Stella (2014)

I recently received a sample of this in a Sephora play box that I purchased online. I have never tried any fragrances in the Stella McCartney line, so I don’t have a point of reference at all. At the very first tiny spray from that sampler, I was hit with a strong feeling of nostalgia. I currently have a limited collection of various EDT and EDP, because the fragrances that I can tolerate come from a small family of scent profiles. I have an extremely sensitive nose and most perfumes (especially “complex” or “oriental”) give me a headache. I tend to prefer low to moderate sillage, because I like to keep it close to my skin, like a guarded secret that I choose to share with others. Most of the other fragrances I’ve purchased in their full size, I’ve done so because I thought they “smelled nice” and were wearable. Perhaps they fit a niche in my mood, or could shape how my day would go from there. But Stella - this 2014 version - tapped deep inside me and elicited an emotion that felt so comforting and real, but still had a quality that I just could not put my finger on. I wouldn’t be able to identify amber or even peony on its own, so I can’t differentiate between the rose notes and the supposed amber dry down. What I do experience though is that burst of a memory long forgotten, followed by a soft floral, dusty rose that makes me want to breathe deeply, to take more in with each breath. There is this creaminess in the background, like an impressionist painting that makes my mouth water slightly, and then I can go on about my business. It’s an experience unlike any other fragrance, so I knew I had to buy it. That’s when I found this long history (thanks fragrantica) of the Stella line, and of course it’s sold out at Sephora. I eventually purchased a 3.3oz Tester bottle from fragranceX and can say I am not at all disappointed with my buy! The larger spray pattern delivers even more magic in one pump. Perhaps legend is true and the original Stella or the Intense version has even more depth and quality than this, but I accept that I cannot go back in time at this point. Luckily for me, the bottle I have can transport me in a Jungian fashion, to places I’ve never been and I can dance with a past I’ve never met.

So, the original Stelle, pre-2003 I believe, is the PERFECT scent! So is Stella Absolute INtense! The problem is that they stopped making BOTH of their most popular perfumes. I bought the current version of Stella and it is like an empty shell in comparison to original. It smells good upon first spray, but does not last AT ALL. Even my husband could not smell even a trace of it after 45 minutes! What a horrible trick to play on the consumer! It is SUCH an obvious downgrade that they should be ashamed to push this cheap weak juice with the same name Stella! Stelle Intense is the best of all of them but I cannot bring myself to spend more than 200 for a 1.7 ounce bottle on ebay. Not of a perfume that went for 100, when it was brand new for the largest bottle. That is just too much. I did, however, find that you CAN STILL get original Stella for around 100 and sometimes less on ebay. I recently purchased a 1.0 bottle and a 3.4 from two different sellers and BOTH ARE PERFECT! Just like I remember the REAL stella smelling like. Today is March 3rd, 2019, and right now there is an ebay seller selling Stella Nude original version for $99 including shipping. This seller has already sold about 75 of the bottles and has just a few left for sale. You can best believe I bought that one! Typically the Stella Nude costs as much as you would have to pay for Stella Intense on ebay. It is truly an excellent once in a lifetime deal. I am on a mission to find other scents that could be a dupe for Stella original or Stella Intense. I found all the smell alikes and bought those. Most are cheap perfumes or celebrity scents that resemble Stella. I am trying to find a niche or premium edp that could be a dupe. I need something like it that does not have to be sprayed all day long. If anyone knows of a good perfume that smells like Stella please let me know. I just bought Oscar De La Renta Rose bc of all the votes stating it was a dupe. We will see.

I've finally gotten around to testing this (2014) version against the OG 2003 formulation and with my chemistry, this version is definitely darker and way longer lasting than the OG formulation. If Stella McCartney named this formulation Stella Noir, I would say that sounds about right. Details: - The woodsy notes appeared almost immediately after the spritz with this reformulated version - The OG formulation is lighter, softer, airier. I feel the OG version would be more suitable for the spring / summer, while the reformulated version would be more suitable for when it's cooler / colder - Longevity for this version is 12+ hours on me, whereas with the OG version, it's way shorter, fading into a skin scent within about 2-3 hours. I've been wearing the OG version since 2012 (though as of late, it's been a minute since I wore it) and don't recall the longevity being as short as this, so it may be the climate; while testing B. Balenciaga, I found that the longevity of certain scents vary considerably according to climate (gone in 30 min when hot & humid vs. 7-8 hours when cooler) - I also detect an ever-so-faint soapiness with this reformulated version. Rose Absolute also has a soapiness to it--a bit more at the forefront - I'm going to have to test the reformulated version against Rose Absolute, but this is in that same realm in terms of a dark / mysterious / slightly soapy rose Honestly, if I wasn't testing this side-by-side I probably wouldn't have been able to detect the note differences. The difference in longevity is way more obvious. Will update this review when I get around to testing this against Rose Absolute.

Generally speaking, I am not one for rose perfumes. I do have some that I like (Salvatore Ferragamo Attimo l'Eau Florale, Yves Rocher Comme Une Evidence, for example) but I never found a really rosy perfume that I loved. I have officially found "my" rose perfume. I got a sample of Stella from Sephora with another pefume order, and I basically picked it only because I had the option to choose 3 perfume samples and could only find 2 that I knew I wanted to try. I decided to use that sample first since I "knew" I wouldn't be a huge fan. Holy Moses. I have never been SO wrong about a fragrance. Stella is absolutely gorgeous - fresh with depth, jammy but not too sweet, round but not heavy, warm but not suffocating. There is almost something "raspberryish" about this - a bit of tartness.. I am not sure why I am getting that, but that's the best way I can describe it. It kind of lifts up the fragrance and makes it interesting. Maybe it's the mandarin?? It doesn't smell like citrus to me... I find Stella sexy in a very reserved way. She's classy, put together, but still playful. I know that there's been quite a lot of discussion about how this perfume is nowhere near the fragrance it was before the reformulation, and I suppose I have the benefit of never having smelled Stella before the most current version so I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. All I know is that now I NEED to own this. I am going to have to ration my sample until I can afford to buy the full bottle. Just a stunning perfume! Love!!!!

Stella is a gorgeous and classy rose perfume. You simply need to try it if you are a fan of rose notes in your fragrances. Plain and simple. When I first spray this on, the dominant notes are the rose and the wood notes on my skin. This is a very pretty combination that smells floral and earthy. A few minutes after spraying it on, though, the citrus comes out to give the perfume some freshness and a subtle sweetness. Later on, the amber comes out more on my skin to blend everything together, resulting in a beautiful rosey, earthy, wet, and soft scent. The image of the morning dew on a rose bush is what comes to mind here. This is a feminine fragrance through and through, if you ask me. I also think that it can be pulled off almost all year round since it's not too sweet or heavy for Summer, nor is it too watery or light for the Winter. It just smells "classic" to me. Roses are a type of floral that I don't mind smelling all year round, personally. I know that people have been complaining about the reformulation of Stella. Personally, for whatever reason, I never tried the original (so I have no basis of comparison). I do think that the reformulation smells lovely, though.