Yann Vasnier is a French perfumer who grew up in and around Rennes, in Brittany, where his family's celebrated rose garden gave him an early, sensory education in scent. After a science-focused baccalaureate and preparatory studies, he joined Quest International in 1996 and went on to train at ISIPCA in Versailles, where he was mentored by the perfumer Françoise Caron. He is widely reported to have graduated at the top of his class in 1999.

His early professional work bridged the artistic and the commercial from the outset, including a fragrance for Comme des Garçons among his first compositions. In 2001 he received the International Young Perfumer Award, and when Givaudan acquired Quest in 2007 he continued there, rising to senior perfumer. Over his career he has composed for a broad roster of designer and niche houses.

Vasnier is often described as a perfumer who moves comfortably between mainstream appeal and niche experimentation. He co-created Marc Jacobs Lola with Calice Becker, a collaboration recognized with a FiFi Award, and has built scents for houses ranging from Tom Ford and Donna Karan to smaller independent and artisanal labels such as Carner Barcelona, for whom he authored the fig-centered Fig-Man.