By YUDITH MALAMUD

When it comes to perfumes, roses are — and have always been — the crème de la crème of essences.

The solidarity scarlet rose and the majestic bouquet of long-stemmed buds are the floral epitome of love and romance.

The sensuous aroma of roses arouses both passion and tenderness, seduction and innocence.

And of all the roses that Mother Nature has to offer (there are more than 360 different species of the flower, each with their own unique color, form and scent), two varieties stand out for their exceptional aroma and grace: the Grasse rose from France and the Damask rose from Turkey.

The Grasse rose is renowned for its heady, voluptuous, all-encompassing bouquet that has made the French region where it is grown synonymous with fine perfumes.

The delicate Damask rose, on the other hand, it subtle and mysterious, with exotic notes of spice intermingled with its fragrant floral core.

And so, when Dior decided to introduce yet one more interpretation of its classic Miss Dior fragrance earlier this month (just intime for St. Valentine’s Day), it encapsulated the essence of these two queens of roses to create an unprecedentedly luxurious eau de toilette.

Invigorated by the citrusy zest of sweet bergamot and heightened by carnal notes of white musk, Miss Dior Roses N’Roses captures the enchantment of an armful of fresh rose petals and the vibrant energy of a sparkling natural spring, unconfined and exuberant. In keeping with Dior tradition, the dominant ingredient of the fragrance is that of the Grasse rose, Christian Dior’s favorite flower. Indeed, Dior was inspired by the Grasse rose to create his first perfume back in 1947. But to give Rose N’Roses an earthy touch of wild blossoms and open fields, François Demachy, the EDT’s in-house creator, stirred in the minty essence of geraniums to the composition to complement the aura of rose petals. For Demachy, the new Miss Dior interpretation represents part of a continuing love saga crafted in scents. His first modern-day variation of Miss Dior (the original scent dates back to 1947 and was inspired by Christian’s little sister), is a “blooming bouquet” of innocence and first love, alight and airy scent with a clean and fresh nimbus that can be worn daily. The second in the collection is Miss Dior’s Eau de Toilette, a kinetic fragrance full of adrenaline, energy and love, based on bustling blend of citrus and roses. It is intended to reflect an initial contact with love, first kisses, the birth of romantic yearnings. And the third variation is an eau de parfum, mirroring the foundation of a solid, mature relationship. “With Miss Dior Rose N’Roses, I did not want to create a rose, but rather the incarnation of a floral profusion,” said Demachy about the new fragrance. “I wanted to renew that powerful feeling of nature, like when I was a child in Grasse and first saw the fields of flowers blooming in May.” Rose N’Roses comes in a stately tall crystal flask and is fronted by Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman, as are the entire range of Miss Dior fragrances.