Award-winning perfumer Mathilde Laurent is redefining how the world experiences the art of perfumery. Intuitive and visionary, she has acted as Cartier’s in-house perfumer since 2006. As one of only 500 perfume-makers in the world, she has enjoyed a successful and exemplary career and previously worked at Guerlain for 11 years after starting out as an apprentice to the iconic Jean-Paul Guerlain. Now regarded as one of the most reputed ‘noses’ on the planet, Laurent has been the force behind more than 30 perfumes for Cartier including La Panthère, Baiser Volé and Cartier Carat. She is a four-time Jasmine Award winning writer who has written on the subject of fine fragrance for the likes of The Sunday Times and Harrods Magazine.
Born and raised in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris, a family friend first noticed Laurent’s ability of “encountering the world nose first, whether to describe a plate of food or the atmosphere of a new house”. Laurent earned a degree in physics and chemistry before attending the Institut supérieur international du parfum, de la cosmétique et de l’aromatique alimentaire (ISIPCA) in Versailles. Whilst at college she successfully approached Jean-Paul Guerlain for an internship and after three months was offered a permanent position. Laurent stayed with Guerlain for 11 years creating perfumes including Herba Fresca. She joined Cartier in 2005, where she has continued to establish herself as one of the world’s most highly renowned perfumers.