Material guide · 42
Material guide: cashmeran — the 48-hour musk, the family's sprinter
· 12 min read
CAS 33704-61-9. The database calls it musk indanone, the trade calls it Cashmeran (IFF), the papers call it DPMI — three names, one molecule. Spicy, musky, woody, clean, and its 48 hours of longevity run far shorter than the series' other musks. 38 suppliers, a semi-solid to solid. A 2024 weight-of-the-evidence assessment concluded it is not expected to cause endocrine effects; a 2013 chiral-analysis study adds the reminder that five polycyclic musks are all used industrially as racemic mixtures.
One more from the musk family — the one with the most names and the shortest run (within this series). The database lists it as musk indanone, the market calls it IFF's Cashmeran, and the papers say DPMI: the same three-names-one-molecule play as Iso E Super. It hangs under the musk category but doesn't act very musky: spicy, woody, clean, and its 48 hours of longevity make it a clear sprinter next to the table's 200- and 400-hour family members.
What matters
- Cashmeran is the all-rounder at the musk's edge: spicy, musky, woody, clean; lore often uses it to give woody and musky bases a layer of fluffy warmth. 38 suppliers, 48 hours of longevity (measured neat), a semi-solid to solid.
- It is a molecule that has been seriously examined: a 2024 weight-of-the-evidence assessment ran through ToxCast, cell assays, a 90-day study and a reproductive-developmental screen, concluding it is not expected to cause endocrine effects (the original's hedged wording, quoted as written).
- A 2013 chiral-analysis study teaches a bonus lesson: five polycyclic musks including this one are all used industrially as racemic mixtures — the rose oxide guide's left-and-right-hand story, playing out in the musk family too.
The basics
| CAS | 33704-61-9 |
| Formula | C₁₄H₂₂O |
| MW | 206.33 |
| Odor | spicy, musk, woody, clean |
| Odor type | musk |
| Strength | medium (database note: evaluate at 10% or less) |
| Longevity | 48 hours (measured neat at 100%, on a blotter) |
| Appearance | colorless to pale yellow semi-solid to solid |
| Flash point | 93.89 °C |
| Shelf life | 36 months or longer (cool, dark, sealed) |
| Listings | GRAS, JECFA, IFRA |
48 hours is a genuine reading (the vanillin guide explained the conventional 400), and it looks remarkable next to the family: galaxolide reads 400 neat, ethylene brassylate 208, this one 48. That puts it in the "Moderate" band of our longevity tiers — a rare non-"Long" among recent additions. The semi-solid gets the usual treatment: warm bath, dilute first.
A molecule that got a serious checkup
A 2024 weight-of-evidence review integrated cellular, receptor, repeat-dose and reproductive-developmental data and concluded that Cashmeran is not expected to cause endocrine effects. For how an isolated weak signal is weighed against the whole package, see How to read fragrance-safety studies.
Left and right hands, sold mixed
Commercial Cashmeran is a polycyclic musk sold as a mixture of stereoisomers. Its family identity and environmental-analysis context are compared with other musks in Synthetic musks are not one family.
The musk family, compared
| Material | Suppliers | Longevity |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxolide | 34 | 400 hours (neat) |
| Ethylene brassylate | 52 | 208 hours |
| Cashmeran | 38 | 48 hours (neat) |
One family, longevity spread nearly tenfold. Our reading: cashmeran is less a "base musk" than a musk-colored tint for the heart — it arrives fast and leaves fast, and lore often pairs it with woody and pine-needle directions as a warm filter.
When you smell it
- To our noses, a 10% dilution opens on spice and a lightly piney wood, and only in the middle does the clean musk edge surface — more angular than a typical musk.
- Smelling it beside galaxolide makes them easy to tell apart: one is a long clean sweetness, the other a short spicy wood.
- Evaluate at 10% or less (the database's note). Soften the semi-solid in a warm bath before diluting.
Regulatory
Listed in GRAS, JECFA, and IFRA. These listings do not provide use limits. For skin-bound formulas check current IFRA Standards and the supplier's specification; the weight-of-the-evidence assessment above is the scientific basis of risk assessment; practical limits come from current regulatory documents.
Buying notes
- For a "musk that isn't quite a musk" over a woody base, lore makes it a common first pick; for a long-running base, go back to the family's 400-hour members.
- Buy small jars for easier handling of the semi-solid; the 36-month shelf life means no rush.
- Buy the three musks together — galaxolide, ethylene brassylate, cashmeran — and smell them side by side; the comparison table above becomes your own scent memory.
→ Cashmeran in the database: full physical data, supplier list, suggested pairings. → Galaxolide | Ethylene brassylate | Search by scent: try "musk woody spicy" to find its neighbors.
References
S. Tayal, M. A. Schults, P. Sterchele, E. Hulzebos & G. S. Ladics, Cashmeran as a potential endocrine disrupting chemical: What does the weight-of-the-evidence indicate?, Food and Chemical Toxicology, 184, 114351 (2024). PMID 38081530
L. Wang, J. A. McDonald & S. J. Khan, Enantiomeric analysis of polycyclic musks in water by chiral gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, Journal of Chromatography A, 1303, 66–75 (2013). PMID 23866122