l-Carvone

What l-Carvone smells like

l-Carvone, the R-(-) enantiomer, is the spearmint carvone: Pell Wall lists sweet, spearmint, herbal and floral in dilution; a supplier calls it cool, sweet spearmint, refreshing, herbal and slightly citrusy. Arctander, as quoted by a database, describes a warm-herbaceous, bread-like, penetrating and diffusive odour, somewhat spicy, floral in extreme dilution, reminiscent of rectified spearmint oil, and notes it demands skill to use. Its mirror image, d-carvone, smells of caraway.

Leading note

Spearmint

Supporting facets

Herbal

Faint facets

Spicy, bread-like, floral, in dilution

Character

Penetrating, diffusive, sweet

• spearmint
• minty
• sweet

What makes l-Carvone distinctive

The spearmint half of the most famous mirror-image pair: d-carvone's twin, smelling of mint instead of caraway.

Concentration and dilution

Arctander notes a floral character in extreme dilution.

How l-Carvone is used

Used in mint, herbal and floral bases with care, and widely in chewing gum and oral-care flavours.

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

How l-Carvone differs from similar materials

d-Carvone*

d-Carvone, its mirror image, smells of caraway and dill; l-carvone smells of spearmint. (compared directly by a cited source)

Spearmint Oil*

Spearmint oil is a fuller, greener herb built on l-carvone. (compared directly by a cited source)

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

Covered by an IFRA Standard.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Aromatic / Green

Note position

Top note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

(R)-(-)-Carvone

CAS number

6485-40-1

Molecular formula

C10H14O

Molecular weight

150.22 g/mol

IUPAC name

(5R)-2-methyl-5-prop-1-en-2-ylcyclohex-2-en-1-one

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 439570, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering l-Carvone:

• "Carvone" — Restriction, 49th Amendment, published 2020-01

Limits differ by product category and are set out in the Standard itself; this page does not reproduce them. The list above reflects the library as read on 19 October 2026.

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. It has a harmonised EU classification (Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, Annex VI): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (2,127 reports): H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (96.1% of reports); H302 harmful if swallowed (79.8% of reports). 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

• Spearmint Oil

  Essential oil · Aromatic / Green — minty, sweet, fresh, herbal

• l-Menthol

  Aroma chemical · Aromatic / Green — minty, cooling, fresh

• d-Carvone

  Aroma chemical · Aromatic / Spicy — caraway, dill, herbal, warm

Used in formulas and accords

Not currently used in any published formula.

The Formula & Accord Library lists l-Carvone here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.

Further reading

• Perfume Chemistry Basics: Functional Groups, Volatility and Stability

  The chemistry a perfumer needs: functional groups and their odors, volatility, isomers and chirality, and reactions — oxidation, hydrolysis, Schiff bases.

• Aromatic Notes in Perfumery: Lavender, Sage, Rosemary and Mint

  The aromatic family for formulators: lavender, lavandin and spike, clary sage, rosemary, mint and basil — chemistry, chemotypes and EU allergen status.

Questions about l-Carvone

Sources

• PubChem — compound 439570, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• IFRA — Standards Library, read 19 October 2026.
• Perflavory (The Good Scents Company) — l-carvone (with Pell Wall and Arctander) — odour database.
• Premiere Peau — Carvone — published perfumery reference.
• Wikipedia — Carvone — published perfumery reference.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 21 October 2026. Evidence: several independent published descriptions, which agree. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.