Ingredients · Powder · heart note

Canthoxal

Say itkan-THOK-sal

Light anise and licorice with a watery, ozonic, slightly floral freshness.

What it is

A molecule made in a lab, first made by IFF in 1951.

When you smell it

Heart: the first hours.

What perfumers do with it

Adds a fresh anisic lift to melon, pear, mimosa and lily accords, or to cologne tops.

Worth knowing

A rare case of IFRA relaxing a rule: the latest standard raised its limit roughly threefold.

Rules

Limited. IFRA limits since 51st Amendment (2023), loosened from earlier

Also called

Anisyl propanal; 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-methylpropanal; Fennaldehyde