Iso E Super (IFF) is a very widely used fragrance in perfumes, cosmetics and other perfumed products.

Use

Iso E Super is usually not used for the fragrance, but for the effect it has on the entire blend of fragrances. Iso E super ensures that scents flow into each other nicely and that there are no gaps in the scent image. Rough edges are smoothed out. A (too) high dose can suppress the top notes, but otherwise a dose of up to 50% (in the fragrance composition) is rarely a problem. You rarely dose it too high and making a dilution makes little sense. It does have its own scent, a sweet amber scent with wood aspects. This own scent is used in the perfume Molecule o1 by perfumer Geza Schön.

Iso E Super (IFF) is very stable and can be used in addition to perfume in cosmetics, soap, scented candles, acid products and powders. Only in bleaches it will not work well.

Properties

Iso E Super (IFF) is a colourless to tan liquid. It is made synthetically from, among other things, pinene, which is a by-product of the wood industry.

Iso E Super was launched in 1973 and quickly became one of the most widely used fragrances in perfumery. This is due to its enormous versatility, especially its smoothing effect that gives any perfume an almost velvety finish. But there are also a few tricky features.

Some people never smell it, but a lot of people don't smell it every now and then. If Iso E Super is one of the many fragrances in the perfume, this is rarely a problem, but if it is the only fragrance, as in Molecule 01, it is a problem. Never smelling certain odors is called anosmia and is quite normal, many people cannot smell some odors. However, that sometimes you can't smell a scent for a while and then you can again is special. This is a weird feature of Iso E Super.

Iso E Super (IFF) is and has been used in an enormous number of perfumes: Halston Feminin was one of the first in 1974, Giorgio followed a little later and toppers such as Tresor and Fahrenheit contain a large amount (20-25%) Iso E Super in the fragrance composition. But also in many other applications such as soap and washing powders in Iso E Super a commonly used fragrance. Iso E Super is very substantive and adhesive, which is a nice feature especially for washing powders and substance softeners.

Quality

We regularly receive complaints about the quality of Iso E Super, about once every 500 bottles. The complaint is either that the Iso E Super doesn't smell like anything, or the Iso E Super smells different than it did last time. Sometimes even different from another bottle that was delivered at the same time and is from the same batch. We have already explained this a bit under the previous heading 'Properties'.

Iso E Super (IFF) is made by IFF. We buy this from IFF. IFF is one of the largest fragrance manufacturers in the world. They check everything they make thoroughly and in various ways. They ensure that the smell of the products is the same within very small margins. The Iso E Super that we receive is therefore always good.

If IFF were to make a mistake (and we've never caught them doing it), we also check the smell of our products. Deviations from the expectation are investigated. This is rare and so far never with products from IFF, Firmenich, Givaudan, Synmrise or any of the other very big players in the market.

If we were to do it wrong  and this has happened once in the past with other products, complaints will rain down. Fortunately, we can solve it. That never happened for Iso E Super.

At the very beginning we sometimes had bottles returned after a complaint, in all cases there appeared to be nothing wrong: the Iso E Super was good.

We think the number of complaints is not too bad, given the number of complaints per bottle sold and the difficult properties of Iso E Super. Nevertheless, it remains an annoying side of this product, which unfortunately nothing can be done about it.

Molecule 01

At least half of the Iso E Super we sell is used to counterfeit Molecule 01, an Escentric perfume. This perfume was designed by Geza Schön and is said to have only one fragrance, Iso E Super.

A simple perfume recipe, based on the perfume Molecule 01 is:

10ml Iso E Super (IFF)
90 ml Cosmetic hair water

Mix and place in one (or more) suitable atomisers. The smell will in many cases closely resemble Molecule 01, but still be distinguishable from it. This is probably partly because a special variant of Iso E Super was actually used that is unfortunately not freely available on the market (a captive ingredient).

You can use a little more Iso E Super, but don't use much more than 20% Iso E Super: concentrated perfumes are rarely good for the skin.

Packaging

Iso E Super (IFF) is packaged as follows:
10 ml: Brown 10 ml glass bottle with black cap
50 ml: Brown 50 ml bottle glass with black cap
250 g and 1 kg: Aluminium bottle with stopper and white cap
4,8 kg: Semi-transparent plastic (LDPE) jerry can with black cap

The packs are supplied without a pipette or dosing aid. The label is in Dutch.

The stated expiration date is at least four months in the future, in many cases more than a year in the future. Older Iso E Super smells slightly different and may be a stronger allergen.

Composition and origin

Iso E Super is a synthetic fragrance, its alternative name is OTNE, which is an abbreviation of the chemical name of the main ingredient: [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3, 8,8-Tetramethylnaphthalen-2yl]ethan-1-one. However, it contains several isomers of this substance, in addition to a few other substances, all of which affect the final odor. Although not very sensitive to oxidation, a small amount of BHT has been added.

Because Iso E Super is a mixture of a number of substances, it does not have a single CAS or EINECS number. The three main ingredients are:

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The CAS numbers of the main ingredients: 54464-57-2 / 68155-66-8 / 68155-67-9

The EINECS numbers of the main ingredients: 259-174-3 / 268-978-3 / 268-979-9/915-730-3

Warnings

Iso E Super is classified as a hazardous substance under REACH with the following warnings and advice:

H315: Causes skin irritation.
H317: May cause an allergic skin reaction.
H410: Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
P102: Keep out of reach of children.
P264: Wash hands thoroughly after handling.
P273: Avoid release to the environment.
P280: Wear protective gloves/protective clothing.
P302+P352: IF ON SKIN: Wash with plenty of soap and water.
P333+P313: If skin irritation or rash occurs: Get medical advice/attention.
P362: Take off and wash contaminated clothing before reuse.

Use of Iso E Super is not restricted by the EU Cosmetics Regulation.

Iso E Super does not contain any of the allergens that must be declared on the packaging according to the EU Cosmetics Regulation. However, the product is allergenic and in the future Iso E Super may also have to be declared as an allergen.

IFRA

The IFRA has given Iso E Super as 'Restricted' status, depending on the application there is a higher or lower maximum usage level of Iso E Super in products. See OTNE on the IFRA site. The restriction is based on the allergenizing capacity. Depending on the product in which Iso E Super is used, the recommended maximums are currently as follows: