Christine Nagel

Christine Nagel is a renowned Swiss perfumer who currently serves as the Director of Olfactive Creation at Hermès Parfums . Born on October 7, 1959 in Geneva, Switzerland, Nagel was fascinated by perfumery from a young age. She began her academic journey by studying medicine with the goal of becoming a midwife, but later discovered her true passion for chemistry, which eventually led to her interest in the world of perfume.

After completing her studies in organic chemistry, Nagel began her career in the research department of the Swiss fragrance company Firmenich. She became fascinated by the strong emotional responses that her colleagues' work evoked in the women who smelled it. Her colleague was Alberto Morillas , one of the giants of the perfume industry. However, when Nagel asked to transfer to the perfumery department, she was told that this was not possible due to her lack of a traditional background. She then moved on to chromatography, where she examined fragrances and their ingredient recipes at the molecular level and became one of the few in the world who could recognize ingredients using only her nose.

After working for Firmenich for a time, Nagel moved to Italy to start her own company. Within a year, she had 60% of the perfume contracts in Italy, including work for Fendi and Versace . She moved to Paris in 1997, where she began creating designer fragrance hits such as Narciso Rodriguez for Her (2003, with Francis Kurkdjian) and Miss Dior Chérie (2005). Nagel has also created 46 perfumes for Jo Malone, including Wood Sage & Sea Salt, one of her most notable creations.

In 2014, Nagel joined Hermès as Director of Olfactive Creation, where she worked alongside Jean-Claude Ellena, who had become the brand's first in-house perfumer in 2004. In 2016, Ellena retired and Nagel became the sole in-house perfumer at Hermès. She has since created several fragrances for the brand, including Galop (2016) and Twilly (2017), among others.

Nagel has received awards from the Fragrance Foundation France, the François Coty Foundation and the Marie Claire International Fragrance Awards. She is married to Benoit Lapouza, also a perfumer, and they have three children.

Throughout her career, Nagel has demonstrated a creative preference for compositions characterized by simplicity, which reflects her philosophy. She believes that gender in perfume is an eternal debate and that anyone can wear any scent they like, even if it is perceived as “masculine” or “feminine.” Nagel is inspired by the creativity of perfumers and the distinctive personality of their scents. Among contemporary perfumers, she cites Morillas and Dominique Ropion as notable influences, but reserves a special place for pioneering female perfumer Germaine Cellier, the creator of historic scents such as Fracas and Bandit.

Company: Hermès

Also worked with: Firmenich, Créations Aromatiques, Quest, Givaudan, Fragrance Resources, Mane

Web: hermes.com