RACHEL SYME

Rachel Syme is a journalist and cultural critic. She writes about fragrance for the The New York Times, as well as for magazines such as Elle, Esquire, and Racquet. She is also a co-creator of The Dry Down, a popular newsletter and events series in New York that aims to connect scent to memory and to introduce curious noses to the world of perfume.

She is a three-time winner of the Perfumed Plume Award for Fragrance Journalism for her feature stories, including a report on the return of animalic scents and an essay about perfumers who attempt capture the smells of tennis by creating new grass accords. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her husband, an organ of raw fragrance materials (her favorite is her chunk of pure ambergris) and far too many bottles of perfume.

2019 marks the first year of Rachel Syme's participation as a judge in The Art and Olfaction Awards. She will serve as a shortlisting judge in the independent category.