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Natalie Portman would do anything for love “as long as it’s not self-sacrificing,” she tells me over the phone from Paris. “You do need to preserve yourself, so you can enjoy the love, but apart from that, everything is worth it.” The topic—what one would do for love—is at the core of the campaign for the new Miss Dior Essence fragrance, with Portman (a longtime Dior ambassador) as its face. She says that when she first experienced the scent, she felt a sense of “fearlessness and real strength” but also “being in love with love.” The fragrance is a fresh take on the 1947 original Miss Dior, reimagined by Francis Kurkdjian, the brand’s acclaimed in house perfumer. He set out to capture the youthful spirit and energy of that first iteration while giving it a contemporary spin via unabashed splashes of fruit and florals. [instagram-oembed url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DNyK6gn2uG6/?hl=en” /] Housed in a bottle tied with a very familiar bow, the fragrance is also a reference to the ultimate embodiment of Miss Dior: Catherine Dior, Christian’s beloved sister. She was a resistance fighter in World War II, later becoming a flower dealer and settling outside a small village in Provence, growing roses that are said to have been used in Dior’s fragrances. Though she shied away from the spotlight during her life, her strength, resilience and intrinsic tie to the legacy of the fashion house have immortalized her as an enduring muse. “The inspiration of Catherine Dior is really evident in this scent,” says Portman. “Her fearlessness, her courage, her idealism and her daring represent things that Christian Dior wanted to bring to all women.” “What I tried to get from Catherine Dior’s character was the idea of fighting for what you believe in,” says Kurkdjian a few weeks earlier at the launch taking place inside Domaine les Naysses, Catherine’s idyllic former home and a most fitting venue. On the day of our visit, the farm house’s rustic wooden beams and old stone walls meet the contemporary hot-pink decor brought in for the occasion. Kurkdjian says it’s a kind of metaphor for the way he reinterpreted the fragrance. “It’s a redecoration”— one that’s respectful of the past yet daringly forward-looking.
Domaine les Naysses. Photography by Liz Guber
Notes-wise, this new fragrance centres around elderflower and blackberry. These give the scent a juicy and almost mouthwatering quality—something Kurkdjian says is a draw for younger consumers because it tends to connect them to childhood memories. Zeroing in on the blackberry, Kurkdjian explains that because it’s a “mute” fruit (meaning you can’t extract any actual scent from it), the note is a combination of at least five different ingredients. “First, I think of a strawberry; then I turn it black,” he says, alluding to a kind of olfactory alchemy where brightgreen notes are tempered by dark violets and woods. As for the elderflower? Kurkdjian drew inspiration from a summer spent drinking spritzes made from St. Germain, the syrupy-sweet elderflower liqueur. “It’s chic and sophisticated, not too girlie and still relevant,” he offers. Finally, the fragrance is rounded out with notes of oak, which brings darkness and marks the scent as a member of the chypre family—a class of perfumes defined by the specific combination of brightness and depth. 
[cta affiliate=”skimlinks” align=”center” format=”button” url=”https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/miss-dior-essence-P517271?country_switch=ca&skuId=2890093&om_mmc=ppc-GG_20549719106___2890093__9000820_c&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20553541339&gbraid=0AAAAADnIXb02VZ4pLC6v9mUTOdrOUfgBN&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8eTFBhCXARIsAIkiuOwN1tiBy_C-k7jgv3oVeu4-NBEPrrkNAUGfj-3QGJ0Twqw6LQ_OF4AaAksCEALw_wcB”]Shop Now[/cta] As Kurkdjian explains his perfumery logic, he turns to a large photograph hanging on the wall. In it, Portman is sporting motorcycle boots and a corseted dress as part of the scent’s campaign. “What’s interesting to me is the way that Natalie embodies the fragrance,” he says. “It’s much more about who she is as a woman than how she looks: her love of literature, her activism, her work.” Speaking of Portman’s work, her CV spans an Oscar-winning role, a psychology degree, feminist and animal-rights activism and, most recently, taking ownership of women’s pro soccer team Angel City. Reflecting on her success, Portman says it’s the result of pushing really hard, staying curious and, ultimately, being kind. “It’s the only way to be.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZOE NATALE MANNELLA FOR CHRISTIAN DIOR PARFUMS
On Her Childhood Scent Memories
“I was in a lot of citrus groves as a child, so the scents of orange and lemon blossoms hold a lot of memories for me,” says Portman. “And I spent a lot of time in North Africa in my 20s—in Tunisia and Morocco—so the scent of jasmine is also very impactful.”
On Working With Lena Dunham
According to Portman, “Lena is an absolute genius and one of the great writer-directors of our time. Good Sex is a romantic comedy, and I love romantic comedies more than any other kind of film. It has an incredible cast: Mark Ruffalo, Meg Ryan, Rashida Jones. Each one is someone I’d been dying to work with.”
On the Relationship Between Psychology and Acting
“I think they’re very similar,” she says. “Both make you observe. It’s thinking about why people do what they do and what motivates them.” This article first appeared in FASHION’s September 2025 issue. Find out more here. Continue Reading
