweet, floral, musky

• Phenylacetic Acid

  Aroma chemical · Animalic / Gourmand — honey, animalic, sweet, waxy

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

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

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 3 published formulas

Isobutyl Phenylacetate is an ingredient in 3 perfume formulas in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Fig Jam Brioche

  RUŌOD House Original

• Lavender in Silk

  RUŌOD House Original

• Narcissus Hay Loft

  RUŌOD House Creation

Further reading

• How to Build a Honey Accord

  A honey accord from phenylacetic acid and its esters: the building blocks, beeswax and honey absolutes, an illustrative vegan version, handling and records.

• 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 Isobutyl Phenylacetate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 60998, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• Parchem — isobutyl phenyl acetate — distributor's description.
• ChemicalBook — isobutyl phenylacetate (CAS 102-13-6) — odour database.
• The Good Scents Company — isobutyl phenylacetate (with Arctander) — 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.