Cécile Zarokian

Training and career

Cécile Zarokian is a French perfumer born in Marseille (France). After an initial orientation toward chemistry studies, she shifted to perfume composition and entered the ISIPCA in Versailles (France), the school founded by Jean-Jacques Guerlain in 1970. Her precise date of birth is not documented convergently across public reference sources and is therefore not reported here, in line with the Osmetheca editorial approach.

After graduation, she joined Robertet in 2006 for a four-year training, first in Grasse (France) and then in Paris (France). She was mentored by senior perfumer Daniel Maurel. This period allowed her to practice composition on projects handed over to the materials house, in the long-apprenticeship tradition of the Grasse school.

As early as 2009, while she was still a trainee at Robertet, she co-signed Epic Woman for Amouage with Daniel Maurel and Angéline Leporini. The perfume launched the same year and became one of the pillars of the Omani house's catalogue. This first signature, obtained very early in her training, launched her career with niche perfumery houses.

In 2011, Cécile Zarokian made the choice of independence. She founded her company, Cécile Zarokian SARL, and set up her laboratory in Paris (France). This light structure allows her to compose directly for niche perfumery houses, without ties to an industrial composition group. She is one of the rare contemporary French women perfumers to practice in a fully independent setting.

The same year 2011, she delivered Private Label for Jovoy Paris, which became another widely recognized signature, and co-created [IP]01 with an illustrator, a cross-disciplinary project pairing perfume and illustration. The exhibition traveled to Paris (2011), London (United Kingdom, 2013) and the Milan Triennale (Italy, 2014). She gradually expanded her order book to Italian, French and Middle Eastern houses.

From her Paris laboratory, Cécile Zarokian composes for Amouage, Jovoy Paris, MDCI Parfums, Masque Milano, Jacques Fath, Laboratorio Olfattivo and Jul et Mad. She runs a team based in Paris and has received the FIFI Awards Russia 2014 for Nuit Andalouse by MDCI Parfums, the FIFI Awards France 2017 for Incident Diplomatique by Jovoy Paris, and the title of Perfumer of the Year from Olfactorama magazine in 2018.

Notable perfumes

Cécile Zarokian's signature has been built over seventeen years of composition for niche perfumery, mainly through long-running collaborations with about ten houses. Eight representative creations are listed below, all cross-checked across Fragrantica, Parfumo and the official site cecilezarokian.com (accessed 2026-05-31).

Epic Woman (Amouage, 2009) is the composition most identified with Cécile Zarokian's beginnings. Co-signed with Daniel Maurel and Angéline Leporini while she was still a Robertet trainee, the rose oriental remains a pillar of the Omani catalogue. Nuit Andalouse (MDCI Parfums, 2013), a white floral oriental, won the FIFI Awards Russia 2014 in the niche fragrance for women category. Incident Diplomatique (Jovoy Paris, 2017), a woody spicy vetiver, won the FIFI Awards France 2017 in the niche fragrance for men category and consolidated her recognition in the French niche scene. Tango (Masque Milano, 2013) and Aqua Sextius (Jul et Mad, 2014) show the range of her writing, from a dense floral amber leather to a luminous citrus fig tea reading.

Olfactive signature

Cécile Zarokian signs an openly narrative niche perfumery, combining rich natural raw materials with a clearly identifiable writing. Her signature moves along two main axes. The first is a dense oriental woody writing, opened by Epic Woman for Amouage in 2009 and extended by Private Label for Jovoy in 2011, with deep amber bases and clearly readable precious materials. The second axis is white floral oriental, illustrated by Nuit Andalouse for MDCI Parfums (2013) and Tango for Masque Milano (2013).

The perfumer is regularly cited by specialist press for her command of amber and oriental compositions, fleshy white flowers (gardenia, orange blossom, ylang-ylang) and leathery woody bases. Her practice consists of pairing carefully chosen natural materials with a strong narrative for each flacon. This approach matches the demand of editorial niche perfumery, which prioritizes the singularity of the creative statement over industrial accord optimization.

Cécile Zarokian belongs to French perfumery in its Grasse school lineage, inherited from her training at ISIPCA and then at Robertet. Her status as an independent perfumer based in Paris since 2011 places her in a generation of French perfumers who compose outside the large industrial structures, in direct collaboration with niche perfumery houses. Her dual practice across Omani perfumery (Amouage), Parisian perfumery (Jovoy, MDCI, Jacques Fath) and Italian perfumery (Masque Milano, Laboratorio Olfattivo) confirms a rare international positioning for an independent woman perfumer.

An independent French perfumer rooted in the Grasse school, signing a narrative oriental and floral niche perfumery.

Key characteristics

Current work

Cécile Zarokian continues to compose actively for niche perfumery houses from her Paris laboratory. She regularly delivers new releases for Amouage, Jovoy Paris, MDCI Parfums, Masque Milano and Jacques Fath, and has extended her order book to Italian houses such as Laboratorio Olfattivo and Maria Candida Gentile, as well as Middle Eastern and South American clients (cecilezarokian.com official site, accessed 2026-05-31).

Cécile Zarokian SARL hosts her laboratory and her small team in Paris (France). Her practice remains attached to niche perfumery houses, without a consumer brand under her own name. The Fragrance Foundation France lists her as a member company, which confirms her professional integration in the French perfumery sector (Fragrance Foundation France member directory, accessed 2026-05-31). Her output is regularly featured in trade interviews on independent perfumery, including in Nez and Çafleurebon.

Frequently asked questions

Six documented questions on Cécile Zarokian, her training, her independence and her key houses, with their factual answers.

See also

Four Osmetheca resources to extend the reading on Cécile Zarokian, her key houses and independent French niche perfumery.