# Stella McCartney — Pop Bluebell > Pop Bluebell is the 2017 flanker to Stella McCartney's millennial-aimed Pop (2016), reorienting that tuberose-sandalwood base around an English bluebell note built with headspace/biomimicry technology ## Essence Pop Bluebell is the 2017 flanker to Stella McCartney's millennial-aimed Pop (2016), reorienting that tuberose-sandalwood base around an English bluebell note built with headspace/biomimicry technology. It reads as a green-leaning, violet-and-powder floral-woody that wears sharper, cooler and more grown-up than the sweeter original. Now discontinued, it is distinctive mainly for the rare bluebell theme and a marketing story about capturing an endangered, legally protected flower's actual scent without picking it. ## Scent Profile The opening is fresh and green-leafy: tomato leaf and violet leaf give a garden-snap freshness, green mandarin adds a quick citrus lift, and several wearers describe a fizzy, effervescent quality often attributed to the bluebell idea itself. The heart is the center of gravity. A powdery violet dominates, supported by bellflower and a deliberately restrained white floral of tuberose and frangipani that stays well short of the original Pop's heady sweetness. The bluebell facet is described as making the violet more pungent and a touch drier rather than sweeter. A brief indolic tang can surface on application for some wearers before settling into a clean, true-violet character. The drydown is soft, clean and woody, with cedar and sandalwood over musk. Wearers reach for words like rubber eraser, soap and clean powder. The overall effect is a powdery green-violet floral that sweetens only slightly late in the wear. ## Performance Reports converge on moderate sillage with good-to-strong longevity, and noticeably better staying power than the original Pop. On skin the projection sits in the intimate-to-moderate range, while owners describe all-day longevity, with one direct comparison noting both versions still going strong roughly 8 hours later when sprayed on a cardigan. Performance is strongest on clothing. A recurring practical complaint is the atomizer, which several owners found stiff or prone to sticking; generous application is the simplest workaround. ## Wearing Context This is a spring and warm-weather floral that wears comfortably to the office. Wearers describe it as good for hot-weather workdays, versatile and easy, and skewing slightly more mature and refined than the playful original, to the point that one younger wearer found it a bit too grown-up. It is daytime-leaning and reads feminine but understated, well suited to casual daytime, work, and anyone who wants a green, powdery floral rather than a sweet one. ## Comparisons & DNA The most useful comparison is internal. Against the original Stella McCartney Pop, Bluebell is greener, sharper, cooler and less sweet, trading Pop's plasticky floral sweetness for a drier violet character. Penhaligon's Bluebell is the obvious heritage reference, an older and spicier-greener take on the same flower that wearers invoke by name. Balenciaga Florabotanica is another green-floral point of contrast, with some wearers preferring Bluebell's cleaner reading. The raw bluebell idea also pulls toward hyacinth for many noses. No designer-fragrance dupe is established for it. ## Reception Consensus is mildly positive and somewhat niche. Wearers praise the rare and convincing bluebell-violet, the clean sophistication, the sustainability story, and the strong longevity. The most common criticisms are that it can read too floral, a little sharp or fizzy, and — pointedly — that the original Pop arguably smells more like actual bluebells; the stiff sprayer draws repeated complaints. Opinion splits along a sweet-versus-green preference and around the celebrity-offspring advertising campaign, which many openly mocked. As a discontinued, discounted release it is widely treated as a low-risk pickup, especially for green-floral and violet fans. ## Versions & Reformulation Pop Bluebell is the second edition of the Pop collection, launched in spring 2017 under the P&G Prestige license and offered in 30, 50 and 100 ml eau de parfum, with a purple, metallic-mauve cap distinguishing it from the original's pink. The entire Pop line is now discontinued. No reformulation is documented; the only meaningful distinction is simply Pop versus Pop Bluebell and the later Pop flankers. ## Acquisition Notes Pop Bluebell is discontinued but still findable, typically at heavy discounts that reflect its end-of-life status; observed prices have run from roughly $20 for a tester to about $65 at full price across 30, 50 and 100 ml. Because it is no longer in production, secondhand and clearance stock dominate availability. There is no documented counterfeiting or batch-code concern; the one known quality issue is the sprayer rather than authenticity. ## Notable Facts & Lore - Built on headspace/biomimicry technology, marketed as the first perfume to capture the English bluebell's actual scent rather than an interpretation. - The brand framed the approach around conservation: the English bluebell is a protected species that is illegal to pick, so its scent was captured without harvesting the flower. - It is the 2017 flanker to Pop (2016), distinguished on shelf by a purple, metallic-mauve cap versus the original's pink. - The advertising campaign fronted four celebrity-offspring and pop-culture faces — Kenya Kinski-Jones, Grimes, Lola Leon and Amandla Stenberg — which drew widespread nepotism commentary. - The fragrance and brand are vegan and cruelty-free, with FSC-certified packaging, consistent with Stella McCartney's sustainability positioning. - The whole Pop collection has since been discontinued.