Christine Hassan
A Givaudan perfumer raised in New York. With a background in sculpture and cinematography, she pictures each fragrance as a scene or a shape before she builds it.
United States
About Christine Hassan
Christine Hassan is a perfumer at Givaudan. She grew up in New York and trained in sculpture and cinematography, and she sees scent as a quiet way for people to connect without words. Her work spans brands such as Anna Sui, Guess, Tory Burch and Boy Smells.
Career
At the University of Virginia, Hassan studied biochemistry alongside studio art, focusing on sculpture and cinematography. She went on to complete a master's degree in perfumery at ISIPCA in France. At IFF she apprenticed in perfumery, dividing her time between Paris and New York, and she later became a junior perfumer at Drom. She now creates fragrances at Givaudan.
Creative Style
For Hassan, a fragrance has depth, texture and motion. Before choosing materials, she pictures it either as a scene playing out or as a form solid enough to hold. That image then shapes how she stacks the materials and sets the pace of the composition. New York feeds her through its contrasts: towers rising beside Central Park, cocktails that are both sweet and savory, a tutu worn with sneakers. Those contrasts suggest compositions with a lively, slightly unpredictable progression. However abstract the brief, she keeps the wearer in mind and thinks about how the scent will settle on skin. She also likes materials that change once they are blended. Lavender is her example: she did not love it on its own, but it showed real depth in a formula.
Signature Works
- **Sundae Mellow Yellow**
a bright, sweet blend of sugared lemon, passion fruit and peach, with osmanthus and jasmine.
- **Playmate** (Mind Games)
from a chess-inspired house, it opens with sweet Italian lemon and coconut milk, moves into water lily, jasmine and tiare, and settles into musk, vanilla, sandalwood and amber.
