Dolce Stil Nuovo

[lyndsayj]

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.

I was scared of buying a bottle of this because of the jasmine note, which normally overpowers everything else in most BPAL scents that have it that I've tried.

But I'm VERY happy that jasmine behaves itself here. Dolce Stil Nuovo is just amazing.

On first sniff in the bottle, it's all herbal lavender and nothing else. Immediately on application and wet, it's still sharp lavender - it made me think it'd be a great sleep blend. (Given I was putting it on just before work, I was hoping it wouldn't send me off to sleep at my desk! It didn't.)

After just a few seconds the lavender disappears and a rich, creamy floral blooms - am thinking it's the vanilla flower and amber. I don't get much rose, but it just blends in with the overall floral bloom. No jasmine to be sniffed at all!

Given we wear a lot of sunscreen in Australia, at this stage it even reminded me of a generic sunscreen scent. Which is fine by me, I like sunscreen scent It reminds me of wonderful summer days.

Definitely a sleeper hit!

[SultryWolf]

in the decant: A little spicy, a little sweet, a little cold.

on: Much the same: a complex dance.

[Spacekitty]

Crap. CRAP!

 

This one hurt. As soon as I read the description, I LOVED the idea of this one and one sniff from the cap made me think I was right to buy a bottle.

 

But then I tried it on my skin. At first, flowers. The carnation was easy - it was the boldest. Then jasmine - sharp jasmine. Thankfully, I don't mind jasmine. I smelled something sweet - which I assumed to be the vanilla flower. I could sense, if not smell, the lavender. I'm not a huge fan, but it just kind of wisped through the rest. When the amber finally started to warm it was so lovely, they blended so nicely, so uniquely. Except... something in the background - something sharp and weird started coming on stronger and stronger...

 

Pickles. PICKLES? And salty chips. Like salt and vinegar chips, but more sour. Yeahbutnobut nailed it when she said crisps and brine. After about 15 minutes all I get is Old Dutch Dill Pickle Chips.

 

I really need to stop my habit of buying any scent with the word "crystalline" in the description. Most of them work, but the ones that don't are dreadful.

[blu°]

My experience with Dolce Stil Nuovo is much like edensixthday's. I can hardly smell anything at all. And I can tell there's a lot of white musk in here. It's like a dessert made from white musk, and the florals are just decoration on top of a huge bowl. I do notice a trace of carnation, but that's about it. However, I'm glad I had a chance to try this scent before it went away, if only because I can be sure not to have passed by something I might have loved.

[chrisann]

I love the label on this bottle, and was tempted to keep it just for that reason. However, this quite literally disappears on me. It's like the perfume version of the "Emperor's New Clothes" I put a dab on, and watery "lavenderish" wafts of scent greated me then, "poof" gone. "Weird", I thought. I'll just put more on, maybe I did not have enough. Tried again, GONE. Like a ghost visiting my skin.

 

I cannot even give you impressions of what I smelled, b/c my skin drank it up like CRAZY. So weird.

[slave1]

DOLCE STIL NUOVO

 

In Bottle: Sharp sour floral

 

On Skin: Wow, this one woke me up. It’s so sharp it brought tears to my eyes. That rose cuts through me like a knife. There’s no denying it, rose almost never works on me. And combined with carnation which is bitter on me and lavender which is also super sharp on me, this scent doesn’t look like it will be a keeper. The vanilla sweetens it just slightly . The jasmine is actually quite light in comparrison to the other notes. The musk and amber are soft and also dominated by the sharp florals… but provide a somewhat calmer background. After about 10 minutes, the amber comes out a bit more and really takes the edge off the scent. Now I can stand it. The vanilla also deepens and provides even more sweetness. I like the scent a lot better at this stage, but it’s still much too floral for me. Starts with a very strong throw and fades into something quite light, average to long wearlength.

[phedre]

In vial: Lavender and rose, tons of florals and something warm.

 

Wet: Rose and carnation. Lavender fades. Amber and musk coming out and warming it up.

 

Drydown: Oh this is interesting. There's a spicy warmth to this, blending nicely with the soft florals. It's a perfect blend of these scents! Love this one!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a lovely lavender and rose blend.

on: lots of lavender with a bit of musty carnation and a hint of musk.

1 hour later: mostly lavender and rose, with a hint of carnation and musk.

2.5 hours later: a very soapy blends of floral notes.

5 hours later: the amber is coming forward moer and making this sweeter. it's a powdery floral in the background.

overall: this is ok, but not really something i would wear.

[AliBabble]

i sniffed this at a meet and sniff, and realy liked it. i love the lab's lavender blends: sleepy moon, tko, and others. the lavender in DSN is prominent at first, but dissapears pretty quickly when it hits my skin. i then smell a faint rosiness w/ a little jasmine - it's very light. i can see why people say this disappears - it quickly goes very light and slightly soapy - it's clean and barely there. but then, as a grand finale, the musk comes out, and it becomes very soft, pretty, and gently sexy. a very feminine scent, but not overpowering. nice.

[Ahania]

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

 

I almost didn't get this one, because I'm not big on roses, but this review changed my mind, and thank goodness I read it! Dolce Stil Nuovo goes on very musky for about a minute, and then it blossoms into a delicate, heavenly blend. I don't really get much rose or jasmine (and I don't know what vanilla flower smells like). The lavender and musk give it a lovely depth, the carnation just the right spiciness, and the amber adds a gorgeous cream. This is dreamy and elegant.

[Eemia]

In the bottle I couldn't really smell anything, so it went to the back of my mind and I didn't try it for awhile. I finally reached for it today to try, and I am in flower heaven.

 

Lots of rose, not the fresh cut variety...more like the soft perfume sort. The jasmine is so soft and subtle for a change. If you're shy of oil blends with jasmine in it, try this. It's a very timid jasmine. I am not noticing the vanilla yet, but the lavender is stunning. I adore lavender, especially paired with this rose. *sigh* Very lovely!

 

The vanilla and musk appear much later...it was as if I all of the sudden thought Oh there's the vanilla. The rose has lasted too throughout the first several hours. I am so enjoying this rose....not sharp at all.

 

Overall, this one reminds me of an elaborate boudoir, complete with gilt trimmed vanity table and marabou feathered high healed slippers. Seems like something you'd find in a gorgeous little crystal perfume bottle with silk tassled atomizer. It is a classic femme fatale fragrance. Very feminine and floral and slinky. I agree with Ahania, very elegant.

[Mianjo]

Short review, because it's probably not very helpful to anyone but me:

 

I know I have problems with roses and carnations. Roses in anything mean I might as well just wear a single note of rose...and carnations generally amp and turn into "nail polish remover."

 

Dolce Stil Nuovo on me is rose-scented nail polish remover. I don't get any of the other scents...no florals, no amber, no musk...nothing.

 

It smelled divine in the vial, but...it is what it is. I wish it were as lovely on me as it is on some of the other ladies.

[Jilara]

This is very much amber and musk when it's wet, and there is a vague floral lurking, a whisper of vanilla blossom. It mostly gives an aura of a warm and loving mature woman.

 

As it dries, notes come out that remind me a little of Zarita the Doll Girl, but without the funky plastic sweat note she has in the early stages. Must be the carnation coming out.

 

Dry, I can pick up a hint of refined rose, with musk and carnation the main other notes. If I really look for them, the vanilla flower and lavender are lending support in the background, but so well blended in that they harmonize into the whole. This is a very warm and flushed scent, like it's June tending to summer, and our lady has just been gathering flowers in the warm garden. I think I like it best about two hours into the wearing, when it's turned very mellow and sexy in a subtle way. Like a woman who's self-assured and sexy without even being aware that she is.

[QueenFae]

This starts out as a very sharp, clean, lavendar scent. The lavendar note is very strong and overpowering at first, but this stage only lasts for a few minutes. After the lavendar relaxes a little bit, the vanilla flower, jasmine, and rose notes start to show themselves, as well as the amber. This becomes a lovely, creamy, sweet floral with and edge of lavendar in the background.

 

This is lovely, just not quite for me. I really do like this, though, as a soft women's fragrance.

[storme]

In the imp: lots of florals, and the jasmine and the amber are prominent.

 

On me, wet: lots of amber and lavender and what I guess must be vanilla flower. This is floral yet sweet, and the jasmine hasn't yet taken over.

 

On me, dry: oooh, this is weird. Lavender and vanilla, sweet and floral and rather faint. Ah, and then the jasmine ramps up and adds powderiness.

 

Verdict: Way nicer than most jasmine blends are on me, but still, not for me.

[juniperus]

Bottle: lavender, white musk, and a hint of warmth

Wet: carnation added to the above, delicate, but not gentle (if that makes sense)

Dry: rose present...but even with the white musk there is no soap, yet, and the jasmine is not taking over

Later: hints of detergent loom. white musk + florals oft does this to me, damn it all. no help from the amber on this point, either. Bugger!

[filigree_shadow]

This smells mostly like a soft, feminine lavender scent at first. The lavender isn't quite as prominent when it's dry as it was when it was wet, but it's still there.

 

I usually have good luck with rose otto, and it's working for me in this one too. No soapy rose here at all. Not really getting much jasmine either, thankfully. The carnation comes out more when it's dry and livens up the scent a little, and even though I don't usually like carnation I appreciate it in this scent.

 

The lavender, carnation, and amber keep this from being just another soft pretty floral. It's just a weensy bit sharp, which makes it interesting, I think.

[ladybird]

By all rights, this scent should be awful on me. I hate musk, and amber turns instantly to baby powder on my skin. But the floral notes work some kind of wonderful alchemy to make Dolce Stil Nuovo beautiful.

 

The carnation and lavender take center stage, and miraculously harmonize with the slight powdery note that the amber brings. The musk lurks in the background, balancing the florals so they're not super-flowery-sweet, and adding complexity and depth.

 

This one is in my Hall of Fame. I love it, and it loves me

[JennyGardener]

In the bottle, it's lovely. The first breath on my skin is heavenly roses. Ah, I love it! And then, sadly, the soap. It's nice soap, but still just soap and nothing special anymore. I wish I could get roses to stay nice on me, but it seems I just burn them up.

[Em-]

Wow...I was reluctant to try this one, because I shy away from all things jasmine. But I really don't get much, if any, jasmine from this blend. Instead, I get primarily rich, almost creamy, amber with a healthy dose of carnation. The vanilla flower adds to the creamyness, I expect. I cannot really pick out any of the other florals in this, but that's okay - it is gorgeous. That's enough.

[monsteralice]

Starts out with a nice crisp lavender, then the rest of the florals come in. I never got a strong sense of the musk or vanilla, but they are lurking, rounding out the scent.

 

This is an outstanding floral.

[radishbaby]

In the Imp : A nice floral with a tendency to lean towards the rose otto.

 

Wet : Carnation has made a very strong showing but unlike a lot of other scents I get it in, it isn't the least bit spicy.

 

Dry : A bit of lavender and amber have come out now. After a few more hours I can still smell this but its turned into pure rose powder.

 

Over All : Weak throw and scent, and even then pn me it's nothing really stunning.

 

Big Bottle Worthy : No.

[maribouquet]

imp: sort of carmel

wet: this reminds me of some of the TALs I've tried, like Anthelion and Crucible of Courage. To me, it has that same sort of powdery, sweet floral smell

 

As this sits on my skin the vanilla becomes apparent - this is a sweet, powdery floral. I can't pick out notes in this, but as it dries it starts to smell sour in a carmelized way.

 

This isn't really working for me, and I blame the jasmine, which pretty much always goes sour and is a no-no for me.

[zankoku_zen]

Hmmm. This one is roses and jasmine. The jasmine is sharp, the rose is overwhelming and the amber is powdery.

 

Not for me. Which is good, cuz I know a gal that would like this!

[asciident]

Wet: Reeking body odor. I don't want to put it on.