Phenylethyl alcohol

Say itfen-il-ETH-il alcohol

Soft, fresh rose petal with honey and a faint bready sweetness.

What it is: A molecule made in a lab.
Where it comes from: made from benzene and ethylene oxide, or by yeast fermentation
When you smell it: Heart: as it settles.
What perfumers do with it: The main rose-absolute molecule; used in bulk for rose, muguet and hyacinth, smoothing everything around it.
Worth knowing: Yeast makes it while fermenting, so every glass of beer or wine carries a trace of rose.
Also called: PEA; 2-phenylethanol; benzyl carbinol

On the label of 1 of the 1080 perfumes read so far

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