What Is Benzyl Cinnamate?
Benzyl Cinnamate is an aromatic ester that joins benzyl alcohol with cinnamic acid. Symrise produces a high-purity version, though many other aroma houses offer comparable grades under different trade names.
At room temperature the material can appear as a clear to slightly yellow liquid, yet it may set into a soft crystalline mass in a cool room. A gentle water bath usually returns it to a pourable state.
Commercial batches are made through controlled esterification followed by distillation to reach a typical purity above 98 percent. The process is well established which helps keep the cost in the mid range rather than in luxury territory.
Formulators reach for Benzyl Cinnamate whenever they need a smooth balsamic backbone. It shows up in fine fragrance, soaps, shampoos, fabric softeners and even candle blends, so it is far from rare.
When stored in a tight drum away from light and heat it stays in top condition for roughly two to three years before the first hints of oxidation may dull its sweetness.
Benzyl Cinnamate’s Scent Description
This ingredient is grouped in the balsamic family. Off a blotter it opens with a silky resin note that feels like freshly cracked benzoin tears melting on warm wood. Within minutes a light cinnamon sparkle rises, lending gentle spice without becoming fiery. Underneath sits a creamy almond-vanilla shade that recalls heliotrope and sweet pastry.
Perfumers classify notes as top middle or base. Tops appear first and fade quickly, middles shape the heart and bases linger longest. Benzyl Cinnamate lives firmly in the base. It starts quietly yet anchors a blend for hours adding body after lighter notes have gone.
Projection is moderate: it will not shout across a room yet its presence is clear within personal space. On a paper strip the smell persists well past twenty-four hours and can still be detected in traces for several days making it a reliable fixative in many accords.
How & Where To Use Benzyl Cinnamate
Perfumers pick Benzyl Cinnamate when they want a silky resin that fills gaps between spicy hearts and creamy bases. It blends naturally with heliotrope, benzoin, peru balsam and vanilla themes, giving them extra weight without pushing them into heavy territory.
In floral work it rounds out heady blooms like ylang or gardenia and keeps them from feeling hollow. A trace in a rose accord adds warmth that feels baked by afternoon sun. Amber and oriental formulas rely on it for a sweet bridge between citrus tops and labdanum or musks beneath.
Creators reach for it instead of raw benzoin resin when they need clarity, easy filtering and full IFRA traceability. They may also choose it over cinnamic alcohol when they want the cinnamon nuance without sharpness.
Recommended usage sits between 1 % and 10 % of the concentrate, yet many fine fragrance blends find 0.5 % to 3 % is enough. At low levels it is creamy and barely spicy. Push it past 5 % and the cinnamon edge grows louder while the overall mix may turn syrupy. Above 10 % it can smother top notes and make soap bases discolor.
Over-use risks include cloying sweetness, muddy diffusion and potential skin sensitisation in leave-on products. Always test small steps before adding more.
The material is prone to partial crystallisation in cool rooms. Warm the closed bottle in a 40 °C water bath then shake gently. Pre-dilute to 10 % in ethanol or dipropylene glycol for easier weighing, cleaner blending and faster evaluation on blotters.
Safely Information
Working with Benzyl Cinnamate is straightforward yet it still demands basic lab care.
- Always dilute before smelling: prepare a 10 % solution or less before putting it on a strip
- No direct bottle sniffing: concentrated fumes can irritate the nose and mask subtle notes
- Ventilation: blend in a well-aired space or under a fume hood to avoid breathing vapors
- Personal protection: wear nitrile gloves and safety glasses to keep liquid away from skin and eyes
- Health considerations: some users may develop skin irritation or allergy, brief contact at low levels is usually safe but long or repeated exposure at high strength can be harmful, seek medical advice if pregnant or breastfeeding before handling
Consult the freshest MSDS from your supplier and review it often as guidelines change. Follow current IFRA standards for maximum levels in each product category to keep every formula both enjoyable and safe.
How To Store & Dispose of Benzyl Cinnamate
Keep Benzyl Cinnamate in a cool well shaded area away from heaters or bright windows. A dedicated fragrance fridge set around 8 °C slows oxidation and crystal growth although room temperature storage is acceptable when space is limited.
Choose amber glass with tight polycone caps. These liners hug the bottle neck and block slow vapor loss far better than dropper tops or corks. Check that the thread is clean then twist the cap until it stops to seal out air.
Air space inside the bottle speeds degradation so transfer leftover material to a smaller vial whenever you decant for weighing. Top off any working dilution with fresh solvent to keep headspace minimal.
Label every container with the full name Benzyl Cinnamate, the date it was poured and hazard symbols for irritant and flammable liquid. Clear labeling prevents mix-ups and helps anyone else in the lab follow the same safety steps.
For longer shelf life store dilutions upright in a secondary plastic tray to catch spills. Keep acids, bases and strong oxidizers on a separate shelf to avoid accidental cross contamination.
When a batch reaches end of life do not pour it down the drain undiluted. Small amounts can be mixed with cat litter or sawdust then sealed in a bag before disposal with hazardous waste according to local rules. Larger volumes should be sent to a licensed chemical recycler. The material is readily biodegradable so once treated it poses low environmental risk.
Summary
Benzyl Cinnamate is a balsamic ester that fuses benzyl alcohol and cinnamic acid into a sweet resinous base note. Its scent combines silky benzoin with a mild cinnamon twinkle and a whisper of heliotrope making it a natural choice for oriental, amber and floral accords.
Perfumers value it for the way it adds volume, length and warmth at modest cost. The molecule is stable, easy to filter and offered by Symrise as well as many generic suppliers which keeps pricing accessible for both niche and mass projects.
Watch for gradual crystallisation in cool rooms and for the syrupy weight that can appear if you exceed 5 % of a concentrate. Otherwise the ingredient is forgiving, biodegradable and compatible with everything from luxury extrait to laundry softener.
Commercial buyers can source drums or pails directly from Symrise or competing aroma houses. Hobbyists will find smaller bottles through online perfumery retailers and candle supply shops that repack bulk stock into 10 ml to 500 ml sizes perfect for trials and limited runs.