As of 2024, Dove sells an estimated 60 bars of its Beauty Bar soap per second in the U.S., which some low-lift arithmetic will tell you is almost 1.9 billion ivory ovals per year. With statistics like that, it’s no wonder almost every Allure staffer has distinct memories of the shower staple. (I, for one, could rummage through every drawer in the bathrooms in my parents’ house and find different stashes of varied size.) The product, almost 70 years old, lives on in the beauty psyche in large part to its cloudy, creamy, freshly lathered scent. Needless to say, when we saw Dove decide to bottle it as a fine fragrance, it sparked nostalgia, intrigue, and perhaps most importantly, “Does it smell like the original bar of soap? Do we want to smell like a bar of soap?” Clearly, plenty of people do, or at least enough for the brand to venture into the category for the first time. The brand said in a press release it was a response to growing demand from its loyalists.
One bottle, passed around the office, got some oohs and ahhs for its familiar oblong shape, gold cap fashioned after Dove’s logo, and how much it smells like our showers of years past. It’s also a technical feat, one the brand called in heavyweights for: They worked with Ann Gottlieb, a veteran fragrance developer who has collaborated with everyone from Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs to Vaseline and Victoria’s Secret. Our expectations were pretty high.
There are some other lovely aspects to the launch, which debuts next week. The $19.57 price tag isn’t just a nice accessibility play; it’s a nod to the product's (and brand’s) debut year. When it sells next week, it’s a one-time-only moment to purchase on social media. If you’re on the fence about nabbing one of your own, check out what four Allure staffers thought of the soap-inspired scent.
Sophia Panych, Content Director, Allure: “Now, I love a clean-smelling fragrance: Byredo Mojave Ghost, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis, the long-discontinued Marc Jacobs Rain Eau de Toilette. And I’m a sucker for a clean laundry room spray. But the idea of smelling like Dove soap didn’t appeal to me right off the bat. I love the concept—like most of my colleagues, I grew up with Dove soap in my shower (and still keep an unscented bar in my shower at all times)—I just prefer my fragrances to smell a little more complex, I guess. That being said, I might be tempted to wear this on the weekends or any time I want to feel really fresh and cozy. If you smell the juice in the bottle or on a blotter, it’s an exact match to the original Dove Beauty Bar. On my skin, at least, it takes a few minutes to settle into the classic creamy, soapy scent, with some floral notes and even a tinge of bubblegum that emerge, although they disappear pretty quickly.”
James Manso, Senior News Editor, Allure: “I grew up around a plethora of Dove beauty bars, and I think of it the way I think of my grandmother wearing Clinique Happy or my mother with Mugler Angel. It was one of my first experiences with beauty products, long before I became a beauty editor, even back to the bath times of my early childhood. It often still sits in the showers in my parents’ house, decades later, and I was floored by how identical that smell is to the one bottled for this fragrance. Even for a bar of soap, I didn’t ever think it smells ‘soapy’—you don’t get that sharp, heady dose of surfactants from your first whiff as you would with dishsoap—and you don’t with the new fragrance, either. I always associate it with feeling clean, of course. In this decade, I opt for moodier and dirtier ouds, woods and herbs in my personal fragrances. I’d rather smell like a forest or a fireplace than a shower, so while I’m sure there’s a Dove devotee out there who would use this until the last drop, it’s probably not me. But how wistful was my first spritz.”
Elizabeth Gulino, Senior Staff Writer, Allure: “I’m what my college marketing professor would call ‘brand loyal.’ I have, with no exaggeration, been using the Dove Beauty Bar for the entirety of my life. It’s a classic for a reason, and it also carries a scent so precise I could pick it out of a particularly pungent lineup. Dove’s new fragrance is literally the soap in perfume for—a floral, powdery concoction that brings me right back to my childhood bathtub. Would I wear this on its own? Probably not, but I'm interested to see how this pairs with other scents on the skin.”
Giancarlos Kunhardt, Associate Visuals Editor, Allure: “I’m a big fan of bar soap, and Dove’s Beauty Bar is a classic addition to my shower routine. I mean, it’s a staple in everyone’s shower caddy, no? The scent is elite—subtle, clean, and fresh on the skin. Now, Dove Beauty Bar in perfume form? I’m sold.”
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