Skai Jackson on Becoming the Face of Cacharel's New Empowering Fragrance: 'It Makes Me Feel So Confident'

Micaiah Carter

Skai Jackson considers herself to be a "big perfume girl" and her love for fragrance is doused in nostalgia.

"When I would go to middle school, I always had to be like, 'Mom, make sure you spray my perfume on,'" the actress, activist and author tells PEOPLE.

Jackson, now 20, is bringing her love of perfume to the next level by joining Cacharel as the face of its new scent, Yes I Am Bloom Up!, and the star couldn't be more excited about the beauty gig.

"It means so much to me to be the face of Cacharel," Jackson says. "I've always been a fan of the brand, not for just the products that they put out, but just everything that they stand for. What they do behind the scenes, helping uplift young girls and empowering each other, that's just everything that I align with in my life. I'm super excited to be a part of the family."

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Yes I Am Bloom Up! is formulated with fruity and floral notes that put "a joyous, optimistic spin" on the line's original "spicy signature." The formula, dubbed as "fizzy cremoso," is a zesty and fresh concoction of red berries, green mandarin, red peonies and orange blossom, all enveloped in a vanilla-like benzoin base and sandalwood essence.

"It makes me feel so confident," says Jackson, who believes the biggest compliment she can receive is on a fragrances she's wearing.

"I just know that I'm smelling good 24/7 and people are just going to smell me from a mile away. That's what I love," she continues, adding that a few spritzes of the scent "automatically puts you in an amazing mood."

The new launch, which retails between $42-$68, is also packaged in the Yes I Am collection's iconic lipstick-shaped bottle. It's a "symbol of fully-owned femininity" and a connection between Bloom Up! and its sibling scents, Yes I Am, Yes I Am Pink First and Yes I Am Fabulous, which all hold their unique color. "With these, I'm spraying them on left and right. I put them in my purse, they're with me every single day," raves Jackson.

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A partnership with Cacharel is a perfect fit for the actress, who's so much of a fragrance aficionado that she's cultivated a steady routine for herself in that department.

She concludes that her favorite scent is anything vanilla ("I basically like the same in different variations"). She knows how to layer her scents, whether that's with body butter or a lightly scented oil with roses and peony in it. And, every night before bed, fresh out of the shower, she splashes herself with perfume because she wants to "smell good at all times."

Jackson's even mapped out which areas of her body to spray to make an impact. "I put it on my wrist, my neck, behind my knees and whatever I'm wearing (don't even ask why I put it behind my knees, I just do)," she jokes.

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Throughout her younger years, Jackson was most known for her role as Zuri Ross on the popular Disney Channel series Jessie and its sequel Bunk'd. As she got older, her list of titles matured and grew in number.

In 2016 at age 14, she was named one of Time's Most Influential Teens for "speaking out against cyberbullying," as noted by the outlet. In 2019 she released her book, Reach for the Skai: How to Inspire, Empower and Clapback, and one year later she became a semi-finalist on Dancing with the Stars alongside her partner Alan Bersten.

But being a role model to a young generation does come with "a lot of pressure." Jackson, who's also a partner of Inspiring Girls International, explains: "At the end of the day, I look at myself as the regular person that people just happen to like or enjoy."

The first time that concept "really clicked" for the star was when she was 10 years old and a fan, slightly older, approached her with appreciation and admiration. "I've never seen someone cry before like that and I'm like, 'You're crying over me? Regular old me?' It's just such an amazing feeling."

Across her social media platforms, Jackson's accrued over 30 million followers (whom she refers to as a "cute little tight family") who look up to her. She calls that bond "such an inspiring thing" that warrants gratitude. "It's very important for me to put out the right message, be positive at all times and give my fans great advice. Let them know that anything that they want to do in life, they can achieve it," she shares.

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Jackson learned her resilient ways from the best: her mom. "She always taught me to stand up for myself, stand up for what I believe in and fight for what is right. I thank her for that because without her, I probably wouldn't have a lot of the confidence that I do now," she shares.

When things get overwhelming, she practices her own grounding rituals: journaling, going on a walk, chatting with friends and doing positive affirmations, which is something Jackson wants to embrace more this year.

"I want to say yes to everything positive," she says. "I like going to my therapist and talking to her, so doing that a lot more — just anything to help my mental health. Saying yes to vacations more, they put me in an amazing mood."

Jackson is coming into her own now, in both her personal life and career. She wants the world to know that she's booked and busy, telling PEOPLE about her projects currently in the works. That includes two upcoming movies, writing and producing and creating her own clothing line.

"We're in the development process, getting samples, all of that fun stuff. So I'm super excited for everyone to see that," she teases of her forthcoming style project.

"You're going to expect a lot of style videos, showing how you can dress up, dress down my line. So TikTok, stay tuned," she adds.