Cetalor®

Synthetic Ingredient Overview

• 🏭 Manufacturer: IFF

• 🔎 Chemical Name: Not publicly disclosed (IFF proprietary material)

• 🧪 Known as: Cetalor™ (IFF)

• 🧬 Chemical Nature: Ambery lactonic structure (non-Ambroxan based)

• 📂 CAS N°: 3738-00-9

• 📘 FEMA: Not listed

• ⚖️ Molecular Weight: 236 g/mol

• 📝 Odor Type: Ambery (main), Woody (secondary)

• 📈 Odor Strength: High — excellent persistence and volume

• 👃🏼 Odor Profile: Warm amber, elegant and radiant with light woody nuances; lacks the sharpness of Ambroxan, but retains powerful diffusion

• ⚗️ Primary Uses: Signature ambery base, diffusion enhancer, warmth builder

• 🧴 Appearance: Pale to off-white crystalline solid

What is Cetalor?

Cetalor™ is a proprietary ambery aroma molecule engineered by IFF to combine the richness of traditional ambergris-type materials with modern performance. While it belongs to the Ambrox-like amber family, Cetalor is not a stereoisomer of Ambroxan — it is a distinct molecule, optimized for:

• Higher warmth

• More diffusive floral synergy

• Less pronounced woody-marine edge

It is designed to function in elegant, musky, oriental, or woody compositions, giving lasting warmth, lift, and diffusion from the base note upward. Its character is considered less mineral and more “sunlit amber”, with a rounder sensory impact.

Olfactory Profile and Perfumery Applications

• Top Impression: Soft diffusion of amber warmth

• Heart: Radiant, powdery-warm, smooth woody character

• Base: Clean ambery fixation with notable persistence and elegance

Applications include:

• Sheer florals: Adds volume and warmth under jasmine, orange flower, peony

• Modern orientals: Enhances opulence and drydown structure

• Woody musks: Contributes body and sillage

• Ambery bases: Use in low percentages (0.2–1.5%) for elegance, or higher (up to 5%) as a performance backbone

Cetalor is also a formulation-friendly fixative, extending the longevity of volatile ingredients like esters and musks.

Usage Guidelines and Performance

• Recommended Concentration:

  • 0.2–1% for enhancement

  • 1–5% as main ambery base

• Tenacity: 10+ days on blotter

• Smelling Conditions: Best evaluated in 10% dilution in DPG

• Odor Type: Elegant, round, diffusive amber with mild woody signature

Regulatory and Safety Overview

• IFRA Status: Not restricted

• EU Allergens: Not listed among declarable allergens

• Toxicology: Not sensitizing or phototoxic based on IFF internal safety data

• Storage: Store dry, sealed, and protected from light

• Sustainability: Synthetic material — not derived from ambergris or animal sources

✅ Safe and stable under standard perfumery use.

Additional Notes and Olfactory Tips

• Compared to Ambroxan:

  • Cetalor is less woody, more floral-compatible, and warmer in tone

  • It lacks the sharp mineral edge often associated with Ambroxan

• Formulation Examples:

  • Pairs well with musks, sandalwood derivatives, florals, and lactones

  • Blends beautifully into modern ambergris-type accords, especially those meant to evoke softness rather than animality

• Fixation Demo: Try blending 10% Benzyl Acetate with 90% Cetalor to observe extended retention — a method similar to musk-based fixation experiments.

Sources

• IFF Technical Data Sheet – Cetalor™

• Fulvio Ciccolo, Scentspiracy Archive (2022)

• Tesi di Laurea, R. Boarelli – Terpenoidi e fragranze della famiglia ambergris (2021)

• Internal structure–odor analysis, Scentspiracy lab 2023