Not drawn yet: a drawing of what it smells like.

Geranyl nitrile

Ingredients · Citrus · top note

Geranyl nitrile

Say itJAIR-uh-nil NYE-tryle

Sharp, fresh lemon-citral, metallic and slightly fatty.

What it is
A molecule made in a lab.
When you smell it
Top notes: the first minutes.
What perfumers do with it
Was a workhorse stable lemon note for soaps and detergents before IFRA prohibited it.
Worth knowing
Chemists liked it because, unlike citral, a nitrile survives the harsh alkali of soap without spoiling.
Rules
Not allowed. IFRA-prohibited in 2008 over unresolved genotoxicity concerns
Also called
Citralva (IFF), Geranitrile; 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienenitrile

Not on the label of any of the 232 perfumes read so far.