Dolce Vita

I just bought my mom's birthday present last weekend: A great big bottle of Dolce Vita by Christian Dior. Anyone who knows me know that Dior Addict is easily one of my favorite smells ever; well, Dolce Vita is one of my more recent discoveries, and, like Dior Addict, it sets me into a tailspin. It's Dior Addict's big sister: less floral and tropical, less pink, less green, spicier and warmer, but definitely quite similar. It's a pity this scent has disappeared from department stores; even the Dior boutique in Beverly Hills has trouble getting stock in. Miss Chypre smelled the tester at the Dior boutique (they only had a tester - no stock was available for sale) and summed it up quite perfectly when she said, "There's nothing mean about this at all."

I know this is also one of LadyL.'s favorites, and it's a scent that I've been thinking about quite often. So, Dolce Vita - what do you think about it?

(Oh, and even though I'm ostensibly referring to the Dior fragrance, feel free to opine on Fellini's film La Dolce Vita, too. Great movie.)

Awww, you noticed! Thank you! Well, I hope your mom loves it as much as I do. And by the way -- my first bottle was also a gift from my son. I guess I've probably said that a million times though.

Surely I'm not the only one who loves this fragrance! If I absolutely had to start downsizing my fragrance wardrobe, Dolce Vita would definitely stay! I've been wearing it for eight years. For me it's a fragrance for all seasons; spices and a good, solid base make it warm and comforting in the winter; florals and fruits make it cool and refreshing in the summer. Dolce Vita reminds me of Sublime, not smell-wise, but because I think they are both very rich fragrances, yet not at all heavy or particularly strong ones -- they're rich yet subtle. (At least on my skin.) I love this olfactive description from perfumeworld.net: Fruity Fresh Spicy Oriental Floral Chypre Woody Patchouli. Wow. And Nigel Groom (Perfume: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Finest Fragrances) says, "The originality of the award-winning Dolce Vita is shown in its complicated category: floral fresh spicy and soft woody."

There are times I wear Dolce Vita and I mostly pick up cinnamon and peach; other times I'll get mostly floral with little whiffs of a cumin-like note; other times there seems to be a soft cedar note. Endlessly fascinating!

I've never gotten raves while wearing Dolce Vita, though I almost always get "you smell nice" type compliments. And... I did manage to sell two bottles (in a non-sales capacity) one day while shopping in Perfumania -- two ladies who were looking for "something different" and had never even heard of it, mainly because (as Serpent said) it's no longer carried at the Dior counters, at least not in the department stores in my area (though they do have it in Fine Fragrances).

And how adorable is that bottle!

Well, LadyL., I wrote that Dolce Vita was an obvious precursor to Dior Addict. But a cumin top note on a strong vanilla-sandalwood base: Dolce Vita is clearly an ancestor of Kingdom, too. No wonder I like it so much.

This one's definitely due for a relaunch, but, seeing as how even the Dior boutiques seem to have trouble getting in stock of this, Dolce Vita seems to be teetering on the brink of discontinuation. (However, whenever they do get stock in at the Dior boutique, it seems they always sell out.) The bottle is indeed great, a silly little bauble of a thing, really fitting the capricious tone of the scent.

On the whole, I'd say Dolce Vita is one of the best scents launched in the 1990s, one of the few that came out in that era of disposable fragrances that has a real stamp of timeless on it, and that's a lot coming from Dior, the house that seems bound and determined to make the most disposable scents possible these days. (Dior Me, Dior Me Not anyone? I didn't think so.)

I've never seen cumin listed as a note, but sometimes... every so often... I detect a little "B.O." note, or cuminesque (my new word) note -- and no, it's not me.

Cumin is rarely, if ever, listed as a note in the scents in which it is included, but yes, cumin is most definitely a top note in Dolce Vita. The same with civet: It's like the perfumers love to put it in, but then the marketing people freak and try to pretend it's not there at all. Cumin is unmistakably in Dolce Vita.

Maybe that's why they created Eau de Dolce Vita. Anyone ever tried that? What's it like?

That's exactly what I was told here in my area, and it was almost two years ago, too!

That's an excellent price for a 1.7 oz. bottle. ÊDiors are always a little expensive, even at places like the Garment District in L.A. ÊMy mom's 3.4 oz. tester (with cap, no box) cost me $38.

As for its being discontinued, Dolce Vita is not listed on the American fragrance site, but both Dolce Vita and Eau de Dolce Vita are on the French Dior site under the complete fragrance range. ÊIt would seem, then, that Dolce Vita has been discontinued in America, perhaps? ÊThey do have a Dolce Vita tester at the Dior boutique, but their stock comes in only haphazardly, and it's almost always sold out. ÊIt's not something they get much of, then.

I would expect Dolce Vita is probably is the same category for Dior as Yvresse is for Yves Saint Laurent and No. 22 is for Chanel: ÊOne of the sideline scents that has a small, loyal clientele and a few defenders in the corporate ranks that is always dancing on the edge of discontinuation, but it hasn't officially gotten the ax yet. ÊDolce Vita has not been discontinued.

GLO! FOR SHAME! >

You never, ever, EVER put your unwanted Dolce Vita in the ladies' room! You know you are always to pass it on to LadyLonestar! Hang your head in shame!

(I got your back, LadyL....) ;D

Well, thank you, Serpent. I'll rest easy now. Just keep an eye on that Glorious One for me! How dare her! She? How dare she! Whatever. Shame on her!

Mgarisbn, that's a fabulous price. Dolce Vita seems to still carry a hefty price tag. The last bottle I bought, I had to buy at a little boutique -- 1.7 ounce for about $45 maybe $48 -- can't remember now. I see it's available in Fine Fragrances in the department stores now. And some online sites have pretty decent prices finally.

What I've learned from experience at the wholesalers in the Garment District is that Christian Dior scents are always a little more expensive than most other designers, second only to Chanel. (Because Chanel doesn't really sell to wholesalers like LVMH, Gucci Group, et al, their scents really don't ever come at much of a discount at what they're sold at retail.) Dior is always a little more expensive than Yves Saint Laurent, which tends to be the next most expensive, and then all the others - Givenchy, Armani, Gucci, etc. - tend to be on a par with each other.

Well, Dior Addict is a reworked, more floral, more green Dolce Vita. ÊI think the bigness of Dolce Vita, with the bold spices and all, were toned down and replaced with the more tropical aura that makes Dior Addict so alluring. That vanilla-sandalwood heart of Dolce Vita is there, but with different top and heart notes. ÊIt's definitely Dolce Vita's little sister.

Mmm... ÊDior Addict... ÊWe may have to have a Dior Addict appreciation thread here soon, in honor of dear Miss Addict...

I've never smelled Dior Addict in parfum concentration; I think eau de parfum is quite enough, especially as, unlike the classic scents, parfum concentrations these days just tend to be stronger, not different and more refined. (I have Kingdom in parfum strength, and it smells identical to the eau de parfum, just clinging closer to the skin and unfolding more slowly.)

When I call Dior Addict "Dolce Vita's little sister," I do so more because of the compositional nature of the two scents. Both essentially have the same base of vanilla and sandalwood. The similarity is very strong on the drydown. It's the choice of top and heart notes. Dolce Vita goes for ripe fruits and spices, while Dior Addict goes for green notes and tropical flowers. So Dolce Vita gives a fuller, deeper, bolder smell, while Dior Addict is a sweeter, more delicate smell. Dolce Vita skews a bit more sophisticated, while Dior Addict is more flirtatious. It has nothing to do with which one is stronger necessarily; it's all about the composition. Dolce Vita is more of a straightforward oriental, which tends to favor older, more mature women (not to say younger women can't wear orientals or older women can't not wear orientals), while Dior Addict is a floriental, a style favored and more favorable to slightly younger women. And Dior Addict was launched about seven years after Dolce Vita on top of everything. So that's why I called Dior Addict "Dolce Vita's little sister."

Yet another one of life's little mysteries, Timothy.

Oh, man, I've smelled Dolce Vita on some women, and I can't imagine that anything smells better...