Cool metallic snap of wet aluminium, crushed violet stems, and a watery melon rind. Floralozone is the smell of air itself — ozonic, transparent, almost not there, yet instantly recognisable.
Immediate impression: cold, metallic, ozonic — the air inside a walk-in freezer that stores cut flowers. A watery green-melon quality follows within seconds, softer than Calone's marine sharpness, more transparent than Helional's hay-like warmth. The anisic undertone (absent from its isomer Cyclamen Aldehyde) appears at medium dilution, giving Floralozone a faintly sweet, almost liquorice-tinged edge. At trace levels on skin, it reads simply as "clean air" — no identifiable note, just space and light.
Near-transparent skin scent — clean, slightly sweet, almost imperceptible. Functions as residual freshness rather than identifiable note.
The Full Story
Floralozone opens with a zesty, almost metallic burst of freshness — sea spray hitting sun-warmed stone. Underneath, a watery green quality: snapped tulip stems, crushed violet leaves, the inside of a cucumber. A soft cyclamen-freesia floralcy sits at the core, giving the molecule its name, but the dominant impression is ozonic and clean rather than conventionally floral. Compared to Calone (the classic "ocean" molecule), Floralozone reads less explicitly marine and more atmospheric — closer to the smell of air after an electrical storm than to a specific seashore. It also carries a subtle anisic undertone absent from Cyclamen Aldehyde, its positional isomer.
Chemistry
Floralozone is a mixture of two positional isomers of ethyl-2,2-dimethylbenzenepropanal: the ortho isomer (CAS 67634-14-4) and the para isomer (CAS 67634-15-5). Both are produced simultaneously via a two-step Friedel-Crafts alkylation from benzene — first forming ethylbenzene with chloroethane and aluminium chloride, then reacting the intermediate with 4-chloro-2,2-dimethylpropanal under the same Lewis acid catalyst. The isomers are not separated commercially. Molecular formula: C₁₃H₁₈O; molecular weight: 190.28 g/mol. It is a clear, colourless to pale-yellow liquid with a flash point above 100°C.
Usage in Perfumery
Floralozone is a top-note diffuser that adds immediate lift and radiance without contributing heavy floral sweetness. It bridges marine and floral accords — a connector molecule rather than a protagonist. It enters lilac reconstructions (alongside Styrax oil and Helional), sheer aquatic compositions, and transparent muguet bases. Dosage is critical: typical use sits around 0.5–1% of a concentrate. Above 3–5%, the effect turns synthetic, soapy, and plasticky. Below 0.1%, it functions as an invisible brightener, lifting whatever surrounds it without being identifiable. Substantivity on blotter exceeds 48 hours despite the molecule's modest weight, a performance anomaly among top notes.
Floralozone is a positional isomer of Cyclamen Aldehyde — both share the same molecular formula (C₁₃H₁₈O) and nearly identical structures, yet they smell distinctly different. Floralozone carries an anisic (anise-like) quality absent from Cyclamen Aldehyde, which leans more purely aldehydic. The difference comes down to the position of the methyl group on the benzene ring — a single bond's location altering the entire olfactory signature.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Floralozone is a fully synthetic aromachemical with no natural equivalent. It is produced via a two-step Friedel-Crafts alkylation sequence. Step one: benzene reacts with chloroethane in the presence of aluminium chloride (Lewis acid catalyst) to form ethylbenzene. Step two: ethylbenzene undergoes a second Friedel-Crafts alkylation with 4-chloro-2,2-dimethylpropanal, yielding a mixture of ortho and para isomers that are sold as the commercial product without separation. The reaction produces both isomers because electrophilic aromatic substitution on ethylbenzene favours ortho and para positions.
Molecular Formula
C₁₃H₁₈O
CAS Number
67634-14-4 / 67634-15-5
Botanical Name
N/A (synthetic aroma chemical)
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
High
Lasting Power
>48 hours on blotter (up to 80 hours at 100%)
Appearance
Colorless to pale yellow clear liquid
Boiling Point
312.00 °C @ 760.00 mm Hg (est)
Flash Point
> 230.00 °F. TCC ( > 110.00 °C. )
Specific Gravity
1.05000 to 1.07000 @ 25.00 °C.
In Perfumery
Floralozone (CAS 67634-14-4 / 67634-15-5) is a synthetic top-note diffuser — an aromachemical that amplifies projection and creates a sense of spaciousness in the opening of a composition. It does not function as a fixative; its role is purely architectural: lifting, bridging, aerating. It connects marine-ozonic qualities to sheer floral hearts without the animalic undertow of indoles or the heavy sweetness of classical florals. Core applications: transparent floral accords (muguet, freesia, cyclamen), aquatic-marine compositions, and lilac reconstructions where it combines with Helional and hydroxycitronellal. Dosage is surgical — typical usage around 0.5% of concentrate, never above 3–5% to avoid a plastic-soapy artefact. At sub-threshold levels (0.05–0.1%), it acts as an invisible brightener, adding perceived freshness to ambers and woody bases without being detectable as a discrete note.
