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Para-Cymene

Q: Is Para-Cymene natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Isolated from turpentine or essential oils by fractional distillation. Also produced synthetically by Friedel-Crafts alkylation of toluene. Found naturally in many essential oils..

Q: What perfumes use Para-Cymene?

Background component in herbal essential oils and chemical intermediate. Para-cymene contributes to the herbal-aromatic character of thyme, cumin, and oregano oils. Not used as a standalone isolate in fine perfumery. Its primary industrial value is as a precursor to thymol and carvacrol production.

GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / citrus · woody · fresh

Para-Cymene

Category	GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory	citrus · woody · fresh
Origin
Volatility	Top Note
Botanical	Thymus vulgaris (thyme) · Cuminum cyminum (cumin) — also produced synthetically
Appearance	colorless to pale yellow clear liquid
Odor Strength	High
Producing Countries	India, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco (from thyme and cumin essential oils)
Pyramid	Top

Fresh, citrus-herbal with a warm, slightly sweet quality. Para-cymene smells like thyme and lemon growing side by side — aromatic, clean, with a subtle woody warmth.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Fresh, herbal-citrus with a warm, slightly woody quality. Generic aromatic character — pleasant, clean, unspecific. Less phenolic than thymol, less piney than alpha-pinene. A warm, herbal background note.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Fresh herbal-citrus opening. Warm and clean.

After a few hours

Brief herbal-aromatic heart.

After a few days

Quick fade. Low tenacity. Generic herbal trace.

The Full Story

CAS 99-87-6. A naturally occurring aromatic hydrocarbon (4-isopropyltoluene) found in thyme, oregano, cumin, and many other essential oils. Para-cymene is a biosynthetic intermediate — it sits between the terpenes (pinene, terpinene) and the phenols (thymol, carvacrol) in the metabolic pathway.

The scent is fresh, herbal-citrusy, with a warm, woody quality. It is less aggressive than thymol, less piney than alpha-pinene, and has a pleasant, generic herbal-aromatic character. Para-cymene is one of those molecules that is 'everywhere but nowhere' — present in dozens of essential oils but rarely dominating any of them.

This note in Première Peau. Simili Mirage · Gravitas Capitale. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Alpha Pinene · Angelica · Angelica Root · Angelica Root Oil · Artemisia · Barrenwort · Beachheather · Behini Tree

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Para-cymene is produced by certain bacteria during the decomposition of plant matter — it has been detected in the volatile emissions of composts and forest floor litter, contributing to the 'earthy-aromatic' smell of healthy soil ecosystems.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Isolated from turpentine or essential oils by fractional distillation. Also produced synthetically by Friedel-Crafts alkylation of toluene. Found naturally in many essential oils.

Molecular Formula	C10 H14
CAS Number	99-87-6
Botanical Name	Thymus vulgaris (thyme) · Cuminum cyminum (cumin) — also produced synthetically
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	p-Cymene, 4-Isopropyltoluene
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	High
Lasting Power	< 2 hour(s) at 100.00 %
Appearance	colorless to pale yellow clear liquid
Boiling Point	176.00 to 178.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash Point	117.00 °F. TCC ( 47.22 °C. )
Specific Gravity	0.85300 to 0.85500 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.48900 to 1.49100 @ 20.00 °C.
Melting Point	-68.90 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg

In Perfumery

Background component in herbal essential oils and chemical intermediate. Para-cymene contributes to the herbal-aromatic character of thyme, cumin, and oregano oils. Not used as a standalone isolate in fine perfumery. Its primary industrial value is as a precursor to thymol and carvacrol production.