Methyl Phenylacetate

What Methyl Phenylacetate smells like

Methyl phenylacetate has a strong odour suggestive of honey, with a jasmine component, in ChemicalBook's description; supplier listings give honey, jasmine and sweet. One supplier adds musky and fruity-almond facets and a tenacious animalic drydown, and calls it a strong, low-cost modifier for top and heart notes that boosts rose-jasmine accords. A perfumer on a forum finds it a honey-wine berry note at proper dilution. It is potent and usually handled diluted.

Leading note

Honey

Clear facets

Jasmine

Supporting facets

Musky, animalic

Faint facets

Fruity, almond

Character

Sweet, strong, diffusive

• honey
• sweet
• floral
• musky

What makes Methyl Phenylacetate distinctive

A bright, diffusive honey with jasmine — lighter and more floral than the acid, and stronger than the other esters.

How Methyl Phenylacetate is used

Used as a honey modifier in top and heart notes, to boost rose and jasmine accords, and in flavours.

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

How Methyl Phenylacetate differs from similar materials

Phenylacetic Acid

The acid is heavier, waxier and more animalic; the methyl ester is a brighter honey with jasmine.

Ethyl Phenylacetate

Ethyl phenylacetate is softer and more rose and fruit; the methyl ester is stronger, with jasmine and a musky drydown.

Isobutyl Phenylacetate

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

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

Like other phenylacetates it can read as animalic when overdosed.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Floral / Gourmand

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Methyl 2-phenylacetate

CAS number

101-41-7

Molecular formula

C9H10O2

Molecular weight

150.17 g/mol

IUPAC name

methyl 2-phenylacetate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 7559, 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 (1,661 of 1,664 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

• Phenylacetic Acid

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

• Phenylethyl Phenylacetate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Gourmand — honey, rose, balsamic

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

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

Methyl Phenylacetate is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Isobutyl Phenylacetate, Linden Blossom Absolute, Narcissus Absolute and p-Cresyl Phenylacetate.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Methyl Phenylacetate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Linden Afternoon

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “Methyl Phenylacetate 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

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 Methyl Phenylacetate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 7559, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• ChemicalBook — methyl phenylacetate (CAS 101-41-7) — odour database.
• Perflavory (The Good Scents Company) — methyl phenylacetate — odour database.
• Scentspiracy — Methyl phenylacetate — distributor'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.