Irina Burlakova
A Latvian perfumer trained at ISIPCA and Givaudan, creator of Frassaï Victoria and Cuir Pampas and a Principal Perfumer at LUZI.
Latvia
About Irina Burlakova
Irina Burlakova is a Latvian perfumer from Riga. Trained in chemistry and perfumery in France, she has developed fragrances across several international settings. LUZI lists her on its official perfumery team as a Principal Perfumer.
Career
At fifteen, Patrick Süskind’s novel Perfume prompted her to investigate perfumery as a profession and write to ISIPCA for information. While studying in Strasbourg, she obtained an internship at Givaudan. Her training included ISIPCA and the Givaudan Perfumery School. In a 2020 interview she recalled her years in Paris and her experience working with MANE while based in Hong Kong; these are stages in her career rather than a description of her current employer.
Creative Style & Philosophy
Burlakova describes composition as a process of exploration, rarely completed in a single attempt. Contact with the brand and its creative director allows their initial vision and her work to develop until they meet. She also values starting each project from a clean slate. Earlier memories include walks through seaside woodland with her grandmother, smelling and collecting leaves and flowers. Together, these accounts show an interest in direct material experience and in discovering a composition through sustained collaboration.
Representative Works
- *Victoria* — Frassaï credits her with this portrait of writer Victoria Ocampo, built on a contrast between creamy tuberose and oud.
- *Cuir Pampas* — The house’s image of a gaucho leaving for the pampas at dawn takes shape through mate, leather, smoked vetiver and woods.
