Phenethyl alcohol is an aromatic alcohol that can have a rose like floral scent. It occurs widely in nature, being found in a variety of essential oils such as rose, carnation, hyacinth, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, geranium, neroli, and champaca. It is also produced by the fungus Candida albicans.
It may also be used as a preservative due to its antimicrobial properties.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG's) Skin Deep is the world's largest personal care product safety guide. They rate ingredients according to their hazard score on a 0-10 scale from low to high hazard. For example, they give water a score of 0.
Accordingly they have rated Phenethyl Alcohol with a score of 1.