Chiaki Nomura

Chiaki Nomura is a perfumer at IFF, based in New York.

Born in Japan, she first studied pharmacy in Tokyo before pursuing a master's in cosmetics and fragrances at ISIPCA in Versailles and the University of Plymouth, then joined IFF New York in 2008.

Having lived in six countries across four continents and travelled to over forty more, she draws deeply on place. Her first act in any new city is to visit the local market.

Her Japanese heritage shapes a creative philosophy of minimalism and quiet precision: her formulas are among the shortest in the industry, with every ingredient purposeful and nothing extraneous.

Her credits include Bath & Body Works, Scents of Wood, and fine fragrance across multiple categories. Her contribution brings the characteristic refinement and precision of Japanese olfactory culture to Zoologist's animal-themed briefs.

A sensibility that tends toward restraint, clarity, and conceptual exactness.

She created Penguin for Zoologist, a winter-cold fragrance of greens, and soft musks.