Phenylethyl Salicylate

What Phenylethyl Salicylate smells like

Phenylethyl salicylate is a mild, sweet-balsamic salicylate with floral carnation, hyacinth and rose facets. Moellhausen describes it as medicinal, balsamic and slightly fruity-floral; a distributor rates it delicate on its own but with a moderate presence in blends. Arctander recommends it as a fixative in lily, muguet, lilac, rose, carnation, honey and clover compositions, and warns that some commercial grades are poor, with a phenolic off-odour.

Leading note

Mild sweet balsamic

Supporting facets

Rose, hyacinth

Faint facets

Carnation

Character

Faint, soft, sweet, fixative

• balsamic
• rosy
• faint
• sweet

What makes Phenylethyl Salicylate distinctive

A rose-tinted fixative: like benzyl salicylate soft and balsamic, but with clearer rose and hyacinth.

How Phenylethyl Salicylate is used

Used as a fixative in lily, muguet, lilac, rose, carnation, honey and clover compositions.

Typical role: fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes); blender (smooths the joins between other materials).

How Phenylethyl Salicylate differs from similar materials

Benzyl Salicylate

Benzyl salicylate is fainter and less defined; phenylethyl salicylate carries clearer rose and hyacinth.

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

A solid at room temperature; dissolve before use.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Synthetic

Odour family

Floral / Resinous

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Solid

Also known as

2-Phenylethyl 2-hydroxybenzoate

CAS number

87-22-9

Molecular formula

C15H14O3

Molecular weight

242.27 g/mol

IUPAC name

2-phenylethyl 2-hydroxybenzoate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 62332, 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 (1,663 reports): H411 toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects (97.2% of 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

• Benzyl Salicylate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Powdery — balsamic, floral, faint, sweet

• Phenylethyl Alcohol

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

• Phenylethyl Phenylacetate

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

• Rose Oil (Rosa damascena)

  Essential oil · Floral / Fruity — rose, honeyed, spicy, fresh

Used in formulas and accords

Not currently used in any published formula.

The Formula & Accord Library lists Phenylethyl Salicylate here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.

Further reading

• Salicylates in Perfumery: Benzyl, Hexyl, Amyl and the Solar Accord

  Benzyl, hexyl, amyl and methyl salicylate in perfume: odor and roles, why a near-odorless blender matters, the solar accord, EU allergen status and records.

• Perfume Fixatives Explained: What They Do and What They Don't

  What fixatives are in perfumery, how low-volatility materials change evaporation and longevity, and the myths worth dropping before you formulate.

• 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 Salicylate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 62332, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• The Good Scents Company — phenethyl salicylate — odour database.
• Fraterworks — phenyl ethyl salicylate — distributor's description.
• Perflavory — phenethyl salicylate (quoting 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.