Fragrance Allergens: Europe Now Names 80. The US Names None.
On July 31, 2026, a European rule took effect that changes what a perfume label has to tell you. Fragrance allergens that were previously allowed to hide inside the word “parfum” now have to be named individually.
The list went from 24 substances to more than 80.
In the United States the number is still zero. Not a shorter list, not a weaker version of the same rule. There is no requirement to name a single fragrance allergen on a cosmetic sold in America.
What the EU did
Regulation 2023/1545 added 56 substances to the existing allergen list, all of them identified by the EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety as having clearly caused allergic reactions in people.
If any of them is present above a threshold, it has to appear in the ingredient list by name. Not folded into “parfum.” Named, so somebody who reacts to it can find it.
Products going on the market after July 31, 2026 have to comply now. Stock already on shelves has until July 31, 2028 to catch up, which is why you’ll see both versions in European shops for the next couple of years.
What happened in the US
Congress actually addressed this. The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, passed at the very end of 2022, directed the FDA to issue rules requiring fragrance allergens to be disclosed on labels.
MoCRA set a deadline of December 29, 2025 for those rules.
That deadline passed without them. A proposed rule was expected in 2026, and a final rule in force is realistically 2027 or later. So the law exists, the mandate exists, and the labeling requirement does not.
Which leaves American shoppers where they’ve been for decades: one word covering a formula that can run to hundreds of ingredients, with no way to identify what’s in it. That’s the same structure we’ve written about in cleaning products, where a state disclosure law did arrive, and it’s why perfume remains the least transparent thing in the beauty aisle.
Why this matters more than an ingredient list usually does
Fragrance allergy is not a rare condition, and it isn’t a matter of taste.
Contact allergy to fragrance is among the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, and the substances driving it are well characterized, which is precisely why regulators can list them. Once you’re sensitized to a specific one, you stay sensitized, and avoiding it is the only real management.
That’s the point of naming them. A person who has patch-tested positive to, say, hydroxycitronellal can scan an EU label and know in five seconds. On a US label they cannot, no matter how carefully they read, because the word that would tell them is legally optional.
The gap isn’t about how dangerous perfume is in general. It’s about whether the minority of people who react have any way to protect themselves.
Shopping around the gap
Read European labels if you can find them. Many brands sell the same formula on both sides of the Atlantic and print the fuller ingredient list on EU packaging or their EU website, which is a useful workaround.
Prefer brands that disclose voluntarily. A perfume house listing its ingredients when nobody makes it is telling you something about how it wants to be judged, and that’s the group we picked from in the best clean fragrance and natural perfume brands.
Know that “natural” doesn’t help here. Some of the most common fragrance allergens are natural essential oil constituents: limonene, linalool, citral, eugenol, geraniol. A botanical perfume can be richer in them than a synthetic one, which is one of the reasons “clean” and “natural” are not the same claim.
And if you react to scent without knowing to what, a dermatologist’s patch test is the thing that converts a vague problem into a list you can shop against. It’s the same logic as cocamidopropyl betaine in shampoo: guessing is expensive and slow, testing is neither. A standard panel also covers nickel, the most common contact allergen there is, so one appointment tends to answer more than the question you booked it for.
Every brand we recommend has a scored profile in our brand directory.
Frequently asked questions
How many fragrance allergens must be labeled in the EU?
More than 80, following Regulation 2023/1545, which added 56 substances to the previous list of 24. Each has to be named individually in the ingredient list when present above a set threshold, rather than being covered by the word “parfum.” The rule applies to products placed on the market from July 31, 2026.
Does the US require fragrance allergen labeling?
No. There is currently no requirement to name any fragrance allergen on a cosmetic sold in the US. MoCRA, passed in 2022, directed the FDA to create one by December 29, 2025, but that deadline passed without a rule. A final requirement is realistically 2027 or later.
Are natural fragrances less allergenic?
Not necessarily, and often the opposite. Several of the most common fragrance allergens are natural constituents of essential oils, including limonene, linalool, citral, geraniol and eugenol. A botanical perfume can contain more of them than a synthetic one.
How can I find out what I react to?
Patch testing through a dermatologist. Standard panels include fragrance mixes and individual allergens, which turns “scented things bother me” into a specific list. Without it, avoiding fragrance entirely is the only reliable strategy, since US labels won’t tell you what’s inside.
Related reading
The companion piece: what “clean fragrance” actually means. For vetted picks, see the best clean fragrance and natural perfume brands. The same disclosure gap runs through cleaning products, covered in the fragrance loophole, and the wider ingredient story is in endocrine disruptors in cosmetics.
Sources: European Union, Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545. US Food and Drug Administration, Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022. Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, Opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products.
