Ann
Gottlieb

The mind behind every Calvin Klein fragrance

Ann Gottlieb is a fragrance developer with more than fifty years in the cosmetic industry, beginning her career at Revlon before spending six and a half years at Estée Lauder, where she learned the art, science, and business of fragrance under Estée Lauder's personal tutelage.

House: Ann Gottlieb Associates
Earliest in our catalog: 5th Avenue, 1996
In our catalog: 27 fragrances · 4 houses

Read the story ↓All 27 fragrances

Known for

5th Avenue

212 Men

CK One Shock For Him

Ann's story

The story

She later led product development for Elizabeth Arden and Warner Cosmetics, contributing to the creation of Gloria Vanderbilt. In 1983 she founded her own consultancy, Ann Gottlieb Associates, going on to develop every one of the fifteen Calvin Klein fragrances, Carolina Herrera's Chic and 212, and Liz Claiborne's Signature Brand, alongside mass-market successes for Axe, Impulse, Victoria's Secret, and Bath and Body Works. Her honors include the CEW Achiever Award (2002), the American Society of Perfumers' Living Legend Award (2004), and The Fragrance Foundation's Circle of Champions Award (2006).

The career

1996–2020, in bottles

Their best-known launches in our catalog, by how many people have rated them.

19965th AvenueElizabeth Arden

1999212 MenCarolina Herrera

2008Secret ObsessionCalvin Klein

2011CK One Shock For HimCalvin Klein

2012DotMarc Jacobs

2013HoneyMarc Jacobs

2014Daisy DreamMarc Jacobs

2015DecadenceMarc Jacobs

Launches per year, 1996–2020Peak: 5 in 2015

19962020

In their own words

How Ann works

Signature

A developer's eye rather than a single olfactory signature — translating brand concepts into precise creative direction across every segment of the fragrance market.

Scentsation editorial

The paletteThe notes that turn up most often across 27 fragrances