Isaac Sinclair
A New Zealand perfumer at IFF in France, known for expressive work with natural and upcycled materials.
New Zealand
About Isaac Sinclair
Isaac Sinclair grew up on the coast of New Zealand's North Island. After a long period working in Brazil and a return to France, he joined IFF's French creative team as a Senior Perfumer in July 2026.
Career
While selling fragrance in New Zealand, Sinclair sought advice from fragrance historian Michael Edwards, an encounter that helped him make his way to France. With support from Dragoco, he studied the five senses at Milan's Università dell'Immagine and trained in perfumery in Paris, learning from Françoise Marin, Bernard Ellena and Maurice Roucel. An assignment in Brazil intended to last six months became more than a decade of work, including fragrances for Natura and O Boticário, before he returned to Paris in 2023.
Creative Style & Philosophy
Conversation is central to Sinclair's creative process: a client's response to successive trials can encourage him to pursue a material further than he might alone. His work explores distinctive natural and upcycled materials, from seaweed to clove aroma recovered from water left after distillation. He treats that exchange between people and materials as a way to discover an individual fragrance character.
Signature Works
- *Cyan Nori* — an Abel aquatic that brings seaweed's salty character into contact with sweetness.
- *The Mind Vaccine* — an RVDK and SALLE PRIVÉE collaboration featuring an upcycled clove material.
