Growing up in a small town in Romania, far from the world of fine fragrances, it was the changing of the seasons and the scent of nature that paved the way for Gabriela to find her passion for perfumery. “Spring was a mixture of the freshness of the lingering snow, with new shoots of vegetation and the humid earth,” she says. “In June, the linden flower would bloom; I knew summer was approaching. And in winter, I remember my mother’s scent when she came in from the cold – musky and cool.”

Gabriela studied to become a pharmacist and her introduction to the fragrance industry came during her last year of school when she worked in a research lab for aroma chemicals and then visited Grasse. “It all crystallized,” she recalls. “Suddenly, I truly understood the role of a perfumer. This world became fully alive for me and I knew that this would be my life.” After training and 10 years of working as a perfumer, she joined dsm-firmenich in 2014.

Her connection to nature remains constant and her childhood continues to influence her creativity. “My upbringing still informs the way I create,” Gabriela shares. “My earliest olfactive memories are still powerful. Connecting my past to my present and using these memories to touch people’s lives with my creations is an ultimate privilege.”