Worth a closer look
Evidence key Strong Moderate Weak How we grade
Labeled fragrance allergen (EU) Limited by IFRA
- What it can be used for
- Adds scent, dissolves other ingredients and kills or slows microbes (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 120-51-4
Why it’s flagged
A fragrance allergen the EU requires companies to name on the label.
- Annex III entry 85. Source: EU Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III (restricted)
Must be named on EU labels above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products. Elsewhere, including the US, it can hide inside “fragrance”.
Use limited by the fragrance industry's own IFRA standard.
- IFRA standard “Benzyl benzoate”: use limited. Source: IFRA Standards Library
IFRA, the fragrance industry's own standards body, sets maximum amounts for this material in different kinds of products.
What the research says
- Three fragrance and cosmetic chemicals used in bodycare products applied around the breast — benzyl salicylate, benzyl benzoate, and butylphenylmethylpropional (Lilial) — activated the human estrogen receptor and increased growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells in a laboratory dish, an effect blocked by an anti-estrogen drug, suggesting the mechanism runs through the estrogen receptor. Moderate evidence. Charles & Darbre 2009
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
Don’t want it on you or in your air? Look for “fragrance-free,” not “unscented.” An unscented product can still contain a masking fragrance. Why the words matter.
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
“Fragrance” or “parfum” on a label can hide this ingredient and many others. In the US, the individual chemicals in a fragrance are rarely named on the label.
Check your products
Check a whole labelProducts that list itEWG Skin DeepShop fragrance-free
“Products that list it” opens Open Beauty Facts, a free database anyone can edit.
Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.