When I reach Shay Mitchell, she’s at home in California quarantining with her partner, Matte Babel, and their infant daughter, Atlas. If her child’s name doesn’t give it away, Mitchell loves to travel. The 33-year-old Canadian actress parlayed her roles on hit series, like Pretty Little Liars and You, into a successful YouTube channel where she documents her international jaunts (among other things) and Béis, her luggage and travel-accessories line. “There were times when I was going away two or three times a month,” she says. “This is definitely the most time that I’ve spent consecutively at home. Right now, we’re just wanting to do our part to stay safe and keep everybody else safe.”

This interview was originally supposed to take place in Paris, at the launch of the rich, fruity and sensual Yes I Am Fabulous fragrance. It’s the third – and newest – iteration of the Yes I Am scents, of which Mitchell is the ambassador, from playful French fashion house Cacharel.

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Raising atlas to think I am part ninja

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“The fact that they have three different fragrances just really suits my personality,” she says. “I wear many different hats in my own life, and I love the idea of being able to pick and choose the fragrance based on what I am doing and feeling that day.” Mitchell says that her days – like everyone else’s – are currently more repetitive than usual (she’s sleep training her daughter, which leaves little time for spontaneity), so scent provides an escape. “It can definitely take you right back to a memory,” she says, adding that the Cacharel perfume feels “perfect for a night out with friends.” She likens it to her Dollface character, Stella: “powerful, sassy and a little unexpected.”

First up on Mitchell’s post-pandemic to-do list is visiting family in Vancouver. “[Atlas] will be walking before they see her again,” she says. “Matte and I were joking about it the other day. We’re like, ‘She’s going to think there are two humans in the world aside from her and then everybody else is two inches tall on a FaceTime chat.’ As soon as this is over, we’re definitely going to try to put her in as many hands as possible.”

Yes I Am Fabulous Eau de Parfum Spray by Cacharel ($55 for 30 mL) opens with a wash of blackberry, swirls into floral notes of purple heliotrope, jasmine sambac and ginger flower and then dries down into a sensual santal, vanilla and hazelnut-milk accord.

SHOP

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of ELLE Canada. Subscribe here. Buy a digital copy of this issue here or on Apple News+.

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