Photo of  Gabrielle Durand  of On The Nose Perfumes

 Profile: Nothing about my journey to becoming a perfumer has been linear. However, looking back on my childhood in Ogdensburg, New York, the “scentcrumbs” were always there.

Photo of Gabrielle Durand of On The Nose Perfumes Gabrielle with her mother and sister at Christmas 2000s

My upbringing was fairly traditional—my mother stayed home, my father traveled often for work, and my older sister, Danielle, was (and still is) one of my closest friends.

Photo of Perfumer Gabrielle Durand of On The Nose Perfumes and her father at her college graduation

One thing that set us apart was that my father was the family cook. He had learned traditional French cuisine from his mother and passed much of that knowledge to me. That early exposure to balancing flavors and aromas shaped my understanding of perfumery ingredients long before I ever thought about making perfume.

Photo of Perfumer Gabrielle Durand ‘s family’s camp Charlebois on the Saint Lawrence River

Feeding my love for cooking—literally—was my family’s passion for gardening. There was something deeply satisfying about picking berries for breakfast or harvesting vegetables and herbs for dinner. The scents of the garden were intoxicating. At my grandparents’ summer camp, we’d forage for wild strawberries and dandelion greens, adding another layer to my olfactory memory.

 

Gabrielle’s grandfather

My grandfather also left a strong scent imprint on me. As a flooring contractor, his workshop was filled with the aromas of fresh wood shavings and sawdust. At the end of the day, he’d smoke his pipe with cherry-vanilla tobacco, a scent that, combined with the wood, planted the seed of my dream to become a perfumer. Years later, I captured those memories in one of my core collection fragrances, Pipe Dream.

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I was around eight or nine years old when I first decided I wanted to be a perfumer. My world was rich with scent, and I longed to bottle it. My grandmother’s Soir de Paris and Emeraude and my mother’s White Shoulders—they all seemed impossibly glamorous. Not knowing how perfume was made, I got excited when I saw the Barbie Perfume Maker at a local store. My mother dismissed it as junk, so I saved up and bought it myself. That’s when I learned the hard truth: it wouldn’t turn me into Ernest Beaux or Germaine Cellier.

 Perfumer Gabrielle Durand favorite fragrances from the 1980s through the early 2000s (L) Lou Lou, Insolence, L’Heure Bleu, Aromatics Elixir and Shalimar

Although I briefly considered studying chemistry to pursue perfumery, I ended up focusing on international studies in college and then Italian literature and film in graduate school at UCLA. Summers spent working in Switzerland and Italy only reinforced my love of fragrance, with the scents of food, nature, and my favorite perfumes—Lou Lou, K de Krizia, Teatro Alla Scala, Aromatics Elixir, and Shalimar—playing a big role in my memories. One of my professors even gifted me a 200ml bottle of Chanel No. 5 when I passed my Master’s exam—a beautiful and much appreciated gesture.

Perfumer Gabrielle Durand of On The Nose Perfumes wedding day with husband Joe. ©Next Exit Photography

Reality eventually intruded. When my student loan deferment ended, I took a job as an HR manager at a startup that was about to be acquired by a Fortune 100 company. I ended up staying for 25 years, taking on roles in HR operations, mergers and acquisitions, HR systems, and project and product management. But my perfumery dream never faded. Every so often, I’d look for classes, but the timing never worked out. Then I discovered the Institute for Art and Olfaction’s Summer Intensive Perfumery program. I couldn’t attend in 2018 or 2019 due to work conflicts, so I started preparing by devouring books on perfumery. When the pandemic hit in 2020, IAO moved the program online, and I finally had the opportunity to enroll. My husband, Joe, fully supported my creating a lab space at home.

 Three of Gabrielle Durand’s tinctures: Madagascar Vanilla, Dorema Ammoniacum and Hyraceum

After completing the course, I kept experimenting, making bespoke fragrances for family and friends. Initially, I assumed I’d be a mixed-media perfumer, but synthetics never quite resonated with me. The switch to all-natural perfumery happened unexpectedly. I had taken a course in organic skincare formulation and planned to make a Haitian-inspired hair mask as a gift for my manager. The fragrance materials were prohibitively expensive, so I made her a solid perfume instead. That project was a turning point—I realized I was far more inspired by naturals. From that moment on, I immersed myself in studying natural perfumery and the business of fragrance. I completed Ayala Moriel’s Foundations of Natural Perfumery book, Mandy Aftel’s self-study course and Zoom class, workshops with Charna Ethier, Isabelle Gelle-Marchant’s Perfumery Art School UK diploma program, and several online courses with Karen Gilbert.

When you become a perfumer, it’s vital to continue learning as much as possible. This includes daily materials evaluation. I’ve recently carved out a space separate from my lab to allow for a better evaluation experience and workflow.

On the Nose Perfumes Brand Logo

In August 2024, I took early retirement and launched On The Nose Perfumes on November 23, 2024, with six fragrances. My corporate experience has had a strong influence on my business approach. Customer service was a priority in my HR career, and I bring that same mindset to On The Nose Perfumes, answering emails quickly  and fulfilling orders the same day. I also understand the importance of branding and reputation because of my corporate ties.

Gabrielle’s materials evaluation space

 On American Perfumery: To me, American perfumery is about possibility and accessibility—the chance to become a perfumer without needing generations of lineage in the industry. I love the independence to create exactly what speaks to me. It’s the freedom to discover a new material and build an entire perfume around it, without answering to anyone for abandoning another project in the process. It’s about breaking down barriers and bringing others along on the olfactive journey.

2 Chez Panisse Cookbooks from the 1980s

Favorite American Artist: Alice Waters is an artistic inspiration to me—not only for her culinary achievements, but for the philosophy she champions. As a chef, restauranteur, and advocate for sustainable food, she helped to transform the way people think about ingredients and their connection to the earth. Chez Panisse isn’t just about serving beautiful food; it’s about celebrating simplicity, quality, and the relationship between grower and chef.

This ethos resonates deeply with my approach to perfumery. Just as Ms. Waters champions fresh, organic ingredients, I seek out beautiful, high quality botanicals for my perfumes. Like her, I believe that the best creations come from respecting raw materials. There’s an honesty in her work that I aspire to in my own.

-Gabrielle Durand, Founder and Perfumer of On The Nose Perfumes

Core Collection Extraits sampler -Pipe Dreams, Sainte Vanille, Bitter Tears, Thorny Issue, Honey Trap and Solar Flair 

Thanks to perfumer Gabrielle Durand. we have a draw for a registered reader that is USA-based (contiguous 48 states) for an On The Nose Perfumes Discovery Set that includes all 6 of her Core Collection extrait fragrances in box in 2 ml sample spray bottles. To enter the draw, you must be a registered reader. Please leave a comment with what you found fascinating about Gabrielle Durand’s path to perfumery, what resonated with you and that you live in the continental USA. Draw closes 2/10/2025

All photos belong to On The Nose Perfumes unless otherwise noted.

Gabrielle Durand of On The Nose Perfumes is 179th in our American perfumer series, which officially began in 2001 with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes.

Please read Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor Ida Meister’s introduction and reviews of Thorny Issue and Honey Trap

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