Material guide · 26
Material guide: linalyl acetate — the clean sweetness shared by lavender and bergamot
· 12 min read
CAS 115-95-7, the ester of linalool and acetic acid and the clean, sweet core shared by lavender and bergamot. 117 suppliers, with 20-hour substantivity.
Smell a bottle of lavender oil beside a bottle of bergamot and a shared clean sweetness sits between them. No coincidence: the same molecule appears high on both oils' constituent lists. Linalyl acetate.
What matters
- Linalyl acetate is linalool esterified with acetic acid, the shared source of the clean sweetness in lavender and bergamot. Medium strength, 20 hours, a soft fruity top-to-heart player.
- It joins two earlier lessons: ester chemistry (alcohol + acid → ester, swap the acid and the face changes) and oxidation (gentle when pure, sensitising when oxidised).
- "Natural oils protect themselves" was directly tested in 2008: lavender oil lacks natural protection against autoxidation. A loose cap oxidises it all the same. Decant, date, retain — natural oils included.
The record
| CAS | 115-95-7 |
| Formula | C₁₂H₂₀O₂ |
| MW | 196.29 |
| Odour | sweet, green, citrus, bergamot, lavender, woody, floral, spicy, clean, terpenic |
| Odour family | herbal |
| Strength | medium |
| Substantivity | 20 h (neat, on a strip) |
| Specific gravity | 0.903–0.912 (25 °C) |
| Flash point | 85 °C |
| Shelf life | 24 months or longer (cool, dark, sealed) |
| Registers | GRAS, JECFA, CoE, FEMA GRAS, IFRA |
Plain reading: CAS is the material's ID number. "Bergamot" and "lavender" sit together in the descriptors; one molecule ties the two plants. The 20-hour substantivity lands between linalool's 12 and geraniol's 60, right where tops hand over to hearts.
One ester, two plants
Chemically this is the ester lesson run once more: linalool + acetic acid → linalyl acetate. Join acetic acid to isoamyl alcohol and you get banana; join it to linalool and you get lavender's clean sweetness. Same reaction, different alcohol, different world.
Lavender oil quality has long been judged on the linalool-and-linalyl-acetate pair, industry common knowledge; our database's formulation field even carries a bergamot specification reading "contains 45% linalyl acetate". The fastest way to verify it yourself: buy the synthetic ester and smell it beside your lavender oil. The shared skeleton surfaces on its own.
A natural oil does not shield it from oxidation
Research found the main terpenes in lavender oil still autoxidised at rates close to the pure compounds. The full experiment and storage practice are in An opened bottle is no longer the same material; this guide returns to the clean sweetness linalyl acetate gives lavender and bergamot.
Smelling it
- Medium strength; 10% is a comfortable evaluation. Neat it is clean sweetness with green citrus-herb edges, rounder than linalool, calmer than the banana ester.
- The lavender opening move: this plus linalool is the skeleton. Lean toward the ester for Provence sweetness, toward linalool for the herbal-apothecary side.
- In a cologne it is bergamot's extension cord, holding the clean sweetness a few hours after the citrus leaves.
- My own use is as a soft-focus filter: when a floral turns sharp, a little of this dulls the corners. Experience speaking.
The catalogue family
| Item | What it is |
|---|---|
| linalyl acetate (117 suppliers) | the material itself: the clean sweetness of lavender and bergamot |
| lavender oil (99 suppliers) | the natural whole: this ester plus linalool plus the full supporting cast |
| linalyl propionate (29 suppliers) | the propionate, fruitier |
| linalyl isobutyrate (23 suppliers) | the isobutyrate, fruitier still |
| linalyl formate (22 suppliers) | the formate, lighter and greener |
| linalyl butyrate (19 suppliers) | the butyrate, toward ripe fruit |
Five esters of one linalool — the same "swap the acid, swap the face" teaching aid as the isoamyl family.
Regulatory
Listed on GRAS, JECFA, CoE, FEMA GRAS, IFRA. As always, registers carry no limit values. As with linalool, the industry's attention centres on the post-oxidation hydroperoxides; for skin formulae, consult the current IFRA Standards and the supplier's specification, and watch the batch's peroxide value.
Buying it
- The synthetic single and the whole lavender oil play different roles: the single for formula practice, the oil for full lavender. One side-by-side smell beats ten articles.
- As with linalool, you are buying time-until-oxidised: check the manufacture date and buy small.
- Open for over a year? Smell before use. An oxidised, rancid edge cannot be rescued once it enters a formula.
→ Linalyl acetate in the database: full properties, supplier list, suggested pairings. → Lavender oil | Linalool | Search by odour: try "lavender clean" for its neighbours.
References
M. Sköld, L. Hagvall & A.-T. Karlberg, Autoxidation of linalyl acetate, the main component of lavender oil, creates potent contact allergens, Contact Dermatitis, 58(1), 9–14 (2008). PMID 18154552
L. Hagvall, M. Sköld, J. Bråred-Christensson, A. Börje & A.-T. Karlberg, Lavender oil lacks natural protection against autoxidation, forming strong contact allergens on air exposure, Contact Dermatitis, 59(3), 143–150 (2008). PMID 18759894