Ortega: Yeah. My whole family did! It was like the sport to play.
Allure: So what do you like about Gris Dior?
Ortega: I’m actually really sensitive to scents. If they’re too intense, it can be overwhelming for me. What I love about this one is that it’s minimal, it’s clean, it’s fresh, but I also love that it’s androgynous and doesn’t lean too heavy one way or the other. That kind of just feels like me as an individual and it’s something that I really resonate with. I think that you’re really influenced by scent — your mood and demeanour… and, you know, if you’re not comfortable with the way you smell, it’s awful! Trying this one for the first time and feeling really confident and comfortable was big for me.
Allure: Have you ever worn fragrance to help get into character?
Ortega: Not necessarily, but I do have certain scents that are familiar with certain characters. Especially if I play a character that is a bit more traumatised, or a bit more stressed out, and I feel emotionally that the job is really taxing, lavender is a huge [source of comfort]. It comes into play a lot. When I smell it, roaming around, it will remind me of jobs that I’ve had. It’s just kind of how you unwind or remind yourself to come back because when you’re shooting for long days, it’s easy to get stuck there.
Allure: On that note, if Wednesday Addams wore a fragrance, what would it be?
Ortega: I definitely think it would be Gris Dior, but the intense version. She would want to be strong and kind of smelled from a mile away.
Allure: Has her style influenced yours at all and, if so, how?
Ortega: I definitely have always loved wearing all black. I don’t know who doesn’t, it’s just such a classic go-to. I think everyone looks good in it. She’s encouraged me to embrace that side of myself more. I’ve always had immense respect for goth culture and music, so after becoming even more familiar and growing a deeper admiration for that sort of aesthetic, I do find myself casually weaving it into my day-to-day life more and more.
Allure: What is your go-to uniform or style when you’re not working?
Ortega: I will always wear a black turtleneck. This is very true. Every time I do that I feel like I’m in the ‘60s in France or something like that. I love that it’s timeless and you know it’s going to look classy and put together, whenever. But I feel like that’s a go-to.
Allure: What’s your current non-beauty obsession?
Ortega: Oh, that’s such a hard question! I recently watched a movie called 3 Women, directed by Robert Altman. It’s with Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall, who are horror legends, and it’s heavily inspired by the [Ingmar] Bergman film, Persona. That’s a really, really big movie of mine. I watched it once and then I watched it like two more times. Great movie.
Allure: What’s something that almost no one knows about you?
Ortega: It’s hard because I feel like people do know so much about me. I think maybe, maybe, that I’m a huge, huge overthinker. I’m usually stressing myself out somehow. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’m definitely a perfectionist and it’s part of the reason why I care so much and I’m still so passionate about my job. I love it because it’s a motivating factor, but I definitely find myself reminding myself that I need to relax. That it’ll be okay.
This article originally appeared on Allure.