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.

Blend of Whipped & Jammy Roses with Peony... I just have an aged sample of this, but it's a velvety lush & jammy rose scent and FB worthy if you can find it. Opens with a floral burst of rose with citrus touches from mandarin, that deepens into a rosy heart with velvety, whipped, & balsamic touches, resting on an amber base The rose is slightly MiddleEastern, and has a fluffy, whipped quality with body, and a jammy facet. Overall I get a blend of roses with peony, and a velvety whipped quality and a slight shampoo vibe in the drydown, with pencil shavings on the skin. Above average performance. Contrast to Oscar Rose Oscar de la Renta: These are different but I can see why they have been compared. With Stella I get a Tea-rose/Taif-rose leaning more shampoo-like and with Oscar Rose I get a Taif-rose leaning luxury whipped body cream. Both have a jammy facet, but with Stella, in the drydown I also get soapiness and a faint pencil shaving note on the skin that I don't smell in Oscar Rose. Overall: Absolutely beautiful & versatile rose blend & peony scent profile with above average performance. It's a love for me. Enjoy!

My signature fragrance from 2014-2016. A one-of-a-kind rose, ever so distinctive. I am so terribly heartbroken that this is now so very hard to acquire... second hand market sellers are asking for up to £150 for 50ml bottles! I love the 2014 formulation, this was the one I used to wear every day for 2 years, the one with the gold band around the cap. My Mom loved it so much and she never really likes the perfumes I choose but she loves a slightly jammy and velvety rose still with something fresh to support it. She’s picky. I got so many compliments from colleagues and clients when I wore this. One of my coworkers never wore perfume and after smelling Stella on me she went out straight away to the perfumery next door and purchased it. Stella is a beautiful, velvet rose with a gentle syrupy like feel from the amber. There’s a subtle watery backdrop giving the composition an ethereal freshness making this a really versatile wear. The amber is prominent throughout but in the base it tempers warm, silky woods. This is such a wondrous creation I miss it wholeheartedly and good times are attached to it for me.

This is literally the perfume of my dreams. I had a feverish, full moon dream in which I stumbled upon a huge gold filigree jeweled flacon, and inside was the most unnervingly gorgeous rose fragrance, and it filled the room when the bottle was opened. The sensation of the smell in my dream was actually so huge that it woke me up! I was bowled over when I grabbed the tester for this at work the other day, never having smelled it before, and suddenly I felt like I was holding the jeweled bottle in my hands. It just smells SO good. Fresh, floral, comforting. It smells like ME, if that makes any sense at all. I must have smelled it on someone else and not known it, for it to be so deeply engraved into my brain like this. It feels almost primal, like this scent was what I was bathed in before I came to planet earth. Okay, I've waxed poetic enough here. This got kind of weird. Stella is a gorgeous woody rose fragrance, with excellent longevity and a knack for making people question their grip on reality.

That photo makes it look as if this is a mouth rinse rather than a fragrance. Very unapplealing...which suits this stupid new version of the masterpiece that was Stella. I have owned a bottle of Stella non-stop, since 2003, which, believe-me, is record-breaking. I rarely repurchase a fragrance after I've used it up (if I ever use it up). But Stella was unique, mysterious, and perfect for this avid rose gardener. Maybe I'm crazy, but this Stella smells like a "version" of Stella to me; like Chanel No. 5 edp now smells like an "our version of" and Shalimar edt smells like Everclear grain alcohol... How I wish Stella Rose Absolue was still around! Maybe my nose is just tired today. Maybe I'm completely wrong. I hope I am completely wrong. The bottle I have at this time is an art deco-ish, octagonal glass bottle with amethyst tones fading to clear, from top to bottom. It's gorgeous. My husband loves this fragrance, and it seems to be uplifting to everyone who comments on it.

I still remember smelling this in one of the fashion magazine perfume ad inserts when it first came out in 2003 when it first launched - I was in my teens. I had my first bottle of this in 2006, went through a few of it over the years, and now (2021) I still have 2 bottles of 100ml of it in my collection. I think the post-2014 reformulated version has lost that slightly "tobacco-y smoky" character I used to smell in the old version, and is overall a bit lighter and less jammy. However, it is still the same perfume (90% of the original has been retained in my opinion). I wont call it a "fresh rose" (Paul Smith Rose or Diptyque Eau Rose is what I consider as "fresh rose"). It has this slightly moody and mysterious character to it, but doesnt go as far as "gothic or dark". Overall still an elegant and graceful rose in my view. I will wear it to work, but not on days when I need to attend serious meetings, if that makes sense.

I think people overreact to reformulations a bit sometimes. True, some perfumes have been completely wrecked, but more often than not the difference is not very noticeable, and it is still easy to love the reformulation. But as soon as the r-word is uttered, there seems to be some mass-hysteria and everyone acts as though a fragrnace has been altered beyond the point of recognition, even if it hasn't. This is the case of Stella. Has it even been reformulated? No clue! I certainly wouldn't be able to tell you based on sniffing it, as it smells exactly like the same old Stella I've been wearing for years. As for the new bottle, I love it. Yeah, it's just a bottle, and there was nothing wrong with the old one, but who doesn't love slightly more luxe packaging? Stella was my signature at one point, and still remains one of my favorites, so I know her well. And no, she does not smell different. Not to me at least.

Ode to Stella: You are my gateway rose scent. You're absolutely perfect for me in every way. Jammy rose, warm amber, elegant and feminine. I just adore you. I don't care if everyone else is mad that you're re formulated or that they may think you are less than you once were. I think you're amazing and gorgeous and everything I thought a rose fragrance couldn't possibly be for me. After some months of trying to find something enough like you to suit me I realized that to me there is no other perfume whose character is quite like yours. I am so glad I have you now! Ok, that was silly, but for real I am head over heels in love with Stella. I am so glad I finally own this perfume! It's worth every penny I spent on it! I know I am behind the 8 ball here and that Stella is in no way new, but I am glad we are acquainted now - I think we will have a long lasting and loving relationship ;)

A relative of mine has this version and I love it. After looking at the reviews here, I decided to track down the original in order to both have a bottle of this lovely perfume and to compare the two versions. I can now say as someone who is relatively new to Stella perfumes and has both versions side by side, the two versions are very similar. The newer version has a brighter, slightly fruitier aura. The old version has a bit more "body" if that makes sense. In seasonal terms, I would say the original is more fall/winter and the new one is more spring/summer. Without having them side by side or being extremely familiar with the original formula, one can be forgiven for not even noticing there's been a change at all. They're both gorgeous non-traditional rose perfumes that are a joy to the nose and immediately elevate my mood upon application. I hope this helps someone!

The current formula of Stella (what I have) reminds me a lot of Roses Musk by Montale, though I prefer the longevity of the Montale. I have worn them side by side several times and I think Roses Musk is much better in performance and maybe a tad brighter. I am likely going to sell my bottle of this for Roses Musk. From the description of the original Stella, with it being heavier on the amber and more intense, Intense Roses Musk is definitely a stronger and deeper version of Roses Musk but it isn’t for all seasons, more for the fall or as a winter to spring transition fragrance. Thought I would add this comparison in case it helps people find something similar to the original, though sadly I cannot confirm as I have never smelled it. Edit: sold this in favor of Roses Musk original. Stellas formula is lacking strength.

Update: I bought a pen spray of Stella last week with a Sephora gift card left over from Christmas. This is a huge deal, because I'm a big ol' perfume slut, and get tired of things before I run out of 1ml samples. I have worn it EVERY DAY since buying it, reapplying multiple times per day. I can't go out in public without someone stopping me and telling me I "smell SO GOOD". My coworkers love it. It doesn't make my fiance sneeze. At the rate I'm going, I'm going to use up this quarter ounce pen spray before the summer is over. I finally, FINALLY understand what it's like to have a signature fragrance. I smell my wrists, and I feel like myself. Thank you, Ms. McCartney.

I never stop finding it fascinating how different people perceive perfumes! This is FAR from being "just rose water", a pure rose or merely soapy. I don ́t find it jammy either and not fruity in the regular floral-fruity way. To me this one is a fresh, but not white soap style fresh. It ́s crisp, slightly green and stemmy and what I adore most about it is that it is metallic and almost iridescent. Someone below said it ́s salty and I thoroughly agree! Rosy, metallic, and with a salty, dry amber. It also has an almost tobacco-ish note in the same way as Byredo ́s Rose Noir. Both these two are magnificent. But it could and should definitely last longer.

This is a pretty fragrance that reminds me of how drawer sachets sold in Victoriana gift shops smell. Agree with other commenters who have noted that this smells like the idea of a rose, rather than an actual rose. This fragrance doesn't particularly connect with me, but it's one I'd enjoy smelling on other people. I prefer the Chloe version of a rose, which to my nose smells more natural. Edit: I have found myself reaching for this sample more than I anticipated. It's really grown on me and I'm now feeling like it's full bottle worthy! Edit 2: Full bottle obtained! Oh, how time with a frag can change one's opinion of it ;)

All I can say is that I had a nasal orgasm. I quiver each time I smell it. It smells rich, almost metallic. It definately smells like it has a masculine vibe but yet it's feminine. It's the scent that the woman in charge wears in the office. She doesn't have to make her presence known through out the whole office, just when you get closer, you know who she is. She is the Boss. The immaculate suit, neat hair, stern yet inviting personality, she gets the job done plus more. In her we confide. That is this scent. It will not let you down if you're looking to be stopped and asked what you're wearing and complimented.

Stella (2014) by Stella McCartney definitely has a more prominent peony top note than the original Stella. I am a peony lover so the crisp floral top note is something I liked, but I love roses as well so finding out and then smelling for myself that the rose definitely is less prominent was a bit disappointing. I also think that in this newer edition you can smell more amber in the dry down. The rose is still sweet and the mandarin adds just a hint for citrus. New or original edition I think I will always be a fan of Stella, it is a gorgeous fresh floral fragrance and I absolutely love it!

This is a very beautiful rose and is on my want list. I find it infinitely more wearable than the previous version, it has more citrus and is perhaps sweeter but still has the amber in the drydown, ultra feminine and just all round gorgeous. I am surprised at comments about poor longevity as it lasts until the next day on me. Often rose fragrances go sour on me so I do struggle with finding any I can wear. For reference I love Lanocome Une Mille et Roses and SL Fille de Berlin. I think this will wear even more beautifully in winter.