But the notion that female perfumers are less legitimate than their male counterparts still persists — though perhaps in subtler, more nuanced ways. “I think it’s unconscious, but I definitely encounter it,” says Mathilde Laurent, the olfactory trailblazer and in-house perfumer at Cartier. It’s possible, she says, that male perfumers continue to exude a certain “seductive” mystique, while women are viewed as consumers of fragrance rather than creators. This mentality can sometimes leave one feeling invisible.

— Read more at Women in Fragrance Are Finally Getting the Recognition They Deserve at Allure.