Science · October 2026 · 8 min

Is Fragrance Bad for Your Skin, Honestly? Parfum, Linalool and the New EU Allergen Labels

For most people, fragrance in skincare is not a problem. For people who are allergic to it, it is, and a contact allergy lasts for life. The label tells you what you need to know, once you know how to read it: look for parfum, for essential oils and for allergen names such as linalool and limonene. From July 2026, EU labels name 56 more of them.

Solevia Sensitive Skin Moisturiser, Fragrance Free, a grey 50 ml pump bottle standing next to its grey box on a light grey background

The short version

Fragrance is not bad for everyone. It is a problem for people who are allergic to it, and a contact allergy lasts for life. EU law estimates that 1–9% of people in the EU are allergic to fragrance allergens.
“Fragrance-free” and “unscented” are not legal terms. EU cosmetics law defines neither, and the US FDA warns that even some products labelled unscented contain fragrance ingredients. The ingredient list is what counts.
Look for “parfum”, essential oils and allergen names such as linalool, limonene and geraniol. EU law lists a fragrance blend as parfum and makes brands name specific allergens in it.
Linalool and limonene become stronger allergens as they oxidise in air. In a UK study of 4,731 patients, nearly all the allergic reactions were to the oxidised forms.
From 31 July 2026, new products in the EU must name 56 more fragrance allergens on the label.
Most of our products contain fragrance: 32 of 38. Five do not, and they are listed below.

If you already know that fragrance bothers your skin, here is the short answer to “what can I use?”: our five fragrance-free products are the Sensitive Skin Moisturiser, the Nourishing Rich Cream, the BiPhasic Make-up Remover, the AHA Peeling Concentrate and the Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Toner. The rest of this guide shows you how to check any product yourself, ours included.

Fragrance-free, unscented, natural: what the label words mean

Less than you might think. EU cosmetics law does not define “fragrance-free” or “unscented”, and in the US the FDA warns that even some products labelled “unscented” may contain fragrance ingredients. The words on the front of the pack are a description chosen by the brand. The ingredient list on the back is the part the law controls.

Label words, and what to check instead

On the label	What it suggests	What to check in the ingredient list
Fragrance-free	No fragrance added; the term has no legal definition	No parfum, fragrance or aroma, and no essential oils
Unscented	The product should not smell of anything	Parfum or named allergens can still appear
Natural fragrance or essential oils	Scent from plants rather than synthetic perfume	Essential oils are fragrance too, with the same allergens
Sensitive	Made with reactive skin in mind	Nothing; it says nothing about fragrance

What “parfum” on an EU label means

Under the EU Cosmetics Regulation, a fragrance blend appears in the ingredient list as a single word, parfum (or aroma for a flavour), however many substances it contains. What the law does require is that certain known allergens are also named individually. Until now there were 24 of them, and they must be listed when present above 0.001% in products that stay on the skin and 0.01% in products that are rinsed off. That is why so many ingredient lists end with names like linalool, limonene, citronellol and geraniol.

Essential oils are no exception. An oil of lavender, lemon or bergamot is a fragrance ingredient, and it contains the same allergens. The new EU list even names several essential oils as allergens in their own right, lemon peel oil and bergamot peel oil among them. A product scented only with essential oils can be called natural and still be fragranced.

Is fragrance bad for your skin?

For most people, no. Fragrance causes two different problems, and it helps to keep them apart:

Irritation: stinging, burning or redness that goes away when you stop. It can happen to anyone, and it is more likely on skin whose barrier is already damaged.
Allergy: a reaction of the immune system, usually an itchy rash. EU law describes contact allergy as a life-long change: once you are allergic to a fragrance substance, a much smaller amount of it is enough to set off a reaction again.

How common is the allergy? The EU estimates that 1–9% of its population is allergic to fragrance allergens. In the largest study of ordinary adults, 3,119 people chosen at random in five European countries were patch-tested: about 1.9% had a fragrance allergy that mattered in daily life, and women were affected about twice as often as men.

Who should avoid fragrance

Anyone diagnosed with a fragrance allergy, or anyone who has reacted to perfumed products before.
Skin that is already irritated or broken, while it heals. Our skin barrier guide covers what helps.
The skin around the eyes, one of the places where allergic reactions to skincare show up most readily. Our eye cream guide has the details.

If you have never reacted to fragrance, there is no evidence-based reason to throw out a product you like because it contains parfum.

Linalool, limonene and the oxidation problem

Linalool and limonene are the two allergen names you will see most often. In our own range, linalool appears on 22 ingredient lists and limonene on 19. Both come from plants: limonene from citrus peel, linalool from lavender and many other flowers and herbs. The catch is air. As they oxidise, they form hydroperoxides, which are much stronger allergens than the fresh substances.

A UK study patch-tested 4,731 patients at 13 dermatology departments. 5.0% reacted to oxidised limonene and 5.9% to oxidised linalool, while only 0.2% reacted to the fresh forms alone; the oxidised forms caught 97% of the allergic reactions. These were patients who had come to a clinic with skin problems, so the rates are higher than in the general population. EU law caps the peroxide content of limonene used in cosmetics, and the 2023 update treats substances that turn into allergens in air as allergens too.

What this means at home: keep fragranced products closed, store them away from heat and light, and use them within the period shown by the open-jar symbol on the pack.

What the new EU allergen rules change

In 2023 the EU expanded the list of fragrance allergens that have to be named on the label. The 24 already listed stay, and 56 more are added, again whenever they exceed 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products.

The timeline

Date	What happens
2023	Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 adds 56 fragrance allergens to the labelling list
31 July 2026	Products placed on the EU market from this date must follow the new rules
31 July 2028	Older products that do not follow them may no longer be sold

So expect new names on ingredient lists, such as linalyl acetate, geranyl acetate, terpineol, vanillin, menthol, camphor and beta-caryophyllene, and essential oils listed by name, such as lemon peel oil, bergamot peel oil and peppermint oil. Some of our ingredient lists already name substances from the new list: linalyl acetate, geranyl acetate and vanillin each appear on four.

A name on the list does not make a product unsafe. The point of the rule is information: people who already know what they are allergic to can find it on the label and avoid it.

How to check a label in 30 seconds

Look for parfum, fragrance or aroma. If one of them is there, the product is fragranced.
Look for essential oils: plant names followed by oil, such as lavender, lemon, bergamot or peppermint oil.
Look at the end of the list for allergen names such as linalool, limonene, citral, geraniol and citronellol.
If a patch test has told you what you are allergic to, search the list for that exact name.
Ignore the front of the pack. Words like “natural”, “sensitive” or “unscented” do not tell you whether fragrance is inside.

If you think fragrance is causing a rash, a dermatologist can find out exactly which substance with a patch test. A rash that spreads, blisters or swells, especially around the eyes or lips, needs medical advice.

What is in ours

32 of our 38 products contain fragrance, and we would rather say so here than let a word like “sensitive” suggest otherwise. These five contain no parfum and no essential oils:

Our fragrance-free products

Product	What it is	Best for	Price
Sensitive Skin Moisturiser	Light daily cream with aloe, jojoba oil and hyaluronic acid	Reactive or fragrance-allergic skin, every day	€58.80
Nourishing Rich Cream	Rich cream with cocoa butter, argan oil and shea butter	Mature or normal skin, especially at night	€58.80
BiPhasic Make-up Remover	Two-layer remover with aloe leaf juice	Removing make-up	€45.60
AHA Peeling Concentrate	Leave-on peel with 10% lactic acid	Evenings, once or twice a week	€45.60
Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Toner	Toner with 5% glycolic acid	Evenings, a few times a week	€44.40

Two honest notes. Fragrance-free does not mean odourless: the Nourishing Rich Cream contains cocoa butter and vanilla bean extract, which have a scent of their own, and vanillin, the main scent molecule of vanilla, is one of the 56 newly listed allergens. And the two acid products are fragrance-free but not gentle. They can sting, because of the acid rather than any fragrance; our glycolic vs lactic acid guide explains how to use them.

For most people one product is enough to start: the Sensitive Skin Moisturiser as your daily cream, morning and evening. If your skin feels dry by the evening, swap in the Nourishing Rich Cream at night. Either cream on its own qualifies for free shipping over €50, and unopened products can be returned within 14 days with the return postage on us.

Questions we get asked

Is fragrance-free better for sensitive skin?: If your skin reacts to fragrance, yes: it removes a common trigger of allergic reactions to skincare. If it does not, fragrance-free is not automatically gentler, because acids, alcohol and other actives can still sting.
Is natural fragrance safer than synthetic?: Not necessarily. Essential oils contain the same allergens as other fragrances, linalool and limonene among them, and the EU's new list names several essential oils as allergens in their own right.
Why does my fragrance-free product smell?: Because ingredients have a smell of their own. Plant oils, butters and extracts all do. Fragrance-free usually means that nothing was added for its scent, not that the product is odourless.
Is linalool bad for your skin?: Only if you are allergic to it, and the risk is higher once it has oxidised in air. Most people use it without a problem. If a patch test has shown you react to it, avoid products that list it.
Is parfum the same as fragrance?: Yes. Parfum is the word EU law uses in the ingredient list for a fragrance blend; aroma is used for flavours.
Can you be allergic to essential oils?: Yes. Essential oils contain fragrance allergens such as linalool and limonene, and under the new EU rules some of them are named as allergens in their own right.
What do the 2026 EU allergen rules change?: Products placed on the EU market from 31 July 2026 must name 56 more fragrance allergens on the label when they exceed 0.001% in leave-on or 0.01% in rinse-off products. Older stock may be sold until 31 July 2028.

Where to start

If fragrance bothers your skin, start with the Sensitive Skin Moisturiser and add the BiPhasic Make-up Remover if you wear make-up. All five fragrance-free products are together in our fragrance-free edit.