After completing studies at the ISIPCA perfumery school, Mathilde Laurent worked at Guerlain under perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain for 11 years. In 2005, she moved to Cartier, where she became in-house perfumer in charge of creating custom fragrances for clients at Cartier's flagship boutique in Paris; she also has developed a number of Cartier's mainstream fragrance releases.

Fragrances created by Mathilde Laurent

Andre Gas Ensolleile Moi (2006)
Cartier I L’Heure Promise (2009)
Cartier II L'Heure Convoiteé (2011)
Cartier III L’Heure Vertueuse (2012)
Cartier IV L’Heure Fougueuse (2010)
Cartier VI L’Heure Brilliante (2009)
Cartier VII L’Heure Défendue (2010)
Cartier X L’Heure Folle (2009)
Cartier XI L'Heure Perdue (2015)
Cartier XII L’Heure Mystérieuse (2009)
Cartier VIII L’Heure Diaphane (2010)
Cartier XIII La Treizième Heure (2009)
Cartier Baiser Fou (2017)
Cartier Baiser Volé (2011)
Cartier Baiser Volé Essence de Parfum (2013)
Cartier Baiser Volé Lys Rose (2014)
Cartier Carat (2018)
Cartier Cartier de Lune (2011)
Cartier Déclaration d’un Soir (2012)
Cartier Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose (2012)
Cartier La Panthère  (2014)
Cartier La Panthère Édition Soir (2016)
Cartier La Panthère Noir Absolu (2016)
Cartier L'Envol (2016)
Cartier Must de Cartier Gold (2015)
Cartier Oud Absolu (2016)
Cartier Oud & Musc (2014)
Cartier Oud & Oud (2014)
Cartier Oud Radieux (2015)
Cartier Oud & Rose (2014)
Cartier Oud & Santal (2016)
Cartier Roadster (2008)
Guerlain Guet-Apens (1999, renamed Attrape Couer)
Guerlain no. 68 (2002 version)
Guerlain Pamplelune (1999)
Guerlain Shalimar Eau Légère (2003 version)

Selected quotes

At Cartier we all agree that a good perfume always begins with a great idea. If you need to, you can refine the idea to make it more commercial, but a great idea will never become only commercial. It will become familiar, it will touch people very easily, but it will not be purely commercial. When you start only with the idea of being commercial to please everybody, you will have nothing. No idea, no pleasure, just sales. Maybe it will work a little bit: you will sell out one time. But that’s all. You will be a one-hit wonder. — From an interview with Tank Magazine.

I’ll take the example of Baiser Volé, which I always called “anti-floral”. To me it is anti-floral because I get tired of how monotonous the market is and I also get tired of the vision of femininity women are offered through floral perfumes that are not floral perfumes anymore. We are stuck in archetypes and redundancy, women are always invited to either be giant flower bouquets, or big vanilla marshmallows. I wanted to make a floral that would be different in the way it addresses women: making a floral perfume doesn’t mean you have to put (she takes a silly, girly voice) the very essence of femininity in it! — From INTERVIEW: MATHILDE LAURENT ON ART, NATURE AND INTELLIGENT MARKETING at Flair.

Further reading

See all articles on Now Smell This tagged Mathilde Laurent.