Alexandra Carlin | Perfumer

Literature, materials and the search for an unexpected idea

Paris-born Alexandra Carlin discovered perfumery as a possible career through a radio programme. She went on to study at ISIPCA in Versailles and developed her craft at Symrise, where Maurice Roucel was an important mentor. In December 2024, IFF announced her arrival as a senior perfumer.

Carlin approaches a commission by learning the character of the brand and finding an idea that can become a convincing smell. Literature, research and experimentation with raw materials are part of that process. Her work can turn a familiar ingredient in an unfamiliar direction rather than simply reproduce an established perfume style.

Tonka Blanc for L’Artisan Parfumeur illustrates that curiosity, introducing a vegetable extract into a fine-fragrance composition. The perfumes below offer further ways to explore her work and the different contexts in which her compositions appear. Where a perfume has several creators, its shared credit is retained.