A windswept farm in Yorkshire, a Tuscany of Etruscan tombs, the ochre clay of a tennis court, the snowy woods of New England. Revealed by the series “The Crown” — his Prince Charles earned him an Emmy — Josh O'Connor has become the actor of desire and places: in his films, every love story has a landscape. Let's be clear from the start: he is not the ambassador of any fragrance house — it is his cinematic world that has freely inspired this selection by Olara perfumery, between the wild basil of Essential Parfums' Bois Impérial and the luminous Italy of Acqua di Parma's Colonia.
1“God's Own Country”: Yorkshire on the skin
In 2017, British director Francis Lee delivered “God's Own Country”, awarded at the Sundance Film Festival. Josh O'Connor plays Johnny Saxby, a young Yorkshire farmer whose encounter with Gheorghe, a Romanian farm worker hired to help out, slowly opens him up to tenderness. Rain-soaked moors, dry-stone walls, hay, mud and skin: rarely has a film made you smell the earth like this. That raw, green ruggedness is exactly what you find in Bois Impérial by Essential Parfums, where crushed Thai basil grows over a bed of woods and vetiver — more on it below.
2“La Chimera”: the Tuscany of treasure hunters
In 2023, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher presented “La Chimera” in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Josh O'Connor is Arthur, a drifting English archaeologist who guides a band of tombaroli — raiders of Etruscan tombs — through 1980s Tuscany, haunted by a lost love he keeps searching for, even underground. Olive trees, warm dust, frescoes sealed for two thousand years: the film smells of a timeless Italy. That Italian elegance in a bottle is the story of Colonia, from the Acqua di Parma collection: born in Parma in 1916, this eau de cologne of citrus, lavender and rosemary remains, more than a century on, the embodiment of transalpine refinement — a treasure you can legally dig up at the perfumery.
3“Challengers”: desire in three sets
In 2024, Luca Guadagnino made him one point of the most talked-about love triangle of the year: in “Challengers”, Josh O'Connor plays Patrick Zweig, a tennis player as gifted as he is broke, opposite Art (Mike Faist) and Tashi, played by Zendaya — whose fragrant world we explored in a previous article. Sweat, clay, glances snapping back and forth like baseline rallies: desire plays out in three tight sets. For that green, physical energy, the alcohol-free Bois Impérial hair and body mist extends the fragrance into a fresh, post-match version.
4“The History of Sound”: love, recorded
In 2025, director Oliver Hermanus presented “The History of Sound” in competition at Cannes. Josh O'Connor plays David, a New England pianist who, in 1917 at the Boston conservatory, meets the singer Lionel — played by Paul Mescal, to whom Olara perfumery devoted an article of his own. Together they roam the forests of Maine, a wax-cylinder recorder in hand, collecting folk songs: a love engraved, note after note. Woods, and a warmth taking shape: that is the territory of Cedro Virtuoso, Acqua di Parma's new fragrance for 2026, whose co-infusion of Virginia cedar and hazelnut celebrates precisely the creative gesture.
5Bois Impérial: the forest according to Quentin Bisch
If one fragrance had to sum up this world — nature against the skin, desire surfacing beneath restraint — it would be Bois Impérial (2020), the best-seller of Essential Parfums, the Parisian house that gives the great noses carte blanche — we dedicated an introductory article to it. Its signature: Quentin Bisch, one of the most in-demand perfumers of his generation, known notably for Ganymède by Marc-Antoine Barrois and Delina by Parfums de Marly. The top crushes Thai basil leaves spiked with Nepalese timut pepper; the heart unfolds Akigalawood, a precious wood with spicy facets; the base grounds it all in vetiver, patchouli and Ambroxan. A green, vibrant, unisex woody — the Yorkshire moor and the tennis court in a single bottle.
Did you know?
Akigalawood, the signature of Bois Impérial, is not a tree: it is a material obtained from patchouli through an enzymatic biotechnology process. Woody, spicy, lightly peppery, it gives the fragrance its trail of precious undergrowth — and at Essential Parfums, the perfumer's name appears on the bottle, like an author's on a book cover.
Want to live it from morning to night? Bois Impérial also comes as a hand cream and a hair and body liquid soap handmade in Provence — and the 10 ml bottle slips into a jacket pocket, between two trains, like in an Alice Rohrwacher film.
6From Yorkshire to Parma: the Olara selection
Around this anchor reference, the selection unfolds. At Essential Parfums, the travel set gathers four fragrances in 10 ml — ideal for changing scenery the way Josh O'Connor changes countries — and Nice Bergamote brings its Mediterranean citrus light. On the Acqua di Parma side, Colonia now comes with a hand and body lotion freshly arrived at Olara perfumery, and the new Cedro Virtuoso warms up autumn with its woody hazelnut; to extend the house's Italian journey, our dive into Paul Mescal's world explores Fico di Amalfi. All of it wears without a label: see our unisex fragrances.
Your questions, answered
Is Josh O'Connor the face of a fragrance?
No — and that is precisely the angle of this article. Josh O'Connor does not lend his image to any fragrance house. This selection is an editorial inspiration by Olara perfumery, freely built around the great themes of his cinema: desire and places.
Which films does Josh O'Connor star in?
He plays Johnny Saxby in Francis Lee's “God's Own Country”, Arthur in Alice Rohrwacher's “La Chimera”, Patrick Zweig in Luca Guadagnino's “Challengers” and David in Oliver Hermanus's “The History of Sound”, opposite Paul Mescal. He was revealed to a wide audience by the series “The Crown”, where his Prince Charles earned him an Emmy Award.
What does Essential Parfums' Bois Impérial smell like?
A green, vibrant woody: Thai basil and Nepalese timut pepper on top, Akigalawood with spicy facets at the heart, then vetiver, patchouli and Ambroxan in the base. A unisex eau de parfum, at once fresh, green and deep.
Who is the perfumer behind Bois Impérial?
Quentin Bisch, one of the most in-demand perfumers of his generation. He is notably behind Ganymède by Marc-Antoine Barrois and Delina by Parfums de Marly. At Essential Parfums, his name appears on the bottle, true to the house's principle: carte blanche for the great noses.
Does Bois Impérial come in small sizes or other formats?
Yes: besides the eau de parfum in 10 ml and 100 ml, the line includes an alcohol-free hair and body mist, a hand cream and a hair and body liquid soap made in Provence. The Essential Parfums travel set also lets you discover several of the house's fragrances in 10 ml.
