Database/Perfuming/Civetone
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Civetone natural?

No. Authentic civet musk sourcing has been discontinued industry-wide; nature-identical civetone sold today is synthesized from petrochemical large-ring ketone precursors.

INCI nameCivetone
CAS542-46-1
FunctionPerfuming
FeedstockManufactured synthetically via large-ring ketone synthesis from petrochemical…

How we scored it

Macrocyclic musk ketone; natural animal-derived civet is essentially unavailable commercially (ethical/CITES sourcing), so supply is synthetic from petrochemical precursors.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Manufactured synthetically via large-ring ketone synthesis from petrochemical precursors. Animal-derived civet musk, the historical natural source, is no longer used commercially for ethical and CITES-related reasons.

In plain English

A musk fragrance ingredient chemically identical to a compound once obtained from civet cats. Modern supply is made synthetically in a lab; animal-derived civet musk is essentially no longer used in cosmetics.

Natural alternatives with the same function

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2CIVETONE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CIVETONE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CIVETONE