GLOBAL FRAGRANCE CREATION DIRECTOR

Ever since she was a little girl, Luz wondered how she could combine her creativity and her passion for science, and she discovered that being a perfumer was the answer to her question.

"All perfumers have something unique that sets them apart from other people. I think it is important to exploit this uniqueness and also to take risks. This will help you build your own image, your own signature, and help you create fragrances that are one of a kind."

Luz Vaquero has been heading the perfumery department at Iberchem since 2003. She has worked with renowned brands and companies from all over the world. Her creations are considered to be vivid and honest.

In 2024, she was recognized by the Academia del Perfume, and was assigned the Tuberose seat of honour. These seats are only awarded to an elite group of Spanish-speaking perfumers who stand out for their scientific or academic merits, knowledge, dissemination, and publications.

SENIOR PERFUMER

With over 20 years of experience, María Ángeles Santiago is an established perfumer whose career has taken her all over Europe and the Middle East.

She believes that perfumery has traditionally been considered a scientific discipline, but the actual creation of a fragrance has real artistic value. For this reason, becoming a perfumer requires not only scientific training but also strong creative skills.

"Techniques may evolve over the years, but the methodology remains the same. Creativity, on the other hand, is contextual. It's like painting or writing music; the specific moment, your mood, and even the weather can influence your creation and make it either darker or lighter."

Santiago defines herself as a hardworking woman with a great sense of professionalism. She is particularly proud that more and more women are representing this sector nowadays. She stands out for her perfectionism and patience: two key characteristics that are required to create a timeless fragrance.

In 2020, María Angeles was shortlisted for Perfumer of the Year at the Beautyworld Middle East Awards.

SENIOR PERFUMER

Encarni's interest in science began at a very young age. The concept of creating formulas and working in a lab always intrigued her. However, it was only after graduating in chemistry that she discovered the world of fragrances by joining Iberchem. Today, her vast international experience and proven skills have made her one of the company's best-known senior perfumers.

Her passion for music, cinema, and literature constantly feeds her with new ideas and an overall urge to create. “I am constantly on the lookout for inspiration. From a scene in a movie to a guitar solo in a song, I truly love fusing different artistic concepts into a fragrance. A single movie scene can inspire a complete fragrance collection as I can reinterpret it in different ways."

"Perfumery is like a work of art for our sense of smell, just as painting is for our sight," continues Encarni.

In 2014, she moved to China and joined the team of Iberchem Guangzhou to expand her olfactory repertoire and discover new trends. She returned with a new approach to perfumery and a unique olfactory signature that combines Oriental and European influences.

Although her creations can be found in perfumes and body mists, Encarni specializes in creating fragrances for air care products, such as reed diffusers and candles. Her acute knowledge of the subject helped her win the bronze award in the Air Care category at the 2024 DETEX Fragrance Creativity Awards for her creation Burgundy Cherry.

SENIOR PERFUMER, CONSUMER GOODS

As a child, Gemma never knew it was possible to work as a perfumer, and what she most dreamt of was to have her own perfume store where she would create and sell her own perfumes. Smells played an important role in her childhood. “My mother would take me to a store, and I would smell everything”, she recalls, “especially all the wooden objects!”

Years later, Gemma obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering at the IQS in Barcelona, before receiving her Doctorate at the Universidad Autónoma there. She later did a Master's Degree in Perfumery and Cosmetics at the Universidad Politécnica in Catalonia, as well as several specialised classes at ISIPCA (a School of Perfumery) in Paris.

“I specialise in fragrances for consumer products and I particularly enjoy creating cross-category scents and adapting fragrances for other categories. One of the greatest challenges so far in my career was to create a collection of high-end hedonistic perfumes for a really complex perfume base. Personally, I would say that performance is the most important aspect of a fragrance, always keeping in mind creativity, of course.”

Her passion for food goes beyond the local markets as she also loves gastronomy, most specifically molecular gastronomy. “I love it when chemistry is applied to an unusual field”, she adds, “and this is why I like the fusion between cooking and science, and discovering the chemical reactions that occur when you cook.”

PERFUMER

Throughout her career, perfumer Ana Gomez has created numerous perfumes, most of them for the Middle Eastern market. From Dubai to Turkey, her creations figure among some of the most well-known brands in the area.

Her passion for science and sport took her to the United States, where she studied chemical engineering, thanks to a tennis scholarship. Shortly after finishing her Bachelor’s degree, she joined the Iberchem team, where she spent several years in the labs before becoming a perfumer.

She quickly crafted her distinctive signature thanks to her interest in raw materials such as agarwood, sandalwood, leather, amber, and resinoids. Ana likes experimenting and rediscovering these ingredients by combining them in unusual and surprising ways.

“Each market is different, and you don’t work with sandalwood in Dubai the same way you do in Turkey,” observes Ana. “It is essential for a perfumer to explore each market thoroughly, visiting local perfume shops, museums, parks, and even grocery stores, in order to discover new scents and different types of scented products."

PERFUMER

At the time of creating a fragrance, Maria’s personal signature is not a raw material, nor an accord. What makes her creations stand out is a mix of intangible joy and dynamism, which are also representative of her vibrant personality. For her, perfumery is an artistic way to discover the world, like a poem or a song.

After graduating in chemistry, Maria first started her career in the labs of a detergent manufacturer where the concept of fragrance piqued her curiosity. Years later, she joined the team of Iberchem where she successfully completed the IRIS training program. She officially became a perfumer in 2015.

María has a strong passion for animals. At home, she has a cat and a dog, but if it weren’t for her busy schedule, she would definitely adopt a few more. “I just love animals. I feel like I have this special bond with them and they fill me with joy and keep me balanced."

In 2023, she was a finalist in the second edition of the international perfumery competition Mouillette d'Argent with her perfume Bergamorfosis. In 2024, she was also selected to create the perfume Passion for the Magical World of Harry Potter.

PERFUMER

In such a fast-paced world, Sandra Lucas stands out for her calmness and serenity. It isn't surprisingly to learn that nature plays an important role in her life. Her hometown, Cieza, is well-known for its Spring blossoms, a unique and vibrant spectacle rich in scents and emotions.

Before joining Iberchem, Sandra studied Chemical Engineering and later took a Master’s degree in Environmental Quality. It’s purely by chance that she discovered the fragrance industry and the career of a perfumer. This fortunate turn of events eventually led her to her calling.

"A fragrance is all about communication: from the original idea to the story told by the perfumer, always taking into account what the consumers want to transmit to others by using it. It is sometimes surprising to see the intention behind a scent and how people actually interpret it."

Her passion for nature figures highly in her award-winning perfume Agartha, which won the Audience Award at the 2020 Mouillette d’Argent International Awards. More recently, she has created the perfume Ambition for the Magical World of Harry Potter.

PERFUMER

Thomas is an outstanding emerging talent with a natural flair for creating alluring scents. Born in Strasbourg, France, he was trained at ISIPCA, where he specialised in fragrance creation and analytical chemistry.

After completing his studies, he worked as a freelance perfumer in Grasse. This is when he created ScenTree, an interactive and collaborative platform for perfumery raw materials. He then heard about Iberchem, and joined as a perfumer in 2022. After spending a year at the head office, he moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he now specializes in creating fragrances for the Southeast Asian market.

His creations share a common characteristic: simplicity. As a perfumer, he aims to use as few raw materials as possible in his creations. According to him, a perfume doesn't need many ingredients to be creative. Just like the best dishes, what’s most important is to convey a clear idea that can be easily understood by the audience.

In his words, "being a perfumer is like being a writer, the raw materials are our letters, the notes are our words, and the perfumes are the stories we tell."

PERFUMER

After spending her childhood in Lebanon, Sara moved to Paris to complete a Master's degree in Perfumery and Cosmetics at ISIPCA. She always knew that one day she would become a perfumer, it was only a matter of time. But first she worked as a fragrance evaluator in Dubai and Paris for two of the biggest fragrance houses in the industry. She then joined Iberchem where she also worked as an evaluator for the first couple of years. In 2023, an opportunity presented itself and she ended up joining the team of perfumers.

Speaking four languages and with a diverse multicultural background, a large part of her inspiration at the time of creating fragrances comes from her trips around the world. Be it for work or during her spare time, she likes to discover new places and also try new cuisines. This is strongly present in her fragrances, which are rich and vibrant, reflecting her dynamism and eagerness to discover something new.

In her spare time, she fulfils her need for creativity by painting and pottery. “I simply love to create something from scratch. Not only does it relax me, but it also allows me to express myself in a way words never can. When I am creating, my mind transports me to new places and develops new concepts that wouldn’t have seen the light otherwise."