Alexandra Carlin
A French senior perfumer who moved from literature toward scent, translating words, travel, and material research into emotionally resonant compositions.
France
About Alexandra Carlin
Alexandra Carlin is a French senior perfumer who composes as though she were writing. At eighteen, while considering literature or journalism, she heard a perfumer speak on the radio and chose to communicate atmosphere and emotion through fragrant materials instead of words.
Career
Carlin studied the sciences and trained at ISIPCA, followed by an apprenticeship at Robertet. She joined Symrise in 2007 and later worked closely in New York with Maurice Roucel, discovering years afterward that he had been the voice in the radio interview that changed her direction. She joined IFF as a senior perfumer in late 2024.
Creative Style & Philosophy
She treats raw materials as carriers of meaning and feeling, taking inspiration from places in books, travel, cooking, and bodily movement. Conversations with researchers and flavorists, new molecules, and natural-material expeditions expand her vocabulary. Each brief begins like a blank page: open to invention, yet ultimately shaped into something that can be worn in daily life and reflect a person's mood.
Signature Works
- *Matcha Meditation* — Tea bitterness and sweet warmth expanded into a scene of memory.
- *Cuir Curcuma* — A bold tactile exchange between leather and turmeric.
