Musk Ambrette (CAS 83-66-9) is a synthetic musk compound commonly used in perfumery for its warm, sweet, and musky scent profile. It is often employed as a base note in fragrance formulations, providing depth and longevity to the overall scent. Musk Ambrette is particularly valued for its ability to enhance the diffusion of other fragrance ingredients, making it a popular choice in both fine fragrances and personal care products. In terms of safety and regulatory considerations, Musk Ambrette is subject to certain restrictions under IFRA guidelines due to its potential for skin sensitization. As with many musks, it is important for formulators to be aware of these regulations to ensure compliance and safety in their products. Overall, Musk Ambrette serves as a versatile ingredient that contributes to the complexity and richness of modern fragrance compositions. — AI-generated summary, 2026-09-02.
A classic nitro-musk with a sweet, powdery, slightly floral musk character reminiscent of ambrette seed but softer and more diffusive. Warm and clean with a subtle balsamic undertone, it lends a rounded, old-fashioned musk sweetness to compositions.AI · claude-opus-4-7
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Perfume and Flavor Chemicals, page 982.
Pale yellowish or whitish-yellow or yellow crystals (varying with crystal size and structure).
Almost insoluble in water, 3.3% soluble in alcohol, 37% soluble in Diethylphthalate, 50% soluble in Benzylbenzoate, practically insoluble in Terpenes or mineral oil.
Sweet, yet heavy, floral-musky odor of very good tenacity. The characteristic note of this Nitromusk is the floral tone of its muskiness.
The taste is bitter except in very low concentrations — best at 1 ppm or lower, unless powerful sweetening flavor materials are added (Cassia oil, Undecanolide, etc.). The effect is then sweet and musky at a discrete level.
Musk Ambrette is one of the most frequently used artificial musks. It is hard to imagine a day’s work unless the jar with Musk Ambrette has been used. Many perfumers use it — almost conventionally — with Musk Ketone, generally favouring the Musk Ketone in proportion, to achieve part of the always desirable 'powder' note in a fragrance. In general, Musk Ambrette is a fixative, forming part of the 'crystals' in a perfume formulation with other musks, Heliotropine, Coumarin, etc. It performs very well with the Ionones and with all members of the Linalool family, with Hydroxycitronellal or the Cinnamic alcohol group.
Musk Ambrette is used to a minor degree in flavor compositions. It finds its way into such types as Cherry, Maple, Nut, Spice, Vanilla, Mint, Fruit, etc. and has been used in trace amounts in dentifrice flavors. Overdosage may easily cause a 'perfumey' taste in such products.
Produced from meta-Cresolmethylether with iso-Butylchloride (or iso-Butylene) followed by Nitration of the ether.