Dolce Vita Dior / Christian Dior (1995)Eau de Toilette

Dolce Vita (Eau de Toilette) by Dior / Christian Dior

Bottle Design Serge Mansau

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Dolce Vita (Eau de Toilette) (Dior / Christian Dior)

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7.4 / 10 312 Ratings

Dolce Vita (Eau de Toilette) is a perfume by Dior / Christian Dior for women and was released in 1995. The scent is sweet-floral. It is being marketed by LVMH.

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Perfumers

Pierre Bourdon, Maurice Roger

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Magnolia, Lily-of-the-valley, Rose
Heart Notes	Apricot, Peach, Cinnamon
Base Notes	Heliotrope, Sandalwood, Vanilla

Ratings

Scent

7.4 (312 Ratings)

Longevity

7.8 (212 Ratings)

Sillage

6.9 (199 Ratings)

Bottle

8.1 (208 Ratings)

View Video of Dolce Vita (Eau de Toilette) (YouTube)

Submitted by Sani, last update on 22.03.2020.

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Reviews

03/04/2020

10.0 10.0 10.0 9.5/10

Gatsby
33 Reviews

Gatsby

Once upon a time was a Dolce Vita

My rate is for the vintage editions, 1996 until 2007, maybe 2010.
I remember how wonderful this creation was in the 90's. I still have a few bottles, all vintage, because the post-2010 editions were completely mutilated. A deep, cheerful, balanced fragrance, a buzz of joy and sunshine in a wonderful bottle. The aroma of apricot and cinnamon, sandalwood and cedar all came together in a unique scent, as we had never encountered in another perfume. The performances are, for the vintage edition, spectacular. The fragrance lasts for hours on the skin, it is transformed, matured, placed in magnetizing layers. Today, apart from the glass, there was nothing left of the legendary Dolce Vita. A shrill scent, but weak in performance, with missing notes, a chemical peach and cinnamon, without finding the sandalwood, apricot and former cedar. It is not worth the high price for the actual edition so if you want to feel what it was like, at first, Dolce Vita, you need to choose a vintage bottle and you will not be disappointed. 9.5 for the vintage, 5.5 for the nowadays edition.

01/15/2020

JSpines
123 Reviews

JSpines

Dolce Vita by Christian Dior

I bought this fragrance last Spring but hadn't worn it until today. For some reason, I was nervous about this one. I had this idea in my head that it was going to be too flowery, too sharp and too sweet.

I should start out by saying that I bought my bottle for such a good price after reading many reviews. Overall, the reviews were positive and that's what made me take a chance on it. I received the newer reformulation so I knew I'd never get to compare it to what the old formulation smelled like but beggers can't be choosers.

Upon first application, I got the coca-cola vibe that so many people talked about but it didn't bother me. I actually kind of liked it and had faith that it would settle after some time had passed and it indeed did. Once it dried down, I could smell the cinnamon. I have to be careful with this note because it tends to not agree with my body chemistry, ending up smelling like bad body odour or strong, savoury food. At first, I thought that was the direction where this was headed but thankfully, I was wrong. It has to be said, that this fragrance is so smooth and so beautifully blended, it sits seamlessly on the skin in a glorious manner. It smells expensive! I find it surprising that this perfume isn't more popular but I'm actually happy that it isn't because I know when I wear it, I'm not going to smell like anybody else. There is a light sweetness which is understated. It doesn't reach out and slap you accross the face like the peach in D&G's The One or the lime in Lempicka's Elle L'Aime. No, it's not screechy here. It's subtle and blends perfectly with the warmth of the cinnamon and the cozy vanilla/sandalwood vibe.

I honestly love this scent. It dries down into something so special. I find it unique in that it doesn't remind me of any other scent that I've tried. There is something comfortable about it, almost like slipping on a favourite item of clothing.

The bottle is cute. I could do without the gold, plastic collar but the actual bottle is classy and playful all at once.

I know that not every scent is meant for everyone and fragrance is subjective in that we all like different things but I'm really happy to have discovered this fragrnce!

11/29/2018

10.0 8.0 8.0 10.0/10

Sonnenwende
0 Reviews

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Sonnenwende

Greatly helpful Review 28

Facets of life

It must have been 1995.
My sons were still young and the eldest had brought home an unpleasant cold with fever and middle ear infection from kindergarten.
His little brother had not been asked for long and had followed him with all his symptoms.
After a visit to the doctor it was clear
that we had to make ourselves comfortable at home in the coming days.
Together with Benjamin Blümchen I took over the childcare.
I read until we knew the stories by heart, built with Lego and Playmobil or we made other games.
If Benjamin would tell me with loud
TÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ from the cassette recorder,
i devoted myself to the housework and took care of our physical well-being.
The days were filled and passed quickly, but due to sniffing noses and earaches the restful night's rest for all of us failed.
When my husband came home from work on Friday evening, there was no prize to win with me.
After a hot bath I said goodbye relatively fast with Mister Sandman.

The next day we were all much better already and my husband suggested me after lunch that it would do me good to go out for a while - to stroll into town maybe.....He would be there now.
Oh, what a nice offer.
It didn't take long, and I was out the door.

In the city I strolled aimlessly through the shopping streets, but after a week of quarantine I enjoyed the colourful life and was happy to drift without having to get involved myself.
My way led finally into a perfumery, where a friendly saleswoman received me immediately.
She asked me if I already knew the new scent from Dior and if she could spray it on my wrist?
Probably she had recognized by my dark eye rings that a little Dolce vita could not harm me.

The beautiful bottle alone awakened my spirits.
Like a small celestial body it lay in her hand and through the facet-like cut the lights of the perfumery broke in it and sparkled like stars.
The golden yellow liquid promised a delicious elixir and YES, of course I didn't want to refuse this fragrance experience.
So she sprayed and what I experienced was a real firework of aromas.

The fruity sweetness of apricots and peaches,
spicy chords of cinnamon and cardamom,
and the peppery spiciness of carnations poured on me.
Roses and rosewood accompanied by soft vanilla were revealed and again some pleasant sweetness of heliotrope.
Sandalwood, vetiver and patchouli gave a very beautiful, delicate woody note in the drydown, which I only noticed later.
I didn't wait that long to decide to buy.
I wanted to make this bottle of sweet joie de vivre my present.
Yeah, well, in that case, I'll wrap the scent up nice for you, the salesgirl said.

Happily I made my way home and was greeted by my men with stormy joy.
Of course I had a souvenir for everyone and after I had examined all the buildings of the afternoon, I took my present out of my pocket.

The saleswoman had draped numerous stars on a golden plate. In the middle the bright yellow packaging of the bottle was presented, wrapped in Celophan and with a glittering yellow ribbon
locked up.
It should take a few more days,
until I paid enough tribute to my anticipation and opened the box.

I am happy that I can continue to get this fragrance and that I can refresh a beautiful, intense memory again and again.
In the meantime it is only available as Eau de Toilette, but its durability and sillage are extraordinary.
Dolce vita has a high recognition value and stands out clearly from the current fragrance creations.
Its sparkling, fruity - flowery spice keeps what its name promises.
Pure joie de vivre.

6 Replies

09/20/2018

9.0 8.0 8.0 9.0/10

Jazzy76
320 Reviews

Jazzy76

tribute to the Fellini's masterpiece

We were in the middle Nineties when this popular and (for me) beloved fragrance came out: when the other fragrances were zen and minimalist , this one surprised with its spicy-woody sweetness and its richness more similar to the famous fragrances of the 80es.
But...focus on the name: "Dolce vita"(sweet life, in Italian) is a tribute to the Fellini's masterpiece "La dolce vita" , famous movie with Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni where the director tells the story of the roman high society's good life.
This scent is a hymn to happyness and to the carefreeness, just like the famous words pronounced by a black dressed Anita Ekberg having a bath in the trevi fountain: "Marcello, come here!"
This scent opens with a flowery-fruity accord, made immediately warmer by the cardamom . The apricot note is noticeable giving a sense of happyness and juicy joy of life.
Then, the warm base involves your skin and intoxicate your nose with a charming vanilla, sweet and very feminin and not at all sweetish, and a touch of sandalwood . it's like an embrace .A swwt and longlasting embrace .
This fragrance is sunny and "Golden " inside and ouside : the multifaceted "boule" is very refined and precious and this artistic bottle too, just like the wonderful and rich jus, could justify the high price .
This scent is perfect in winter , maybe with a fur, or by night, wearing an elegant and sexy dress just like the great Anita in the Fellini's masterpiece !

11/30/2017

7.0 6.0 8.0 8.0/10

StellaDiverF
213 Reviews

StellaDiverF

Helpful Review 3

Dolce Vita

It opens with a lot of cardamom, which reminds me of Kenzo Jungle l'Elephant. When it dries down, the sandalwood is dominant. The vanilla and the cinnamon are not very strong on me, not that sweet type in L de Lolita, but just enough present to 'feminise' the fragrance. It's a sophisticated and elegant scent, that captures you discretly and then grows on you. The longevity is 8h+ and it doesn't project too much.

Originally written in 2013.

11/11/2015

Marie69
15 Reviews

Marie69

Helpful Review 3

A perfume joining old and new Dolce Vita

Original 1995 Version EDT. Greens of various sorts, sweet white flowers, and cardamom, yes someone pointed that out. That is the special smell. This is a very nice light floral, uncomplicated. Classic and modern at the same time, as many 90´s creations are. This would be lovely on a young woman or older woman. It is a touch sweet for my personal taste, but a very fine creation indeed.

01/18/2014

9.0/10

SystemeD
58 Reviews

SystemeD

Very helpful Review 8

Lightly spiced fruit and wood

I don't remember where, but I once read that Pierre Bourdon submitted one of the early drafts of Shiseido's Féminité du Bois (which he composed with Christopher Sheldrake) to Dior, and it resulted in Dolce Vita.

Whether true or not, it makes sense. The relationship between the two is clear. And though Dolce Vita is a bit more mainstream, and a bit, oh, I don't know, sunnier, I think it's brilliant, too.

Dolce Vita's luscious creaminess is a result of Bourdon's artful blend of spices, fruits and woods. While I do like the opening (a rosy florality is always noticeable to me on first application), what I really love is the rounded fruitiness of the peach/apricot heart, spiked with cinnamon and cardamom, that leads right into that deep, delicious woody base. Most everyone identifies sandalwood as the primary note there, but I smell cedar, and lots of it. (Perhaps it's that Australian sandalwood? I don't know.) So yes, it's quite cedary to me, but there's also a dollop of vanilla there, and some sweet heliotrope.

This is my very favorite from Dior, and I wear it quite regularly as a daytime scent. People smile at me on elevators when they detect it.

10/22/2013

valandria
30 Reviews

valandria

Very helpful Review 6

Like a fine wine, it gets better and better...

In the Dior perfume line-up, Dolce Vita has to be one of my absolute favorites. It just meshes so well with my chemistry that I've used 1/2 a bottle of this beauty since May-2013! The sweet fruitiness in the heart, combined with the sandlewood and vanilla in the base makes this a hit for me. I smell a lot of apricot and peach in this as well. I personally don't get a lot of the floral in the opening notes, and overall I believe this is such a well blended perfume that nothing stands out and shouts more than any other note.

As the day wears on and it grows warm outside, Dolce Vita gets a little kick from the heat and reignites itself on my skin. Oh! I do love this perfume!

02/16/2013

7.5 10.0 10.0/10

Rubyred
49 Reviews

Rubyred

Very helpful Review 5

Divine Dolce Vita

Utterly divine Dolce Vita. Just love it. Warm, lightly spiced, faintly rosy and sweet, uplifting cinnamon, woody, trailing vanilla, peachy, gorgeous, smooth as a liquer, has good strength and lasts for ages. It's 'the one perfume I would take if I were stranded in the Arctic' variation on a theme because it doesn't really suit a tropical climate.
Today I tried Dolce Vita (3rd bottle) on one hand and Chanel Allure on the other and while both vanillic, the Allure came off decidedly scratchy, thin, and second best.

07/25/2012

Coutureguru
223 Reviews

Coutureguru

Very helpful Review 12

A funny anecdote

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... out on one of my regular Sunday afternoon fragrance trolls (what else is there to do an a Sunday afternoon?) I walked up to the Dior counter in a department store and was accosted by the Sales Assistant who immediately wanted to slap the new J'Adore all over me. I told her I didn't do flankers. She assured me it was no such thing as a flanker ... it was brand spanking new!! ????? ... "Funny that it's also called J'Adore" said I lifting the bottle of Dolce Vita to my nose with an evil gleam in my eye. "Mmmmm ... Tuberose" ... I said. She responded that it was strange that Tuberose is not in very many fragrances these days, except of course the one I was holding in my hand. Really??? I remember when SA's could tell you exactly what was in a frag and how the notes interacted. These days they know less than most of their customers ...shameful! How about this for some extra gumph direct from the Dior website:

"Dolce Vita Eau de Toilette is a spicy woody floral. The expression of happiness and joie de vivre

The top note is the first olfactory impression and the most volatile.
The heart note is the fragrance's core and lasts for several hours.
The base note lasts the longest and can be perceived in clothing for several months."

Now I have to say that Dolce Vita is probably one of my favorite Dior frags of all time (pre reformulation that is) ... I love the bottle and the joyful yellow box and I LOVE THE JUICE. I am, however, hard pressed to find a jacket that I wore a month ago with the lingering smell of woodsy notes (which is what I love most about Dolce Vita). How wonderful would that be?

2 Replies

05/18/2012

2.0/10

Awesomeness
247 Reviews

Awesomeness

Very helpful Review 5

I should like it. I don't.

Based on the reviews and the notes, I really thought I would like this one. Rose, Apricot, Peach, Cinnamon, Heliotrope, Sandalwood, AND Vanilla? Wow. Now that sounds like it would suit me to a T. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

There is something a bit irritating to me, perhaps cardamon? Maybe it was the cinnamon, but that would be a first with a cinnamon accord. Also, it's a bit too rich in white florals, especially LOV but I also sense jasmine. I am very sensitive certain formulations of white florals, particularly in large doses. Unfortunately, that's what we have with Dolce Vita.

I can see how many would like this - it's a well-constructed modern oriental. But it's just not for me.

1 Replies

01/20/2012

5.0 7.5 6.0/10

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

Very helpful Review 4

Sunny peach

Let's start by saying that this is a rather unique fragrance. It has a certain powdery and musky quality which could take you either side of the fence. Love it or hate it you can't deny that this is a very intriguing scent.

Sweet it definitely is, however this isn't synthetic or sugary sweet, it's more accustomed to being powdery sweet, almost a sunny and warming scent.

Peach seems to be the most dominant note to my nose. Subtle hints of rose, lily, apricot, coconut, vanilla and woodsy notes make up a majority of the fragrance. In a way Dolce Vita can be interpreted as a tropical scent, being slightly beachy.

Unfortunately this fragrance disturbs me. I'll blame it on the musky vanilla which makes me think of dark and damp cellars and second hand dress stores.

Overall, the lasting strength and sillage are equally good. Distinctive and generally well received, Dolce Vita may not appeal to me but I'm sure others will enjoy.