Fragrance Review: Dior – Miss Dior Rose N’ Roses – A Tea-Scented Library

Rose is one of my favourite scents, and a note Dior often delivers with particular beauty. From the airy pink petals of Blooming Bouquet to the orange & rosewood-infused Eau de Parfum, to the dark & smoky Le Parfum, the Miss Dior line is filled with stunning takes on rose - so I was really looking forward to try the newest flanker in the lineup.

Alas, instead… I can now say Absolutely Blooming is no longer my least favourite Miss Dior fragrance.

Review

Miss Dior Rose N’ Roses has just been launched this month, and was composed by Dior’s in-house perfumer François Demachy. I’m not crazy about this new long bottle, and really dislike the name, but neither of these details really influence my review. Sadly, my critique comes from the scent itself.

As soon as I happily first sprayed Rose N’ Roses, I was greeted by a blast of faint alcohol. Bad start, but maybe it would get better?… A few seconds later, the composition began to reveal itself. Came forth a bright and light rose, very soapy, with an interesting but not particularly pleasant hint of geranium. This green, slightly bitter accord was then joined by a soft powdery note, and a huge waft of musk.

In few minutes, the rose had lost the spotlight and became a co-star of the musk. The over-blended, flat floral scent grew muskier, then dialed back to being more rosy, feeling faint yet sharp. No more than 3 hours later, the drydown was barely detectable on my arm.

I’ve tested Miss Dior Rose N’ Roses again to see if I’d get a better impression, but I can’t say I did. Its pink rose is way too soap-like. The bitter geranium was, in theory, a good idea to add crispness and character to the composition… but it ends up swallowed by musk.

Now, this musk… it’s quite detergent-like, and added to the soapy rose, makes for a clean but harsh scent, with the abrasive undertone of strong laundry products. The powderyness here is also shown in its worse¹, opaque and cloying - at the same time as the blending feels vague.

I’ve read comparisons between this scent and Narciso Rodriguez For Her, and after trying it, I do get why - especially in drydown on paper, Miss Dior Rose N’ Roses shares the ambery, glossy and intense type of musk that’s so characteristic of the NR For Her line². I admire NR for other aspects of its fragrances, but find this particular accord tiresome, even queasy, and wasn’t at all thrilled to recognize a similar one in Miss Dior Roses N’ Roses.

Fragrance Impressions

Conclusion

I love rose, I love the Miss Dior line, and I love the brand’s whole feminine, romantic aesthetic. I really wanted to love Miss Dior Rose N’ Roses... but it just doesn’t work for me. It’s fresh and “delicate”, yes, but also too dry, too astringent, taking the least pleasant facets a “soapy” accord can have. It’s also dominated by a chemical-feeling musk, and does it with less style than Narciso Rodriguez.

I found Rose N’ Roses almost uncomfortable to wear because of its harsh soapy-chemical scent, and feel honestly disappointed. The quality of the ingredients - to my untrained nose - feels inferior to any of the other Miss Dior fragrances. Oh, Dior, I wanted to write a starry review to your next scent, after the bad impression I got from Joy Intense… but, here we are.

I give this sharp soap rose 2 faint stars. No, thank you. If you’re a fellow fan of this floral note, and are looking for a soft & pink take on it, I can’t say I recommend Miss Dior Rose N’ Roses. Instead, go for…

¹ And that coming from a big fan of powdery notes.

2 I find it especially similar to Narciso Rodriguez For Her Fleur Musc (with its intense, soapy rose) and For Her EdP (also featuring rose, but in a bit softer rendering).