I had been working as a middle school teacher for three years now. Every year, the students here observed Teacher’s Day to show their appreciation for the entire staff. Gifts, flowers, chocolates, and presentations were a common occurrence on this day. This year was no different. The school was decorated in rainbow streamers and balloons with banners reading, “Happy Teacher’s Day.”
As expected, when I entered my classroom, my desk was overflowing with flowers and gift-wrapped boxes. It was still surreal to me that my students loved me as much as they did. When I had chosen this career, I had been scared out of my wits about being a failure. Looking back now, I couldn’t be more thankful for my decision. The children were a unique bundle of joy that I got to enjoy spending time with five days a week, and I couldn’t have spent my time in any better way than this.
When the bell rang for recess, twenty-five giggling kids left the room like a storm, leaving me all to myself. Having nothing better to do, I decided to open a few of the presents lying on my desk. The first one was a box of chocolate, the second being a pair of simple, studded earrings, and the third being a handmade bracelet. The fourth box was an eye-catching one, wrapped in lavender coloured wrapping paper covered in tiny, white hearts.
Carefully, I removed the wrapping paper to reveal a pale yellow box with a simple black design. Scripted in black were the words, “Dolce Shine – Dolce & Gabbana” with a black line, resembling a ribbon, running around the box. The front side had the same bow printed on it. The shock running through me at that moment is indescribable. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that a middle school student had gifted me such an expensive gift from a famous brand.
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian fashion brand founded in 1985 by Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The brand has various products ranging from clothing, jewellery, footwear, perfumes, cosmetics, etc. The Dolce Shine fragrance was launched in 2020, an innovative invention of the master perfumer Marie Salamagne.
Upon opening the box, I found a small note inside. I decided to read that first before checking out the bottle. The note was from the parents of a dyslexic student I had in my class, and it expressed their gratitude to me for taking special care and time to teach him according to his needs.
The perfume they had handed to their son was apparently a small way of showing their appreciation. I was teary-eyed by how touching the note was that I had to take a few minutes to compose myself.
The bottle I took out of the box was the same shade of yellow as the packaging. It was made of glass and had the same inscription as the box did. The cap was a deeper shade of yellow, crafted to resemble a flower. Around the neck of the bottle was a black ribbon tied up like a bow. The simplicity of the bottle was what made it attractive to me, and the bow is a cute cherry on top.
Marie Salamagne had used twelve ingredients in its making. The top notes had mango, quince, and grapefruit. The middle notes were jasmine, sea salt, solar notes, ozonic notes, orange blossoms, and tuberose. The base notes included Australian sandalwood, white musk, and white wood.
The ingredients list had me quite excited to smell this perfume. I ended up spraying some in the air to test it out first. The opening notes of the exotic fruits were delightful to inhale. When the middle notes made their appearance, the fragrance turned more floral and sweet, the jasmine and orange blossoms being the most prominent in the combination. As the perfume started to dry down, the woody mixture of the white musk, white wood, and Australian sandalwood came out to play. The floral and woodsy tones were more detectable at the end, while the fruity notes became very faint to my nose.
Impressed by the fragrance, I wasted no time in spraying some onto myself before carefully placing the bottle back in its package along with the note. When recess ended, and the children came running inside, most of them looked left and right, sniffing the air. One of them tilted her head at me and asked if I had changed the rose-scented air freshener we used in the classroom. When I answered that it was a new perfume that a student had gifted to me, she nodded her head in understanding and requested that I wear that perfume every day. Others were quick to request the same, saying the different smell was pleasant and much nicer than the regular rose-scented air freshener. I couldn’t help but laugh at their innocence.
At the end of the day, the fragrance was still drifting around in the air. When I hugged the students’ goodbye, I thanked the boy whose parents had given me such an extravagant present. The boy had merely grinned up at me and inquired if I had like it. When I confirmed that I had indeed loved the gift, he had hugged me tightly with his little arms, saying it was nothing compared to how much I had helped him out. My heart could not help but melt at his sweet words.
The longevity of the perfume is just as excellent as its silage. My clothes still held a distinct aroma of the wonderful formula when I returned home. To say the least, the Dolce Shine has become one of the first fragrances I recommend to anyone who asks, and it is that great.
Here are my preferred ratings for the extraordinary scent:
Fragrance 9/10
Bottle 8.5/10
Longevity 8.5/10
Silage 8/10
Overall 8.5/10
Here is a brief summary of my review of the Dolce Shine for Women (2020) by Dolce & Gabbana to cut a long story short:
The Pros are:
- It is from a famous Italian brand.
- Wonderfully crafted bottle.
- Amazing longevity.
- Great silage.
The Cons are:
- It comes in a glass bottle, so it is not travel-friendly.