Dove Launching a Perfume Is the Beauty Plot Twist I Didn’t Know I Needed

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.Julee Wilson for CosmopolitanThis 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.Julee Wilson for CosmopolitanWhat does Dove Original Fragrance smell like?Dove and Gottlieb were incredibly thoughtful about making the tiniest of tweaks to take the iconic Beauty Bar scent from the shower to an eau de parfum for your skin. “Working to translate it into the more premium fragrance it became today was a labor of love between the perfumers, the brand, and me,” Gottlieb explained.If I had to describe how this smells on my skin, I’d say it’s like floating around as an angel, enveloped in the fluffiest, most fabulous cloud imaginable. The fine fragrance dries down to a soft, clean skin scent that plays well with so many other perfumes. I’ve been doing some 1:1 layering with Coach Gold Parfum and Byredo Future Memories. The vanilla and amber notes in both play beautifully with Dove Original Fragrance’s floral-powdery base.And there’s virtually no risk in blind-buying a bottle because it’s such a spot-on recreation of the original scent. It basically smells like your skin right after stepping out of the shower, freshly cleansed with the Beauty Bar. You’re putting on your favorite perfume over that bar scent anyway, so the math just maths.What else is special about this launch?And let’s not overlook one of my favorite aspects of this limited-edition drop…the bottle! It’s a stunning clear glass vessel shaped like a Dove Beauty Bar, topped with a gilded metal dove cap. The whole thing gives me major Penhaligon’s vibes—and those perfume bottles can run you $350. Meanwhile, Dove’s juice retails for just $19.57 (an homage to the year the Beauty Bar debuted). It’s serving the kind of affordable luxury we can all rejoice over.“To my knowledge, there has never been a fragrance concept conceived and executed this way,” Gottlieb told Cosmo. “Considering the success of the beauty bar, this is truly a great idea.”InstagramHow do you get a bottle?Now, before you start clearing space on your perfume shelf, there’s one important detail: This is a one-time, limited-quantity drop. Once it sells out, it’s gone! The wait list opens today (October 22), and the fragrance will be available for purchase October 27 at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on DoveFragrance.com.Final verdict:Dove Original Fragrance is proof that sometimes the best things in beauty are the ones that have been right under our noses the whole time. It’s fresh, feminine, and nostalgic, and it smells like the ultimate clean-girl fantasy bottled up in one seriously chic package. Whether you wear it alone or layered with your favorite scents, this $19.57 EDP delivers a little everyday luxury without the luxury price tag. My only complaint is that it’s limited edition, because this is the kind of fragrance that deserves a permanent spot on our vanities.Why trust Cosmopolitan?Julee Wilson is beauty editor-at-large at Cosmopolitan. Previously, Julee was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan and global beauty director at Essence and has held various editorial positions at Huffington Post and Real Simple. She counts herself lucky-AF that she gets to play with beauty products for a living and tell dope stories. And if you’re as obsessed with beauty as she is, make sure to follow her on Instagram for plenty of product recs, natural hair inspo, skincare testing, and Black girl magic shenanigans.Julee Wilson is Beauty Editor at Large at Cosmopolitan. Previously, Julee was Beauty Director at Cosmo and Global Beauty Director at Essence and has held various editorial positions at Huffington Post and Real Simple. She counts herself lucky AF that she gets to play with beauty products for a living and tell dope stories. And if you’re as obsessed with beauty as she is, make sure to follow her on Instagram for plenty of product recs, natural hair inspo, skincare testing, and Black girl magic shenanigans.