Phenylethyl Propionate

What Phenylethyl Propionate smells like

JECFA describes phenylethyl propionate as a colourless or yellowish, slightly oily liquid with a very sweet odour reminiscent of red rose and a fruity undertone. The Hazardous Substances Data Bank records a flower-fruit odour. Fraterworks describes a sweet, warm floral character dominated by rose, with a honey-like fruitiness and subtle herbaceous and balsamic undertones — a warm, fruity-honeyed rose beside the brighter, more volatile rose of the acetate.

Leading note

Red rose

Supporting facets

Fruity

Character

Sweet

• rose
• sweet
• fruity

What makes Phenylethyl Propionate distinctive

A sweet red rose with a fruity undertone, fruitier than phenylethyl alcohol itself.

Concentration and dilution

Fraterworks lists 10% as a common dilution.

How Phenylethyl Propionate is used

Fraterworks presents it as a versatile modifier for rose accords, fruity blends and floral compositions, giving warmth and natural sweetness.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend); blender (smooths the joins between other materials).

How Phenylethyl Propionate differs from similar materials

Phenylethyl Acetate*

Fraterworks finds the propionate a warm, fruity-honeyed rose with good balance, and the acetate a brighter, more volatile rose. (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.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Floral / Fruity

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

2-Phenylethyl propionate, Phenethyl propionate

CAS number

122-70-3

Molecular formula

C11H14O2

Molecular weight

178.23 g/mol

IUPAC name

2-phenylethyl propanoate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 31225, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 24 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 (1,564 of 1,564 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

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

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

• Phenylethyl Acetate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — rosy, fruity, honeyed, sweet

• Geraniol

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Citrus — rosy, sweet, citrus, fresh

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 2 published formulas

Phenylethyl Propionate is an ingredient in 2 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Honeyed Rose Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Phenyl Ethyl Propionate”

• Pineapple Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Phenyl Ethyl Propionate”

Further reading

• How to Make a Rose Accord

  Build a rose accord from phenylethyl alcohol, citronellol and geraniol, add acetates and powerful traces from dilutions, and balance it by ratio trials.

• 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 Propionate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 31225, checked 24 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• PubChem — Phenylethyl Propionate (CID 31225): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
• PubChem — Phenylethyl Propionate: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) odour entry — odour database.
• Fraterworks — Phenyl Ethyl Propionate — 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.