Tolaas has a background in chemistry, mathematics, linguistics, languages and art; she studied at the universities of Oslo, Warsaw, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Oxford.

Her research has won recognition through numerous national and international scholarships, honours, and prizes including the 2014 CEW, New York award for chemistry & innovation;[4] 2009 Rouse Foundation Award from Harvard University Graduate School of Design; an honorary mention at the 2010 ArsElectronica in Linz, Austria;[5] and the 2010-2011-2012-2014 Synthetic Biology / Synthetic Aesthetics Award from Stanford and Edinburgh Universities including a residency at Harvard Medical School.

In 2016 Tolaas launched the world's first Smell Memory Kit; several other devices and sense tools are under development.

The study of the history, anthropology, and sociology of smells is, in a very real sense, an investigation into the ‘essence’ of human culture itself.

[18] Beginning in 2019, Tolaas has worked with fashion brand Balenciaga on custom scents and set designs for runway presentations.

[20] The Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute worked with Tolaas to develop custom scents for the 2024 show "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.