Emma Corrin on Scent Memories and Miu Miu’s New Fragrance

 At this point, Miu Miu needs no introduction. The brand is behind a shocking amount of the 2020’s biggest trends—ballet slippers, micro minis, exposed granny panties, and nerdy-chic glasses, to name a few—and yet manages to keep the individualistic and cheeky essence that has made it a go-to for quirked-up It Girls and fashion fans since the ’90s.

One of those muses is actor Emma Corrin—you may know them as The Crown’s young Princess Diana or Anna in Nosferatu—who greats me in a historic London Library wearing the brand’s now-signature tortoiseshell glasses, baggy jeans, and layered polo shirts. The outfit is quintessentially Miu Miu, and exemplifies why Corrin is the perfect choice as the Global Ambassador for the brand’s newest fragrance, Miutine.

The fragrance, launching August 21, serves as a re-introduction to Miu Miu Beauty, and it makes a great first impression. Created by master perfumer Dominique Ropion, Miutine—which comes from the French word for rebel, “mutine”—is a twist on a classic fruity gourmand. It opens with bright wild strawberries, has gardenia at the heart, and is grounded by warm brown sugar and patchouli. 

It’s just as complex and interesting as Corrin, who is soft spoken yet thoughtful as we discuss the new fragrance and their experience on set. Ahead, we dive into their taste in fragrance over the years, their favorite Miu Miu pieces, and what smells like home.

On Being the Face of Miutine

“It’s a huge honor. I’ve worked with Miu Miu for a long time now, so they really feel like family. I feel very inspired by the [brand’s] whole ethos of individuality and creative freedom, and I just think the way that Mrs. Prada preaches all of this with her whole soul is really beautiful. So it feels really great.”

On Shooting the Campaign

“I’ve never shot a fragrance campaign before and it was great. I’ve done a lot of fashion campaigns, and then I’ve obviously done a lot of acting work, so it was kind of a fusion of both of those, which was fun. We worked with this amazing director called Hailey Benton Gates, who I was just blown away by. She herself captures the spirit of Miu Miu, and the fragrance, and the message that accompanies it. All her work is done with a bit of a wink and a smile and it’s very cheeky and very unpredictable, and she breaks a lot of the rules, so it was really fun.”

“I tried Miutine for the first time when I shot the campaign a couple of weeks ago, but it’s funny because I was wearing a leather jacket when I sprayed it, and it stayed on my jacket. So now everywhere I go I smell like Miutine, which is great.”

How Their Fragrance Wardrobe Has Evolved

“When I was young, I got a lot of High Street perfumes, and everyone had the same ones, they were very sweet—my first fragrance was probably Fantasy by Britney Spears, or something along those lines. Then when I got older, I opted for more muskier, woodier smells. For the last few years I’ve been wearing Molecule 01, it doesn’t have a smell, it works with your own pheromones and stuff, which I was really interested by and I enjoy that. I like the idea that you can smell different, like everyone who uses it smells a bit different.”

Their Current Fragrance Style

“I try and go with either something very natural like the Molecule, something quite subtle; or something quite sophisticated. Sometimes I do something a bit more subtle during the day, and then if I’m going out for an evening something I will do something a bit more rich or a bit more complex.”

How Wearing Miutine Makes Them Feel

“It’s a very fun fragrance and it’s very sophisticated in itself, it’s got a lot of different tones in it, which is kind of amazing. I feel like it can smell [one way] when you put it on, and then hours later it’ll smell quite different. It lasts for a really long time, which is amazing, because I feel like actually a lot of fragrances really don’t.

“It makes me think of summer, I think it’s got that like fruitiness and that freshness and those floral tones, and the warmth of vanilla, which kind of makes me think of the sun. But then similarly, I think with that warmth, you could also wear in winter and it would be really beautiful.”

If Miutine Were an Outfit…

“It would definitely be a Miu Miu outfit. I feel like it would be that outfit from the recent collection with the dresses with the pointy bras, sort of like it’s own take on femininity. Or when they did sort of the short skirts and the [bloomers] a few collections ago, something like that.”

What Home Smells Like

“Home smells like that smell when you have a window open. And it smells like my dog and his Dorito-y paws, and then linen—like line washing—and kitchen smells. It’s a whole mix of smells.”

What Falling in Love Smells Like

“I guess skin, like proximity to someone, that intimacy. Also, I feel like everything smells more intense when you’re falling in love, everything is heightened.”

The Notes That Bring Them Comfort

“I think vanilla, definitely, and then something floral brings me comfort, because I think it makes me think of the washing at home and being outside and all those memories.”