The actor reflects on his deep connection to scent and his role as ambassador for YSL Beauty.

In an exclusive interview with <a href="https://people.com/see-austin-butler-s-latest-campaign-with-ysl-beauty-exclusive-11783094" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a>, Austin Butler opens up with touching sincerity about his personal relationship with fragrance and the world of beauty. Since childhood, he dreamed of the day he could claim the scents that defined the adults around him: &ldquo;I remember the obsession,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;My dad wore cologne, my mom had her perfume, and there was a feeling of like, &lsquo;when I grow up, I can wear those smells."
Now, at 33, he&rsquo;s living that childhood dream as the global ambassador for YSL Beauty. He has fronted campaigns for the various iterations of MYSLF, including the latest, MYSLF Absolu, which resonates with his most personal memories. Composed of bergamot, ginger, cardamom, orange blossom, and warm woods, the fragrance carries him back to his roots: &ldquo;To be able to pick out the smell of cardamon, the smell of bergamot, the orange blossoms. As I'm saying this, I'm being reminded of my parents&rsquo; fragrances&mdash;my dad&rsquo;s was peppery and woody and my mom had sweet floral kind of things that she would wear&mdash;and how they come together.&rdquo;

His connection to the brand goes deeper than a simple commercial partnership&mdash;it touches something visceral. &ldquo;We were just talking about Marrakesh where he had this house, and there were all these orange trees around and there was the smell of orange blossoms. The house that I was brought home when I was born and then I lived until I was probably 12, had an orange tree in the backyard. So, the smell of orange blossoms and oranges were a huge thing for me as a kid.&rdquo;
Wearing MYSLF Absolu has become an almost spiritual ritual for Butler, grounding him in his nomadic life between film sets. &ldquo;Having things that you can take with you around the world, like scent, so that no matter what hotel room you're in, no matter what country you're in, it can be this through line that creates the feeling of home and groundedness,&rdquo; he says.
He admits that in this &ldquo;traveling circus&rdquo; of a life, he&rsquo;s learned to preserve small anchors to avoid feeling unmoored: &ldquo;Otherwise over time, you can feel untethered from what is home.&rdquo; Beyond fragrance, Butler keeps a few sticks of incense in his travel bag: &ldquo;It's delicious. When I got home from the set for this entire film that I just did, I would light it every night and I took it with me here and I've been lighting it. So it's kind of been this through line from this last job into me being here in New York.&rdquo;

A self-described private person, he sums up his skincare routine in one word: simple. &ldquo;Lately I've been proud of myself that I've been actually washing my face. I didn&rsquo;t for a long time. I sort of prided myself on just splashing water on my face. But, I've had people that I&rsquo;ve worked with who have encouraged me to [use] a little face wash, and so I'll do that and a little bit of moisturizer on the face. That is an act of self-care that I like,&rdquo; he says.
His wellness rituals are more intentional. Every morning, he takes a moment of silence&mdash;no phone&mdash;to center himself: &nbsp;&ldquo;I try to spend a little bit of time in silence every day, without a phone, particularly first thing in the day before I am inundated by anything from the outside world to really just check in. Where am I today? I find that feels good for the soul.&rdquo;
Finally, he&rsquo;s kept a habit inherited from his mother: gratitude. &ldquo;My mom used to keep a gratitude journal and I've been doing that consistently. I write those down in the morning, and then I find throughout the rest of the day, my brain is almost looking at things and going, &lsquo;That's a beautiful thing. That's something that I'm grateful for,&rsquo; and you realize that they're always there, but it's just the lens through which we're viewing the world,&rdquo; he says.

Courtesy of YSL Beauty.

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