Stella McCartney Sheer Stella Eau De Toilette Spray

I'm a relative latecomer to Stella McCartney's perfume range - to be honest, I'm not a fan of the woman and thought her perfumes would be strong and quite masculine. However, the range is girly through, using Rose as the basis of each scent, and her original perfume is now my 'signature scent'. I love perfumes which are floral but find that you can veer on the side of old lady-ness if there isn't a different scent in there as well to give a bit of ...
...well. Each summer Stella releases a limited edition summer scent (always the same scent as far as I can see, just a redesigned bottle) which is a little lighter than her original, using notes of iced lemon zest, Bulgarian rose, green apple, raspberry, peony and amber.

The 2008 version of the bottle is beautiful - really classy and has a retro Art Deco feel, being made of hand cut glass which is a light pink in colour with a beautiful ... more

I'm a relative latecomer to Stella McCartney's perfume range - to be honest, I'm not a fan of the woman and thought her perfumes would be strong and quite masculine. However, the range is girly through, using Rose as the basis of each scent, and her original perfume is now my 'signature scent'. I love perfumes which are floral but find that you can veer on the side of old lady-ness if there isn't a different scent in there as well to give a bit of a twist to it and Stella's perfumes do this really well. Each summer Stella releases a limited edition summer scent (always the same scent as far as I can see, just a redesigned bottle) which is a little lighter than her original, using notes of iced lemon zest, Bulgarian rose, green apple, raspberry, peony and amber.

The 2008 version of the bottle is beautiful - really classy and has a retro Art Deco feel, being made of hand cut glass which is a light pink in colour with a beautiful flower design. It has a silver band around the neck and a white stopper. The glass feels lovely and heavy when you pick it up and not at all cheap and thin like some perfume bottles I can think of!

The smell itself is great. Keeping the rose and peony fusion that characterises all of her scents, the lemon, apple and raspberry give a lighter citrus note perfect for summer and the amber base note injects an underlying warmth and gives it a nice modern twist. I was a bit put off by the apple in this, as I really dislike the DKNY apple Delicious perfumes, but the apple in this is very well blended and not noticeable as a stand out fragrance in itself. Stella Sheer is a delicate fragrance that exudes femininity and freshness without being at all overpowering. If you find the original Stella a bit overpowering, or just want a twist on it for summer, then this is the ideal choice. It works really well as a day perfume - personally I find it a bit light for evening where I prefer something a bit stronger and sexier. It lasts well - not as strong as it's sister, but I am still able to smell this on myself into the afternoon and evening if I apply in the morning.

Unlike most of Stella's scents, this is one that can be picked up a little cheaper, retailing at around £36 for 100ml, although it may prove difficult to get hold of now as it was limited edition for last year, but keep an eye out as we move into Spring as the 2009 edition is no doubt just around the corner. It's available from discount perfume website Cheapsmells.com at the moment for only £29.95 - a bargain! 

...less