Christine Nagel is a renowned Swiss perfumer who currently serves as Director of Olfactive Creation at Hermès Parfums. Born on October 7, 1959 in Geneva, Switzerland, Nagel was fascinated by perfumery from an early age. She started her academic journey by studying medicine with the aim of becoming a midwife, but later discovered her true passion for chemistry, which eventually led to her interest in the world of perfume.

After completing her studies in organic chemistry, Nagel began her career in the research department of Swiss fragrance company Firmenich. She became fascinated by the strong emotional reactions her colleagues' work evoked in the women who smoked it. Her colleague was Alberto Morillas, one of the giants of the perfume industry. However, when Nagel asked to transfer to the perfumery department, she was told that it was not possible due to her lack of traditional background. She then moved on to chromatography, where she researched fragrances and their ingredient recipes at the molecular level, becoming one of the few in the world who could recognize ingredients using only her nose.

After working for some time at Firmenich, Nagel moved to Italy to start her own company. Within a year she had 60% of the perfume contracts in Italy, including work for Fendi and Versace. She moved to Paris in 1997, where she began creating designer perfume hits such as Narciso Rodriguez for Her (2003, with Francis Kurkdjian) and Miss Dior Chérie (2005). Nagel has also created 46 perfumes for Jo Malone, including Wood Sage & Sea Salt, one of her most notable creations.

In 2014, Nagel joined Hermès as Director of Olfactive Creation, working alongside Jean-Claude Ellena, who had become the brand's first in-house perfumer in 2004. In 2016, Ellena retired and Nagel became the only in-house perfumer at Hermès. She has since created several fragrances for the brand, including Galop (2016) and Twilly (2017), among others.

Nagel has been awarded prizes from the Fragrance Foundation France, the François Coty Foundation and the Marie Claire International Fragrance Awards. She is married to Benoit Lapouza, who is also a perfumer, and they have three children.