Valentino – Valentina review : Fruity tuberose

Valentina is a perfume by the Italian fashion company Valentino, which was launched in 1960 by one of the twentieth century’s most prominent fashion designers, Valentino Garavani. The perfume premiered in 2011, and due to its great success, for reasons unknown to me, it was followed by numerous variations on the subject (flankers) within the Valentino collection, such as Assoluto, Pink, Blush, Poudre, and Acqua Floreale.

The Valentina perfume advertising is very interesting as it follows the girl (Valentina, model Freja Erichsen) in youthful joy and carefreeness, as she rejects the expectations of family and society. Instead of staying at her wealthy parents’ home, she decides to stroll the streets of the Italian city in search of a fitting party. A private party is in full swing and crowded with guests, this time with girls and boys her age. There, she meets two guys with whom she shares a taxi and embarks on a romantic adventure. Yes, with both going on at the same time. It’s time for a moral epiphany (insert a small-town sigh here). Unfortunately, the perfume’s advertisement is far more intriguing than the perfume itself.

However, there are two intriguing features of Valentina perfume. One is that it was created in collaboration with Alberto Morillas and Olivier Cresp, two notable figures of today’s perfume scene, and the other is that it contains a large amount of paradisone, a fragrant substance that is part of the synthetic scent of jasmine – hedione and provides it with an intense, floral scent.

Valentina’s perfume composition is oriental floral, but unlike most perfumes in this category, which build their character on a chord of vanilla (or fragrant resin) and flowers, the accord of white flowers and strawberries is dominant and runs throughout the composition despite the pyramidal structure.  And it’s all cute, but it’s all so predictable and dull. As we progress through the life of perfume on the skin, it becomes sadder and the formula poorer, the exact opposite of Valentino’s opulent, expensive, larger-than-life dresses that make him renowned in the world of fashion. My expectations were that he would design a perfume that was the fragrance equivalent of one of his gowns so that women who couldn’t afford to wear a Valentino gown might at least smell like they were wearing one. Unfortunately, no one who wears Valentino creations would ever wear a Valentino fragrance creation.

This task was not herculean. There are perfumes that cost the same and deliver exactly what Valentina should have. Rich, refined, sumptuous, juicy, seductive scent of white flowers that leaves you feeling as if you’re wrapped in the most expensive and luxurious fabrics when you put it on. Etat Libre d’Orange Jasmin et Cigarette and Parfum d’Empire 3 Fleurs are my favorites.

The creators of the perfume are Alberto Morillas and Olivier Cresp.