Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol

What Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol smells like

Phenylethyl dimethyl carbinol (2-methyl-4-phenyl-2-butanol) is a dry, fresh floral alcohol. ChemicalBook describes it as floral-green and fruity with a linalool-like character and a mildly herbaceous odour, and elsewhere as a dry, floral, lily-like odour; database profiles rank floral, green, fresh and rose highest, with lily and muguet. It is used in blossom compositions and has been identified in cocoa aroma. Few detailed descriptions exist. Fraterworks, selling it as Carbinol Muguet, describes a soft floral-green aroma with delicate lily and hyacinth facets, sweet rose undertones and gentle violet nuances, without linalool's volatility or terpineol's woody-piney character, and uses it as a structural floraliser that builds body in muguet and lily compositions and adds soft rosy depth to jasmine and magnolia.

Leading note

Dry, fresh floral

Clear facets

Lily

Supporting facets

Rose, linalool-like

Faint facets

Mildly herbaceous

Character

Dry, fresh, light

• floral
• lily
• rose
• fresh
• herbal

What makes Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol distinctive

Dryness: a lily-and-rose floral with a linalool-like freshness, drier than the softer dimethyl benzyl carbinol.

How Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol is used

Used in blossom compositions — lily, muguet and rose — as a fresh floral modifier.

Typical role: blender (smooths the joins between other materials).

How Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol differs from similar materials

Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinol

Dimethyl benzyl carbinol is softer, greener and slightly oily; phenylethyl dimethyl carbinol is drier and more lily- and rose-like.

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 / Green

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

2-Methyl-4-phenylbutan-2-ol

CAS number

103-05-9

Molecular formula

C11H16O

Molecular weight

164.24 g/mol

IUPAC name

2-methyl-4-phenylbutan-2-ol

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 7632, 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 (1,797 reports): H319 causes serious eye irritation (79.9% of reports); H412 harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects (79.2% of reports). 311 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. 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

• Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — floral, lilac, herbal, earthy

• alpha-Terpineol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Aromatic — lilac, floral, piney, herbal

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

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

• Hydroxycitronellal

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — muguet, floral, soft, sweet

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 4 published formulas

Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula and 3 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

• Jasmine Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Carbinol Muguet”

• Narcotic Floral Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Carbinol Muguet”

• Peony Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Carbinol Muguet”

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Bell Glass

  RUŌOD House Original

Further reading

• How to Make a Lilac Accord

  Building lilac from aroma chemicals: terpineol, heliotropin, phenylethyl alcohol and indole, an illustrative accord, balancing it and restrictions to check.

• 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 Phenylethyl Dimethyl Carbinol

Sources

• PubChem — compound 7632, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• ChemicalBook — 2-methyl-4-phenyl-2-butanol (CAS 103-05-9) — odour database.
• PubChem — 2-Methyl-4-phenyl-2-butanol — odour database.
• Scent.vn — 2-methyl-4-phenyl-2-butanol — odour database.
• Fraterworks — Carbinol Muguet — 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 2. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.