Karine Dubreuil

Karine was born in the heartland of perfumery, in Grasse, where children grow up with their noses buried in the flowers the town is famous for – ‘so I decided I wanted to be a perfumer at the age of eight years old…’ She was essentially ‘apprenticed’ at the local perfume school (just three students a year were taken on). ‘They trained flavourists, too, but I decided that would be a dangerous job for someone who loves food as much as I do…’ By the age of 24 Karine found bestseller success with collections for Roger & Gallet, and went on to create for Lanvin, and Gucci (their Gucci for Men and Envy Me).

Famous for her work with florals, she was taken on full-time by L’Occitane, creating the acclaimed La Collection de Grasse fine fragrance collection. ‘And I’m proud to be part of an industry that’s finally recognising women. It’s such an obvious feminine job, yet not long ago women in perfume companies were mostly washing the dishes or making the tea…’