Colorless to faint yellow viscous liquid with mild balsamic odor
Odor Strength
Low
Producing Countries
Manufactured globally
Pyramid
Base
Almost nothing on the smelling strip — a whisper of clean warmth, sun-warmed cotton, the faintest balsamic sweetness. Many people cannot smell it at all. Yet remove it from a formula and the entire structure collapses: notes scatter, projection flattens, the fragrance dies in minutes. Benzyl salicylate is perfumery's invisible architecture.
Almost imperceptible on its own. What registers is less a smell than a sensation: warm, clean, faintly powdery, with a distant balsamic sweetness recalling sun-heated skin. Softer than benzyl benzoate, less green than hexyl salicylate, without the coumarinic sweetness of amyl salicylate. Some perceive a vague muskiness. Others smell nothing at all. Its substantivity is extreme — 384 hours at 100% concentration — which explains its role as a fixative that outlasts nearly everything around it.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Near-silent. A faint, clean warmth — almost more felt than smelled. Some perceive a vague powder-softness; others detect nothing at all.
After a few hours
After a few hours
The molecule reveals itself not by appearing but by sustaining everything around it. Top notes that should have faded remain present. A diffuse, sun-warmed balsamic cushion becomes perceptible beneath the heart.
After a few days
After a few days
The last thing standing. Long after citrus, green, and aldehyde notes have evaporated, benzyl salicylate persists as a warm, clean skin-scent — the reason a scarf still smells faintly of perfume a week later.
The Full Story
Benzyl salicylate (CAS 118-58-1, C₁₄H₁₂O₃, MW 228.25) is the benzyl ester of salicylic acid. Colorless to pale yellow viscous liquid, melting near room temperature (22–25°C), with a LogP of 4.21 — meaning strong affinity for oils and poor water solubility. Its odor is peculiar: most descriptions say warm, faintly balsamic, vaguely floral. But a significant portion of the population is specifically anosmic to it. The perfumer Guy Robert reportedly could not smell benzyl salicylate at all, yet could detect its presence in any composition by the way it shaped everything around it.
Despite near-imperceptibility, it is a consumed aroma chemicals in the industry. Used routinely at 5–15% of a formula — sometimes higher — it functions as fixative, blender, and volume builder. It slows evaporation of volatile top notes, smooths transitions between heart and base, and lends a diffuse, radiant quality to florals. It is the backbone of jasmine reconstructions and appears naturally in jasmine absolute, ylang-ylang oil, carnation, and neroli.
Its UV-absorbing properties made it a protagonist in early sunscreen history. In 1935, Eugène Schueller used benzyl salicylate as the active UV filter in the first mass-market sun oil, later known as Ambre Solaire. The molecule absorbs UVB radiation effectively, though it was eventually replaced by more potent filters.
Regulated under EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 as one of the 26 designated allergens requiring label declaration above 0.001% in leave-on products. The SCCS assessed potential endocrine-disrupting concerns and concluded no observable endocrine effects at normal use concentrations. IFRA restricts it under the 51st Amendment with category-specific limits (approximately 7–8% in fine fragrance). It belongs to the salicylate family alongside hexyl salicylate (greener, more transparent), phenylethyl salicylate (heavier, more balsamic), and amyl salicylate (solar, tropical).
In 1935, Eugène Schueller — founder of what became the world's largest cosmetics company — formulated the first mass-market sun oil using benzyl salicylate as its active UV filter. The product was marketed as Ambre Solaire and claimed to tan skin five times faster without burning. Benzyl salicylate thus has the distinction of being both perfumery's most invisible ingredient and one of the first molecules deliberately placed between human skin and sunlight.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Produced synthetically by esterification of salicylic acid with benzyl alcohol under acid catalysis (sulfuric acid or acidic resin), at 100–120°C. Water is removed continuously to drive the reaction to completion. Industrial variants include solid-liquid phase-transfer catalysis using sodium salicylate and benzyl chloride (PEG-4000 catalyst, 150°C, yielding 96% at 99.5% purity). Also produced by transesterification of methyl salicylate with benzyl alcohol over metal oxide catalysts. Found naturally in jasmine absolute, ylang-ylang essential oil (Cananga odorata), carnation absolute, and neroli oil, but commercial supply is exclusively synthetic.
Molecular Formula
C₁₄H₁₂O₃
CAS Number
118-58-1
Botanical Name
N/A — synthetic molecule
IFRA Status
Restricted: IFRA 51st Amendment — concentration limits by product category (approx. 7–8% max in fine fragrance, 0.5% in lip products). EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 Annex III: mandatory label declaration above 0.001% in leave-on products, 0.01% in rinse-off. Classified as a weak sensitizer. SCCS final opinion (2024) found no conclusive evidence of endocrine disruption at normal use concentrations.
Synonyms
BENZYL 2-HYDROXYBENZOATE · SALICYLATE DE BENZYLE
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Low
Lasting Power
384 hours at 100%
Appearance
Colorless to faint yellow viscous liquid with mild balsamic odor
Boiling Point
208.00 °C. @ 26.00 mm Hg
Flash Point
356.00 °F. TCC ( 180.00 °C. )
Specific Gravity
1.17600 to 1.18000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index
1.57900 to 1.58300 @ 20.00 °C.
Melting Point
22.00 to 25.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
In Perfumery
Fixative, blender, and volume builder. Benzyl salicylate operates in the deep base of a composition, slowing evaporation and extending the life of volatile materials above it. Substantivity of 384 hours at full concentration. Used at 5–15% of formula weight — one of the highest-dosage single materials in commercial perfumery. Critical in white flower accords: jasmine, frangipani, ylang-ylang, tuberose. In jasmine reconstructions, it forms the balsamic-floral scaffold alongside benzyl acetate, indole, and methyl jasmonate. In modern musks and skin scents, its subliminal warmth contributes to the clean-skin effect. Related salicylates serve different roles: hexyl salicylate (CAS 6259-76-3) is greener, more transparent, used in fresh florals and ozonic accords. Phenylethyl salicylate (CAS 87-22-9) is heavier, more balsamic, used in orchid and heavy oriental bases. Amyl salicylate brings a solar, almost coconut-adjacent warmth to tropical accords.
