Ursula
Wandel

From photography to Hugo Woman

Ursula Wandel discovered perfumery through curiosity and a background in chemistry, initially drawn to photography before enrolling at the Givaudan perfumery school in Geneva, where she spent her first year learning around 3,000 raw materials and her second imitating well-known perfumes like a painter studying the old masters.

House: Givaudan
Earliest in our catalog: Hugo Woman, 1997
In our catalog: 14 fragrances · 9 houses

Read the story ↓All 14 fragrances

Known for

Hugo Woman

Hypnôse Senses

Boss Intense

Ursula's story

The story

Now Vice President of Fine Fragrance at Givaudan, she has designed five fragrances for Nina Cerruti and created scents for supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell; her best-known success is Hugo Boss's Hugo Woman.

The career

1997–2018, in bottles

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

1997Hugo WomanHugo Boss

2003Boss IntenseHugo Boss

2005Boss SoulHugo Boss

2007Young Sexy LovelyYves Saint Laurent

2009Hypnôse SensesLancôme

2011D G Anthology La Temperance 14Dolce&Gabbana

2014JoyfulEscada

2017Celebrate N.O.W.Escada

Launches per year, 1997–2018Peak: 2 in 2007

19972018

In their own words

How Ursula works

Signature

Technically thorough composition built on a formal study of both raw materials and perfumery's classics.

Scentsation editorial

The paletteThe notes that turn up most often across 14 fragrances

Who Ursula composes for

9 houses, one hand

Fragrances credited to Ursula in our catalog, by house.

Hugo Boss4

Escada3

Boucheron1

Alfred Dunhill1

Dolce&Gabbana1

Azzaro1

Chopard1

+ 2 more houses

Start here

Six to smell first

See all 14 fragrances →Ranked by how many people have rated them

Hugo Boss · 1997Hugo Woman3,013 ratings · ★ 3.92 02

Lancôme · 2009Hypnôse Senses2,226 ratings · ★ 3.83 03

Hugo Boss · 2003Boss Intense1,599 ratings · ★ 4.04 04

Dolce&Gabbana · 2011D G Anthology La Temperance 141,182 ratings · ★ 3.86 05

Hugo Boss · 2005Boss Soul946 ratings · ★ 4.01 06

Escada · 2014Joyful869 ratings · ★ 3.45

Discover

Artists in Conversation

Givenchy's guiding hand

Daniela Andrier

Intellectual minimalism with hidden depth. Andrier favors clean, almost austere openings that gradually reveal layers of extraordinary complexity. Her palette leans toward iris, incense, and refined musks.

122 creations

The precision craftsman

Frank Voelkl

Textured minimalism. Voelkl builds fragrances from carefully chosen materials, layered to create depth without density. His work has a tactile, almost fabric-like quality — you can sense the weave of his compositions.

77 creations