I don’t think Dove launching a perfume was on anyone’s bingo card this year (or ever), and it certainly wasn’t on mine. But here we are—and here is Dove Original Fragrance. To be honest, it makes total sense. The fragrance landscape is booming right now, and Dove’s OG scent is the perfect fresh and ultra-feminine juice to enter the chat.
The scent is unmistakable. I own over 300 bottles of perfume, and I could identify this scent with one nostril closed. The Dove Beauty Bar (don’t you dare call it soap) is arguably one of the most iconic personal care products in existence. Its skin-cleansing formula, made with mild cleansers and ¼ moisturizing cream, has been around since 1957. To put that into perspective, the bar was around before Barbie, the Beatles, and Beyoncé! And nearly seven decades later, the Dove Beauty Bar is still that girl.
This new iteration is even more exciting because the brand tapped beauty industry icon Ann Gottlieb to help develop the perfume. Gottlieb made a name for herself working at Revlon and Estée Lauder before starting her own fragrance consultancy in 1983. She’s had a hand in legendary scents like Calvin Klein CK One and Obsession, Dior J’adore, and Marc Jacobs Daisy. So yeah, she knows a thing or two about making a hit.
“I have been fortunate to have had successes in every fragrance category, but Dove Original Fragrance is a unique and very creative olfactory point of view. It’s also reflective of a brand that listens to its loyal users,” Gottlieb told Cosmopolitan. “A request for this fragrance has been frequently made through the years, and this launch is an acknowledgement and thank you to the brand’s fan base.”
I’ve been a Dove Beauty Bar user for as long as I can remember. Smelling the bottled fragrance on my skin instantly brought back so many core memories—from taking baths as a child with my little sister to that all-important shower before getting ready for prom night, and countless moments in between…and beyond. It’s wild how one scent can transport you through decades of your life.
