[Mathilde] Laurent's career path is similar to many other perfumers out there who discovered their gift early in life. She knew fragrance was her destiny after someone noticed that she was always smelling things as a child — people, places, food — and commenting on their scents. Adults told her that this habit could actually become her profession. "It stayed in my head as a pleasant idea," Laurent says. "It was such a surprise for me, because I didn't even know it was a job. I didn't realize the perfume I would smell in the streets was created by someone."

— Read more at Perfume Used To Be A Man's World — But These Women Are Turning The Tide at Refinery29.