- What it can be used for
- Adds scent (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
Why it’s flagged
Used to add scent: its official function is perfuming or fragrance.
- Listed functions: fragrance, perfuming. Source: EU CosIng ingredient database
The EU ingredient database (CosIng) lists this ingredient's function as perfuming or fragrance, so it may be there to add scent, even on a label that never says “fragrance.”
What the research says
- In the US, "fragrance" can be listed as a single word because the mixture is protected as a trade secret, so the individual chemicals are rarely named on the label. Strong evidence. Pinkas 2017
- US law does not require the individual chemicals in a fragrance to be listed, so a shopper cannot tell from the label whether a scented product contains diethyl phthalate. Strong evidence. Parlett 2013
- When researchers tested 25 best-selling US laundry, cleaning, personal-care and air-freshener products, they found 133 different chemicals released into the air, but only 1 of them was listed on any product label. Moderate evidence. Steinemann 2011
- In lab tests of 213 US household and personal-care products, not one label listed a phthalate, yet the phthalate DEP, a common fragrance solvent, turned up in half of the pooled conventional product samples. Strong evidence. Dodson 2012
- A 2023 EU rule expands the list of fragrance allergens that must be named on cosmetic labels from 26 to about 80 entries (56 substances plus related forms), phasing in from 2026 to 2028, above set concentration limits. Strong evidence. Sukakul 2024 Industry-funded
- About two-thirds (64.6%) of US adults did not know fragrance ingredients don't have to be listed on the label, and more than half would prefer fragrance-free workplaces (53.2% vs 19.7% against) and health care (54.8% vs 22.4%). Moderate evidence. Steinemann 2016
- Health Canada's own testing of 252 Canadian cosmetic and personal care products found the fragrance solvent DEP in 70% of fragrance products, at levels up to 2.6% by weight, yet every DEP-positive product was labeled only with the generic term "parfum" — never DEP or any phthalate. Strong evidence. Koniecki 2011
- Ingredient labels cannot show what is inside 'parfum': a 2010 Canadian cosmetics survey had to leave out diethyl phthalate, a common fragrance solvent, because 'short of a laboratory analysis, there's no way to know'. Strong evidence. David Suzuki Foundation 2010
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.