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Phenyl Acetic Acid

Q: Is Phenyl Acetic Acid natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Produced synthetically by various routes including carbonylation of benzyl chloride. Found naturally in honey, rose oil, and narcissus. The synthetic route dominates commercially..

POPULAR AND WEIRD / animalic · honeyed · sweet

Phenyl Acetic Acid

Category	POPULAR AND WEIRD
Subcategory	animalic · honeyed · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Base Note
Botanical	N/A - synthetic molecule
Appearance	white crystalline powder
Producing Countries	N/A - manufactured globally
Pyramid	Base

Honey-sweet, slightly animalic with a waxy, floral quality. Phenyl acetic acid smells like old honey stored in a leather pouch — sweet, musky, faintly barnyard.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Honey-sweet, waxy, slightly animalic. Warm and golden at proper dilution. At concentration, a faintly urinous-barnyard edge. The honey quality is naturalistic — less clean than synthetic honey accords, more alive and complex. Moderate tenacity.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Honey-sweet, waxy opening. Warm, golden.

After a few hours

Stable honeyed heart. Animalic undertone develops.

After a few days

Warm, honeyed base. Moderate tenacity. Slightly animalic residue.

The Full Story

CAS 103-82-2. A simple aromatic acid with a characteristic honey-sweet, slightly animalic aroma. Phenyl acetic acid occurs naturally in honey (contributing to its characteristic smell), rose, narcissus, and various other flowers. It is also a byproduct of microbial metabolism.

The scent is distinctly honeyed — sweet, waxy, with a warm, slightly animalic undertone. At higher concentrations, a faintly urinous or barnyard quality appears; at proper dilution, it reads as golden, warm, and naturally sweet. The molecule bridges the gap between sweet-floral and animalic categories.

In perfumery, phenyl acetic acid is used as a honey modifier and as a component of animalic bases. Its honeyed character is more naturalistic than synthetic 'honey' molecules.

This note in Première Peau. Doppel Dänçers · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Aldambre · Ambrarome · Ambrein · Ambreine · Ambrettolide · Ambronova · Ammonia · Animal Notes

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Phenyl acetic acid is produced by the bacterial breakdown of phenylalanine — it is one of the molecules responsible for the characteristic smell of aged cheese, fermented foods, and unwashed skin. The same molecule that makes honey smell sweet also contributes to some of humanity's most challenging body odors.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Produced synthetically by various routes including carbonylation of benzyl chloride. Found naturally in honey, rose oil, and narcissus. The synthetic route dominates commercially.

Molecular Formula	C8H8O2
CAS Number	103-82-2
Botanical Name	N/A - synthetic molecule
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	Α-TOLUIC ACID · BENZENEACETIC ACID
Physical Properties
Lasting Power	400 hour(s) at 10.00 % in dipropylene glycol
Appearance	white crystalline powder
Boiling Point	265.00 to 266.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash Point	212.00 °F. TCC ( 100.00 °C. )
Melting Point	76.00 to 78.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg

In Perfumery

Modifier in honey, animalic, and warm-floral compositions. Phenyl acetic acid provides naturalistic honey character with animalic depth. Used at low concentrations (0.1-1%) in honey accords, as a warm modifier in rose compositions (it occurs naturally in rose absolute), and in animalic bases where a honeyed quality is desired.