It may come as no surprise that the world of perfumery has traditionally been a boys club, but female perfumers are changing the game and bringing some of our best-loved fragrances into inception.
At the time when some of the most famous legacy scents were being created – Chanel No.5, Guerlain Shalimar, YSL Opium – women in white lab coats were not taken as seriously as their male counterparts, nor were they given the same opportunities. It’s taken a long time to unravel, but these days, when you sniff a cult perfume and wonder about the nose (or perfumer) behind your most mesmerising concoctions, chances are it was one of these trail-blazing female perfumers below…
Christine Nagel
PIERRE VERDY
One of the most prolific perfumers around, Christine Nagel, started her career in medicine before moving to chemistry and eventually perfumery when she joined renowned Swiss fragrance firm Firmenich. She was denied a spot as a perfumer, due to lacking a traditional perfume background, so instead examined the fragrances on a molecular level, learning to identify them by nose. When she left to start her own business in Italy, she was so impressive, she secured 60% of the countries fragrance contracts (including Fendi and Versace) within the first year.
Since then, the Swiss perfumer has put her hand (and nose) to countless scents across major fashion and fragrance houses like Dior, Fendi, Versace, Armani, Guerlain, Narciso Rodriguez, Cartier, Jo Malone and Dolce & Gabbana before joining Hermes in 2014 as the brand’s in-house perfumer. She’s the maestro behind much-loved masterpieces like Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie, D&G’s The One, Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt, Giorgio Armani’s Si, Narciso Rodriguez For Her and Twilly d’Hermes.
Anne Flipo
Noam Galai
