IFRA Standards Library
A sortable and searchable database of all the IFRA Standards.
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Gathering ingredients
Natural materials such as flowers, woods, resins, spices and citrus peels are harvested around the world, then distilled or extracted on site to capture their scent as essential oil or concrete.
At the same time, chemists create synthetic fragrance materials that extend naturals or replicate rare notes with fewer resources, often using green-chemistry routes or biotechnology.
Both types of ingredient are sourced under strict labour, environmental and traceability audits.
Before any of them reaches the perfumer’s palette, IFRA member companies assess each one against the IFRA Standards to make sure it can be used safely.
Crafting the Fragrance
Fewer than a thousand fully qualified perfumers — known in the industry as “noses” — work globally, each training for seven to ten years to memorise thousands of smells and master complex formulation. They compose a fragrance much as a musician composes a score: bright top notes introduce the scent, structured middle notes give it body, and long-lasting base notes provide depth.
Modern laboratories support this artistry with gas-chromatography analysis, trend data and even artificial-intelligence tools, yet every finished formula is still judged by the perfumer’s own nose. Final safety screening against the IFRA Standards ensures the new fragrance can be enjoyed with confidence.
“As a perfumer, I like showing and convincing… I am simply following the trajectory of an artist — someone who seeks and, sometimes, finds”
Jean-Claude Ellena, master perfumer
From blend to product
Once the creative brief is approved, automated blending systems reproduce the formula with part-per-million precision under Good Manufacturing Practice. Brand owners and fragrance houses work closely to match scent performance to product function — fresh laundry, long-lasting deodorant, sophisticated fine fragrance or welcoming home care.
Throughout manufacturing and distribution, strict quality controls, sustainability audits and the global IFRA Code of Practice guide every batch, so the fragrance that reaches consumers delivers pleasure and problem-solving performance in equal measure.