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It’s raining in London when I arrive, dragging myself right off a red-eye flight. Dreary weather isn’t atypical for an English morning in early May, and as my car slowly winds from Heathrow to a downtown library where I’ll be meeting actor Emma Corrin to hear about their latest work, I laugh about the location for our meeting.
A library, in fact, is the perfect place to meet the actor for the first time. As we cozy onto a couch, Corrin tucks their legs under themselves, getting into a comfortable position. That’s when I realize we’re surrounded by some of Corrin’s work, in a way: The actor starred in the film adaptation of the wonderfully scandalous Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence and played a young Diana, Princess of Wales, in the fourth season of the Netflix series The Crown. And they were recently announced to portray protagonist Elizabeth Bennet in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. There’s also another tie-in to the library, beyond the tomes: Today Corrin is becoming the face of Miu Miu Beauty’s return, starring in the Miutine Eau de Parfum campaign.
“I’m actually about to read Pride and Prejudice again,” Corrin tells me when asked about their upcoming role—a book that I predict will likely be a near-future selection for Miu Miu’s very chic and active book club, which drops seasonally with specially designed Miuccia Prada–approved covers. “I haven’t read that since I was in school.” I ask about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a parody of Austen’s lasting novel, and they give me a look. No, not of judgment—more like, at least I hope, confusion. “No, I haven’t. But maybe that’s another book I read to the part of this role, I think.” Phew. “Though then I’ll be wondering when the zombies are joining us on set.”
While the couch is comfortable—something that would typically hypnotize me into a nap, especially right off the plane—Corrin’s energy is bright and engaging while we discuss their work with Miu Miu. “In the latter half of my 20s, I was doing so much growing as a person,” the British-born actor says. “The brand has really listened to me and sees me as an individual. I instinctively feel like that’s quite unique and special.”
Master perfumer Dominique Ropion created Miutine (a play on the word mutine, or rebellion) as a subversion of the incredibly popular gourmand fragrance category. “I started from a classic, and I twisted it with a surprising resonance, a harmony of mischievous freshness and opulent sensuality,” he says. The opening is a note of Mara des Bois, a wild strawberry grown in France, with olfactive twists and turns that include bourbon vanilla extract and patchouli, as well as a tiny hint of jasmine.
The first time I get a whiff is when Corrin passes me the vintage-style flacon: sweet, but not overpowering. That’s also when I notice a thick band on their pointer finger, which signals to me a single thing: “Oura ring?” I ask, like I’m speaking a secret language of wellness trackers. “Yes, I just started wearing it,” they confess. “I’m not really into wellness, and this is my entry point.” Last night, my sleep score was 11, I bemoan.
When it comes to beauty and wellness in general, Corrin says they are a “very much a less-is-more person.” Their skin-care routine includes the Lyma laser (a clinical-level cold laser that was available in the UK long before it came to the US a few years ago) and at-home facials, but the approach to makeup is mostly on set. “No one around me really wore a lot of makeup, so I’m a real novice when it comes to that.”
It’s the ethos behind Miutine that influenced Corrin to add it to their minimalist beauty routine. “They want it to be a scent that champions individuality, irreverence, fun, rule breaking, and mischievousness,” they reflect. “To try and put that in a bottle is quite a challenge, and to actually make it sing for those things.” Miu Miu Beauty’s take on these feelings isn’t like the old-school fragrance commercials—running off a cliff and jumping into the ocean, driving a car through a winding road—but instead it’s more like the time we have spent together today, a close conversation with a friend (or stranger) in a library.
“We’re having amazing weather at the moment,” Corrin says as we finish chatting. “Really?” I reply in shock. But the sun has actually come out, and their dog Spencer is waiting nearby for a walk. “When the sun is out in London, there’s nothing better.”
