Ingredients · Sweet · dry-down

Coumarin

Say itKOO-muh-rin

Sweet new-mown hay, almond and tobacco with warm vanillic softness.

What it is

A molecule made in a lab, first made by William Henry Perkin (first synthesis) in 1868.

Where it comes from

natural in tonka, hay and cassia; mostly synthetic

When you smell it

Dry-down: what stays.

What perfumers do with it

Heart of fougères and orientals; sweetens lavender and gives hay-tobacco warmth.

Worth knowing

Named after coumarou, French for the tonka bean; the US banned it as a food additive in 1954.

Known in

Fougère Royale (Houbigant, 1882); Jicky (Guerlain, 1889)

Rules

Limited. IFRA use limits (skin sensitiser); EU label-declared allergen.

Also called

2H-Chromen-2-one; tonka camphor

On the label of 567 of the 1080 perfumes read so far

No. 5Chanel · printed “Coumarin”SauvageDior · printed “Coumarin”ShalimarGuerlain · printed “Coumarin”Eau SauvageDior · printed “Coumarin”AngelMugler · printed “Coumarin”Good GirlCarolina Herrera · printed “Coumarin”

See all 567

Named by the house, not on the label, in 1

OscarOscar de la Renta · “coumarin”