Carlos Viñals
A New York-born American perfumer whose expressive, approachable compositions are shaped by memory, freshness, and emotional response.
United States
About Carlos Viñals
Carlos Viñals is an American perfumer born in New York and raised in Virginia. His earliest olfactory training came through a childhood game with his father, who worked with tobacco flavouring: Viñals learned to distinguish the maple, vanilla, sweet and spicy notes that returned home on his father's clothes. He is now a senior perfumer at Symrise.
Career
While at college, Viñals found work as a perfumer technician and was selected for training by a master perfumer within his first year. He began his professional career at IFF in 1985, learning from figures including Carlos Benaïm, then worked at Givaudan, Takasago and Fragrance Resources before joining Symrise in 2009. His portfolio spans designer, lifestyle and independent fragrance brands.
Creative Style & Philosophy
Viñals treats fragrance as a route back to memory and as a way to trigger an immediate emotional response. Recollections of the Virginia coast and his mother sit beside the sweet materials of his father's work. His compositions often balance sparkling citrus, spice and aromatic freshness with warmer, more comforting textures. When given an open brief, he has translated the effervescence of a gin and tonic and the convivial energy of a first toast into scent.
Signature Works
- *Higher Energy* — co-created with Natalie Gracia-Cetto, combining citrus, spice and woods in an urban aromatic structure.
- *Ginger Tonic FR/18* — a juniper, ginger and metallic-musk composition built around the fizz of a cocktail.
- *Bare* — a musky Victoria's Secret fragrance designed to settle into the wearer's individual skin character.
