Sophia Grojsman honored with Perfumer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

In packaging this year Elizabeth Arden’s John Varvatos Dark Rebel won the men’s category, while Coty’s Marc Jacobs Decadence won in women’s. The honors for both men’s and women’s media campaign of the year went to Parfums Christian Dior for Dior Sauvage and Miss Dior Blooming Boquet, respectively.

Lifetime achievement​

The Foundation honored Sophia Grojsman, senior perfumer and vice president at IFF with this year’s Perfumer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s an award given to celebrate exceptional creative achievement in the global fragrance industry.

Upon receiving the award, Grojsman explained, “When I think about a fragrance, I think of it as an expression of both myself and the person with whom I am working with at the moment. It is an exceptional experience to have been able to use my talents to make people happy for so many years,”​

She indeed considers fragrance making a creative process, akin to storytelling: “During my time at IFF, they gave me a chance to explore and tell stories of femininity and strength, and I loved it,” ​Grojsman says. “Being named The Fragrance Foundation Lifetime Achievement awardee is an honor and I am proud to share it – because fragrance is for everyone.”​

Her legacy ​

Grojsman has been with IFF for almost fifty years now. She first worked as a lab tech with the company in 1966, and on her way up the ranks, worked alongside notable perfumers like Josephine Catapano and Ernest Shiftan.

“Our Sophia is a living legend. She has inspired the world of beauty with her vibrancy and unparalleled ability to create simple scents and turn them into global phenomena,” ​Nicolas Mirzayantz, group president of fragrances at IFF, says in a press release about the award.

“​An act of generosity, her fragrances are universal. She was a pioneer in understanding what women wanted and crafted superior fragrances that ignited deep emotional experiences. She is one of the most successful and iconic perfumers of our generation, and we are proud she has been recognized with this exceptional award by the industry she loves." ​

In a bottle ​

To better contextualize her accomplishments, a small selection of the fragrances Grojsman created are listed here:

• Calvin Klein Eternity
• Christian LaCroix
• Elizabeth Arden True Love
• Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds and Rubies
• Estee Lauder Beautiful
• Frederic Malle Outrageous
• Lancôme Tresor
• Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne (with Sophie Labbé)