Colman Domingo has signed on as the face of Valentino's limited-edition Born in Roma Ruby fragrance duo, his first major campaign in beauty.

The launch introduces two fragrances. Born in Roma Donna is an ambery floral built on strawberry, jasmine, and vanilla. Born in Roma Uomo is a woody gourmand with raspberry and lavender. Domingo says he would wear either scent anywhere, and he singles out Uomo as his personal daily pick.

"Some scents can at times feel too heavy, powerful, or potent," Domingo tells ELLE. "This is an everyday scent. I notice that when I wear it, it makes people around me feel good. It makes you feel yummy. Maybe that's the feeling I want to feel on the daily: yummy."

The actor arrives at the campaign with a packed résumé. He starred as Joe Jackson in Michael this year, and he holds Emmy-nominated performances as Ali in HBO's Euphoria and Danny in the Netflix comedy The Four Seasons.

Fragrance, for Domingo, is inseparable from his craft. He assigns every character he plays a specific scent — and keeps it private. "Every one has a specific scent, and only I know it," he says. "It's my own little secret."

The habit has a practical logic. "I'm very specific about it because I'm a hugger," he explains. "I want people to feel something when I embrace them. I want to give them a little gift as well. I'm always scented."

He is equally deliberate about how he applies it. "I'm obsessive about how, too. I'm like, Oh, this is a person who puts on one spray and goes out in the world. Or, This is someone who's a little bit more crisp and clean or even romantic. I make choices like that. That's my thought process."

Asked which red carpet look would pair best with Born in Roma Ruby, Domingo cites his Oscars outfit from two years ago, when he was nominated for Sing Sing. "I wore a red Valentino outfit, a red jacket. Valentino does a beautiful red, and I think paired with Born in Roma, you can't miss," he says. "It's like wearing one big, beautiful heart."

On scent and memory, his answer is specific: fresh-cut grass. "It takes me back to my childhood, to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia," he says. "I love the outdoors, so I think that's why I love grassy scents a lot. Anything with rosemary or lavender or fields makes me feel like I'm outdoors."

Referencing an Abbey Lincoln lyric — "I've got some people in me" — that he cited in a recent NPR interview about his characters, Domingo says the fragrance channels one person above all. "When I spray this on, the person who lives in me is my mother, to be honest," he says. "She's my north star when it comes to being kind, warm, funny, and sweet."

His curiosity extends well beyond fragrance. Domingo describes himself as a student of architecture. "I've been so fascinated with buildings and how we live in space," he says. "Wherever I go, I want to feel like I live in a place and not like I'm just traveling to it." In every new city, he explores on foot or by bicycle, walking into buildings and asking how they were designed.

He is now applying that interest on screen. His upcoming Netflix thriller The Headlands House follows a couple whose dream house hides a secret. His own dream home has firm requirements: floor-to-ceiling windows, fireplaces, and a swimming pool. He moved into a new home a couple of years ago and added two fireplaces to a house that had none. A pool is planned for the coming years. "So, fire and water," he says.

Last year, Domingo co-wrote the Broadway musical Lights Out: Nat King Cole alongside Patricia McGregor. He frames Cole as "the ultimate American" who is "sewn into the fabric of who we are musically." His favorite Cole recording is "More," one of the artist's last and shortest songs. "It just talks about loving someone more and loving them forever," Domingo says.

With the Born in Roma Ruby campaign, a best-song Oscar contender and a beauty contract now share the same calendar — a signal that Domingo intends to keep working across film, stage, and now fragrance counter shelves.