Ingredients · Not for the smell

Octinoxate

Say itok-tih-NOK-sayt

Nearly odorless.

What it is

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

What perfumers do with it

UV absorber that protects the juice, not the skin, from fading and breakdown in light

Worth knowing

A sunscreen filter too; Hawaii barred it from sunscreens in 2021 over coral-reef harm.

Known in

Twilly d'Hermès (Hermès, 2017); Mon Paris (Yves Saint Laurent, 2016); Boss Bottled (Hugo Boss, 1998)

Rules

Limited. EU UV-filter cap 10%; banned from Hawaii sunscreens

Also called

ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate

On the label of 204 of the 1080 perfumes read so far

AngelMugler · printed “Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate”La Vie Est BelleLancôme · printed “Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate”Terre d'HermèsHermès · printed “Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate”Reflection ManAmouage · printed “Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate”Lift Me UpInitio · printed “Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate”Narcotic DelightInitio · printed “Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate”

See all 204