Butylphenyl Methylpropional

What it is

Lilial was for decades one of the most widely used floral aroma chemicals, giving a lily-of-the-valley or muguet note to perfumes, detergents and skincare. It was originally on the EU list of 26 declared fragrance allergens as Annex III entry 83. In 2020 it received a harmonised classification as a category 1B reproductive toxicant, which under the Cosmetics Regulation automatically triggers a prohibition, and it moved to the banned list.

What it does well

• There is no consumer benefit that justifies its use

  Its only function was scent, and the fragrance industry has replaced it with alternatives. It is listed here so that shoppers can recognise the name on older or grey-market stock.

  Strong evidence

Worth knowing

• Classified as toxic for reproduction, category 1B

  Under EU CLP rules Lilial carries the harmonised classification Repr. 1B with hazard statement H360Fd: may damage fertility and is suspected of damaging the unborn child. Substances with this classification are prohibited in cosmetics as a matter of law, without needing a demonstrated real-world harm at cosmetic doses.

  Matters most toAnyone, but especially people who are pregnant or trying to conceive.

• It was also a declared contact allergen

  Before the reproductive classification, Lilial was already one of the 26 substances the EU required to be individually named because of its skin-sensitising potential.

  Matters most toPeople with fragrance allergy.

• It may still appear in old stock and imported products

  German biomonitoring found the Lilial metabolite lysmeral in the urine of the great majority of children and adolescents sampled between 2014 and 2017, though a separate analysis of banked samples showed exposure falling steadily from 2000 to 2018 as use declined. Any EU product still containing it today is non-compliant.

  Matters most toPeople buying from non-EU marketplaces or using very old products.

Where the EU stands

Sources (3)

Every link goes to the original: a journal, a PubMed record or an EU document.

1. [1]
   Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1182 amending Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP)

   European Commission / EUR-Lex · 2020

   Gave 2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde the harmonised classification Repr. 1B, H360Fd, which under the Cosmetics Regulation automatically triggered its prohibition in cosmetic products.

2. [2]
   Metabolites of the fragrance 2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde (lysmeral) in urine of children and adolescents in Germany - Human biomonitoring results of the German Environmental Survey 2014-2017 (GerES V)

   International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health · 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113594

   German national biomonitoring detected Lilial metabolites in the urine of the large majority of children and adolescents sampled, confirming widespread everyday exposure before the ban.

3. [3]
   Human biomonitoring in urine samples from the Environmental Specimen Bank reveals a decreasing trend over time in the exposure to the fragrance chemical lysmeral from 2000 to 2018

   Chemosphere · 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128955

   Measured exposure to Lilial fell steadily across two decades of banked German urine samples, showing regulatory and voluntary reductions were already taking effect before the formal ban.