Styrallyl acetate

Say itstye-RAL-il AS-ih-tayt

Fresh, green-fruity gardenia with rhubarb-like, sharp floral tone.

What it is: A molecule made in a lab.
Where it comes from: natural in gardenia
When you smell it: Top notes: when you spray it.
What perfumers do with it: The classic 'gardenia' top note; adds green, sparkling freshness to white florals.
Worth knowing: Gardenia gives almost no usable extract, so this molecule became the backbone of synthetic gardenia.
Known in: Ma Griffe (Carven, 1946)
Also called: alpha-Methylbenzyl acetate; gardenol; methyl phenyl carbinyl acetate

Not on the label of any of the 1080 perfumes read so far.

Sources