Ingredients · Florals · heart note

Geraniol

Say itjuh-RAY-nee-awl

Sweet, fresh rose with lemony, waxy, slightly fruity geranium facets.

What it is

A molecule made in a lab.

Where it comes from

made from pinene or citral, or isolated from palmarosa

When you smell it

Heart: the first hours.

What perfumers do with it

Core rose alcohol; with citronellol and PEA it forms the skeleton of nearly every rose accord.

Worth knowing

Honeybees release geraniol from scent glands to mark nectar flowers and guide nestmates to the hive.

Rules

Limited. IFRA-restricted skin sensitizer; must be named on EU labels

Also called

trans-3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol; geraniol extra / natural ex palmarosa

On the label of 181 of the 232 perfumes read so far

No. 5Chanel · printed “Geraniol”SauvageDior · printed “Geraniol”ShalimarGuerlain · printed “Geraniol”MitsoukoGuerlain · printed “Geraniol”Eau SauvageDior · printed “Geraniol”AngelMugler · printed “Geraniol”

See all 181