Dolce Stil Nuovo

[Heretic]

Love always finds shelter in the gentle heart. Dolce Stil Nuovo is a 13th & 14th century Florentine literary style that celebrates love and womanhood through heartfelt, delicate, and melodious sonnets, ballate, and canzones. This is fin'amor, Courtly Love, in its most moving form, and the emotions that these words express reflect love that both spiritual and idealized.

Within this literary movement, earthly love reaches for the Divine.

Who is she coming, whom all gaze upon,
Who makes the air tremulous with light,
And at whose side is Love himself? that none
Dare speak, but each man's sighs are infinite.
Ah me! how she looks round from left to right,
Let Love discourse: I may not speak thereon.
Lady she seems of such high benison
As makes all others graceless in men's sight.
The honor which is hers cannot be said;
To whom are subject all things virtuous,
While all things beauteous own her deity.
Ne'er was the mind of man so nobly led
Nor yet was such redemption granted us
That we should ever know her perfectly.

Our interpretation of Dolce Stil Nuovo is a blend of rose otto, carnation, vanilla flower, lavender and jasmine with the clarity of crystalline white musk and the warmth of golden amber.

In the bottle: A very clean floral.
On my wrist, wet: Sweet and floral with an almost candy-like muskiness.
After 20 minutes: Creamy, subtle floral with the amber providing a little warm powderiness. This doesn't smell like flowers as much as it smells like the ghosts of flowers.
After 40 minutes: Dolce Stil Nuovo is primarily a subdued floral, but there is also a warm creaminess to the blend that adds an entirely different dimension to it in all stages of drydown. The choice of muted floral components is complimented by the subtle musk and amber notes. This is a blend that suits a woman who is feminine, understated and confident. Lovely!

[bristlecone]

I get a lot of lavender at first, with hints of the other floral notes. The amber and musk start to kick in about half an hour after application. It's a pretty simple scent on me, but elegant, feminine, and a bit old-fashioned. I believe this is what my Chaos Theory III would have smelled like had Beth decided to throw in some amber and a little extra musk. It also reminds me a lot of Bat-Woman, and a little bit (just a little) of Enraged Bunny Musk and Buck Moon.

 

For those who are scared of jasmine... I never really smelled it here.

Edited February 2, 2007 by bristlecone

[blueroses]

This is a classic, simple floral with white musk. The notes I can pick out are musk, amber, rose otto and lavendar, and they all blend into a very clean floral scent. I also dislike strong jasmine scents, and Dolce Stil Nuovo wasn't a problem.

[Little Bird]

Other reviewers have already described this one better than I will be able to. Dolce Stil Nuovo is a very prim floral blend on me. The flowers are a touch sweet and light, the lavender is sort of cool and smooth, and the musk wraps it all up into a very traditional perfumey floral. It gets more powdery on me the longer that I wear it, but my skin generally does that with amber scents.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp this is a replica of the voodoo blend #20 love oil but with

a lovely sweetness...

once applied the florals burst into action...and then it reminds me so exactly of

#20 love oil & i know i don't need a bottle...

Edited January 31, 2007 by sookster

[crescentmoon]

The first time I wore this one it turned into a creamier Alice on me, but now it's a light musky floral. It smells very feminine and pretty on me. The lavendar is there initially, but then the musk comes out and rounds out the scent. I am not very good at describing things, but it's beautiful, simple, and girly without being overly sharp or headache-y on me. I love this one.

[olympia301]

 

I love this blend because it is a real departure, a turn in the road. This is a light and clever use of lavender as a sophisticated topnote that never overpowers or takes center stage to burn itself out. When it disappears, it does so gracefully. This is a graceful scent overall, one that you would wear to work and be considered fresh and ladylike but efficient and cool. It is a refreshing blend, and if it reminds me of anything, that is Yardley's Bond Street (which has been out of production for years). That is a very high compliment indeed.

 

The drydown goes to a serious but womanly musk which is wonderful in its compatability with the lavender which was chosen for the opening. I also get amber, a dry and straw-like scent bolstering the drydown phase and it is leading this composition into another direction, back to the nature side again.

 

Dolce Stil Nuovo is really a well well blended scent and I would vote for having it stick around, elevated to the general catalog. Everything in it works in harmony with everything else, even the strong departure of the musk in the intermediate drydown is done by someone who knows what they are doing.

[cameroncrazed]

I'm absolutely in love with this scent. I can't pick out a single note, it just all blends together into an incredibly smooth, feminine, clean floral. If I had to pick out notes, I'd say it was mostly lavender/vanilla/rose. Honestly, it's blown my mind so much that I'm having difficulty explaining exactly why I love it so much. It's not dominated by any one note, so if you're worried about the rose, jasmine, or amber, don't be. I was worried that the rose would beat the other notes into submission, but that's not the case. I must hoard bottle after bottle of this one.

[LadyMedb]

This, alas, simply isn't doing it for me! For some reason, Dulce Stil Nuovo was instantly soapy on me, and, as a deal-breaker, sharp, into the bargain. It's a shame, because I love all the notes, but maybe the carnation just doesn't go that well with the lavender.

 

It's OK, though, because there are plenty of BPAL rose scents I like.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

Vanilla, lavender, jasmine. Very feminine, very classical-perfume. A little bit sweet, a little bit edgy.

 

Wet:

Very light, very sweet. Vanilla and florals. It smells honeyed. I can't decide whether it smells more like flowers or more like cake.

 

Dry down:

Again, is it cake or flowers? I can't tell! It's not at all dissonant - the vanilla and the florals work very well together. The florals are definitely less sharp than they were when it was wet. The scent clings very closely to the skin. I can pick out vanilla, musk, lavender, jasmine... the amber is maybe *barely* there, but it hugs the vanilla/musk, sitting right between them and blending perfectly. Likewise, the florals sit very close to each other, right above the musk, blending very well. The rose is so incredibly subdued that I forgot it was in here.

 

Final thoughts:

It's very good. I wish it had more throw. I think I like it a lot, though.

[LiberAmoris]

Dolce Stil Nuovo is another unusual lavender blend. Here it's married to the amber and white musk in a really nice glowing way. I don't smell any jasmine here, nor really any rose. The vanilla flower and carnation are just wisps and hints at the edges. It feels cool and elegant. There's a similarity to Lyonesse here at times that I'm quite happy about.

[themerrybaker]

Dolce Stil Nuovo is a soft, cottony, rose on me. It reminds me of Parlement of Foules from 2006 or maybe pink flannel pajamas. This is a subtle and subdued scent.

 

Rose lovers should give this one a try.

[jessiesquash]

It seems very heavy to me in the bottle, a bit like Flower Moon was me. All I could think was, oh great instant headache! BUT on this was very different. The florals were more subdued than I excected and blended well together with the golden amber. It almost shimmers on my skin if that makes any sense. A friend told me she thought it smelled like a couple of my perfumes mixed together but I pick up something slightly different. It's a bit like a cross between Midnight on the Midway and House of Mirrors.

 

I like it. It's clean and sweet and not too heady. All the elements blend together without effort to create a simple, pretty scent. I only have about an imps worth but I think that's all I'll need.

 

Ooh and the label is stunning! Fantastic work Macha!!

[maijasu]

Roses and jasmine are big no-no's for me as a rule, and lavender isn't a favorite either (although I make an exception for sleep blends). So you'd think I'd hate this, but surprise: it actually works!

 

The lavender is a bit too strong in the beginning, but it settles down nicely. The rose and jasmine stay in line too, and the musk and amber make the blend smooth and pretty. I don't often wear florals, so I don't think I need a bottle of this, but I'm still very glad I got to try it.

[PurringPulsar]

Dolce Stil Nuovo

 

In the bottle: a soft, fresh, almost soapy, lavender and white musk scent. It reminds me of Lurid and, oddly, Et Lux Fuit.

Wet on skin: this is pretty! But it does smell like ELF with lavender. I'm not sure why I'm getting lemon and honey here…

Dry on skin: this is very nice. It's a light, gentle scent, predominantly lavender and musk…an airy, breezy, clean white musk. I don't get much rose or jasmine here but I think I smell some carnation spicing up the scent a little. But this really does smell like Et Lux Fuit meets Lurid. Maybe it's the amber, carnation and musk doing this? I like that…though I was just expecting more in the way of the rose and amber.

After a while: what the? After five minutes of pleasant, gentle breezy white musk and lavender, this has just turned very weird. I now smell rose, but something in here smells odd-it smells almost salty and wet, but not in a nice way. In fact, it reminds me of…potatoes. Wet salted potato crisps, in fact. I know, that's a weird thing to say but that's what comes to mind. It also smells like brine. I do smell the musk and the flowers, but I have no idea what that sharp, salty, wet, pickled brine scent is. Could it be the jasmine? Sometimes this note can be beautiful, or it can be troublesome…but I've never had it turn to potatoes/brine before.

The bizarre thing is that away from the wrist, this scent gives off a lovely throw of delicate floral musk and dried rose petals rounded with sweet amber every now and then. But sniffing my wrist close up, it's sharp, strange, and aggressively salty! Then, it doesn't have that weird potato crisps scent but when I smell this close up, it's still salty. Like soft gentle flowers caked in thick salt. Really strange. This saltiness does fade over time and the scent becomes pleasant after a few hours, like a more floral, rose touched version of Et Lux Fuit. I smell the vanilla and amber now. I really like this stage, I just don’t know I can deal with the salty stage, which is a shame because the final scent is so pretty!

Verdict: this was quite a heartbreaker. I thought that it would work spectacularly. The notes listed usually work like a dream on me, and it sounded like one of those rose-based sweet oriental opulent florals that I adore. But something went very, very wrong a few minutes after I applied it. I don't know why or how but after a pleasant Lurid-style white musk with white musk a scary salty note suddenly went rampant through the scent, giving this scent either the smell of potato crisps soaked in brine or flowers covered in thick white salt. It was very unsettling and unusual, especially since this odd salt note was only detected near the skin, and the throw was really pretty. And to add insult to injury, the drydown is very pretty and what I was hoping to get from this scent from the start. I think scents that turn beautiful after a horrible first hour or two (or turn horrible after a beautiful first hour of wear) are worse than scents that just smell bad all the way through, because they make me torn as to whether to keep them or not (indecisive Libra Moon that I am). And I'm puzzled by this scent because theoretically, it should work-but it didn't. I think I'll swap/sell it because even though it smells nice at the end, it's very much like Et Lux Fuit which I like but have enough of.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? probably not. I'm sad about this turning so strange on me. I really wanted this to work.

If you like this, try: Lurid, Et Lux Fuit, Sophia, Three Brides, Lucy Westenra, Queen Mab

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from eviltemptressdq's circle

 

Initial Thoughts: I love carnation and lavender, vanilla and sometimes jasmine, and white musk is a musk that works pretty well on me. I'm not sure about the rose otto and amber is hit or miss.

 

In the Bottle: I think I can smell the amber and lavender and some unclear notes. But something is giving it an edge that makes me think of detergent.

 

Wet: I get mostly lavender, with a warm hint that could be the musk or amber or both. I can't find any of the other florals at the moment.

 

Drydown: Meh. It's pretty much settled into lavender and maybe a touch of the carnation.

 

Verdict: I could see myself using the imp, especially at bedtime, but I don't feel the call to get a bottle.

[Koumori]

This is a very "perfumey" scent, full of deep lavender florals. It strikes me as a mature scent; not old-ladyish, but definitely not for a girl too young to have experienced The Way Of The World. There are several notes in here that normally don't work well on me (lavender, amber, jasmine), but none of them jostles out the others to the extent they sometimes do. Very nice.

[absinthea]

This smells (on me) like Crabtree & Evelyn's Damask rose perfume mixed with a hint of baby powder. I agree with Koumori that this is a mature scent...I envision elegant old women wearing this, all dressed to the nines and wearing fabulous hats...or Marie Antoinette wearing this scent as she strolled around the halls of Versailles.

[theseagrows]

when first applied, this is all lavender, rose and musk with a bit of carnation to give it a hint of soft spice. the jasmine adds a strange quality that sours a bit on my skin. once it dries though, this is gorgeous! in the same vein as alice but with less carnation. i may have to get a big bottle of this!

Edited March 2, 2007 by theseagrows

[edenssixthday]

Dolce Stil Nuovo - I'm so puzzled by every single other review of this blend. I don't smell hardly anything in this blend! White musk is a scent that barely shows up on my skin, and this blend has got to be predominantly white musk because of the fact that it takes a lot of concentrating while sniffing to smell anything on my skin. Once the blend dries down, I catch the tiniest hint of florals and warm amber, but they are so soft I can barely discern them. It's an incredibly subtle scent with absolutely no throw. I really wish I could smell what the other reviewers are smelling. Sadly, due to the white musk, this is one is just never going to work on me.

[savage_rose]

Sweet, perfectly balanced floral...I can smell the jasmine, rose, and lavender, but only if I'm concentrating on each individual note. This reminds me a lot of one of my favorite perfumes when I was little, the drugstore favorite L'Effleur (sp?), although this is a lot nicer. Sweet (not overly so), with a powdery impression that is all boudoir and not "notes going poof". A cool, crisp blend...well done.

 

ETA: And oh my...after 2 1/2 hours, it's become this lovely musky floral, warm and deep and dead sexy. It's incredible. I am going to have to get at least a bottle of this, yes oh yes.

 

ETA: And it's just now fading! Wow, THAT's staying power. 8 1/2 hours.

Edited March 5, 2007 by savage_rose

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: lavender vanilla with the tiniest trace of rose. So far, it’s heavenly!

 

On my skin: lavender vanilla. Very pretty, very girly… there’s some white musk too. I love it!!!

 

After a couple of hours: sugared vanilla and lavender… it makes me think of fresh linen too (and that’s a very good thing). Very feminine and light purple.

 

Verdict: I need more than my ½ imp. I don’t need a bottle because this is not the kind of smell I’d wear on a daily basis, but I’ll go looking for one decant or two.

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Soft amber and florals.

 

On me: Mostly jasmine, but with a touch of sweetness out of the carnation and amber. Fairly musky. Can't decide if I like it or not.

[tinyvulture]

a sweet, soft, creamy floral. the strongest notes on my skin are: rose otto, vanilla, amber. the jasmine adds a touch of spice, and i can’t smell the lavender at all. it’s really a lovely, subdued, feminine scent. a good floral for those who typically don’t enjoy florals, but love amber.

[little_galaxie]

This smells almost EXACTLY like Moon Rose on me! I love Moon Rose, so I automatically love this one, but I don't think I need a bottle of it when I have an easy GC replacement.

 

Wonderfully light, feminine blend. Pretty is the word that comes to mind.