Ann Gottlieb

Ann Gottlieb

Perfumer

Ann Gottlieb is a perfumer at Ann Gottlieb Associates, founded in 1983. She learned the art and business of fragrance from mentor Estee Lauder. She has worked with a number of fashion design houses including Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein, and worked on a number of fragrances for Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret and Axe body spray collections. Learn more

• 2002 CEW Achiever Award - Cosmetic Executive Women
• 2004 Living Legend Award - American Society of Perfumers
• 2006 Circle of Champions Award - Fragrance Foundation

Latest Fragrance Creations

perfume editorials

Ann Gottlieb

Fragrance Files - GENDER FLUID
Who's the say what a woman or man should smell like? The coolest new scents occupy neutral territory.

Why do men and women pefer different fragrances? ... By the time the commercial fragrance industry exploded, post-World War II, gender distinctions were in place... Then, in the '90s, fashion enjoyed an androgynous moment, thanks in part to the rise of grunge music (think Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's almost identical haircuts and outfits.) To capitalize on the trend, executives at Calvin Klein tasked fragrance developer Ann Gottlieb with creating a unisex scent. "I'd love to tell you we had a plan and everything was deliberate, but it really wasn't," says Gottlieb with a laugh, as she reminisces about the ck one project. "Most of the perfumers we approached came up with men's colognes that were just slightly less masculine." After a lot of trial and error, she and her team realized they needed citrus and settled on the now famous bergamot-and-pineapple-tinged blend developed by fragrance house Firmenich. ... Gottlieb credits some of this line blurring to the growing influence of Middle Eastern perfumery. The oud trend is just one example (over 30 scents featuring the warm, resinous note have launched globally sinve 2013). "A lot of new fragrances have these rich, incense-y, woody notes inspired by the Middle East, where fragrances are genderless," she explains.

• CALVIN KLEIN CK2 Eau de Toilette, $75
• BYREDO Super Cedar Eau de Parfum, $230
• JO MALONE Orris & Sandalwood Cologne Intense, $170
• HERMES Eau de Neroli Dore Eau de Cologne, $129
• MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN Baccarat Rouge 540, $300
• THE FRAGRANCE KITCHEN In Love Eau de Parfum, $320
• AVEDA Love Composition Oil, $30
• ...read more about Gender-free Perfumes

(Goldstein, J. "Beauty: Fragrance Files - Gender Fluid." Marie Claire Mar. 2016: 220-221)