Ingredients · Not for the smell

Dipropylene glycol (DPG)

Say itdye-PROH-puh-leen GLYE-kawl

Nearly odorless; faintly sweet.

What it is

There to carry, keep or colour the perfume, not for its smell.

What perfumers do with it

Standard diluent for perfume concentrates, reed diffusers and candles; tames harsh materials

Worth knowing

The same liquid fills the fog machines at concerts.

Also called

DPG; oxydipropanol (mixture of three isomers)

On the label of 17 of the 1080 perfumes read so far

MitsoukoGuerlain · printed “Dipropylene glycol”L'Eau d'Issey Pour HommeIssey Miyake · printed “Dipropylene glycol”KDolce & Gabbana · printed “Dipropylene glycol”Rose CocoaAERIN · printed “Dipropylene glycol”SìArmani · printed “Dipropylene glycol”Vanille AntiqueByredo · printed “Dipropylene glycol”

See all 17