Valentino Donna

Did they put crack in this?! I don't see it listed in the notes, but I've NEVER burned through a 3.4oz so fast. I was scrolling eBay and saw a bottle going for $60 from a well rated seller, needed a dopamine hit, so I bought it and weighed it against a real bottle. Down to the gram, and it was indeed authentic in every way one can possibly inspect. I even weighed the BOX against an authentic box. So I opened it and sprayed it and at first it opened really fresh and bergamoty and I had just bought 2 freshies (Bella Essence and Romance) and felt this one would be redundant. Wow was I wrong over the night I kept smelling my wrists like a fein as it transformed into the next phase and the next. I was scared "leather" would make it smell too masculine. I can't imagine a more feminine perfume. I LOVE this perfume. It smells like none of the current hits I have collected (how many vanilla orange blossoms does one woman need?! Pls, perfumers, pick another flower!!! And not Jasmine - again!) I have Goddess, I have Libre, I have Mon Guerlain and 3 flankers, but after I smelled this one open with the bergamot and slowly evolve into a brand new leather Valentino purse with luxurious powdered rose makeup inside with a hint of incense and vanilla and praline I was like Goddess? Why would I? Libre, where did that go? Mon Guerlain? Who's that? Been wearing this one out...I don't buy backup bottles. If they dc something, well, they've dc'd my signature scent before and then brought it back, reformulated to smell like Britney Spear's Curious....I LIKE Curious, ok, but Blue was downright majestic in 2008 and now? Shes a shell of her former self. Like if she died and her spirit left the bottle. THAT is what she smells like now, and it broke my heart, so I'm not usually scared something will get dc'd. I'll find another. But I immediately bought ANOTHER Donna for $60...then when I saw how fast I'd blown through one 3.4oz in a week? I ordered TWO backup bottles for $60/each. I don't go nose blind to it either. I can smell it alll day. It doesn't ever tap out but I do like to go through the note changes again and that 1st hit of bergamot mixed with the mid notes in the background? I wanna smell it again and again and again. I noticed a VERY popular perfume influencer I watch on YT made a very recent video with this one the other day and I was like OH NO now it's gonna sell out and the price is gonna go way up with eBay sellers. I like to buy/gamble on eBay, because I follow 2 channels on YouTube that weigh the most popular perfumes against fakes. It is VERY hard to get your product to look perfectly like the real thing AND weigh the same down to the gram or 2. (A gram weighs about as much as a small paperclip - so this makes counterfeiting significantly harder). I bought a $5 scale off Amazon, it was in the mail the next day, and I've been weighing my perfumes like a mad scientist and I will send it back for a refund if it doesn't weigh within 3-4 grams of the 'Real' version of the videos on YouTube. Best $5 I ever spent. If you like to gamble for great deals on eBay like I do, 1, you need to buy from a very highly rated seller that accepts returns, and 2, you NEED A $5 kitchen scale and access to YouTube. Just because the batch code matches the box doesn't mean anything. You think they can't steal batch codes? Of course they can. All you have to do is buy ONE real box, OR simply look at one real box and boom you have the batch code for your counterfeits. They NEED to start putting the batch codes sealed INSIDE the box with a lottery ticket scratch off type deal, and have every single perfume with its own code you can type into their website and see if its been used yet or not. I've read comments on that YouTube channel of Fake Cip busting fake perfumes, and ppl are commenting they're buying fakes off Jomashop. Which is supposed to be a legit site! I'm actually surprised at how many perfumes I've got for crazy good deals off eBay that ARE real. Ive only had one fake so far out of like 50 bottles this year. Black Opium, and I could tell it was fake just from looking at the bottle. The indentation on the bottom of the bottle was sideways and not flush perfectly with the bottle. YSL would never be so sloppy. Returned and refunded and I left a negative review with pictures showing why its a fake. I've read positive reviews on eBay from customers that got sold a fake and then got a refund and STILL left a positive review because the seller refunded them and made up a sad excuse that THEY were tricked. No. The buck stops somewhere and it should stop with the person who sold the fake to you. And do you think the seller took the fake item down after that?! NO! They kept selling the fakes! Leave a negative review with details and pictures! The counterfeiting has got to stop. There is another one on YT that's really good, but Fake Cip has nearly EVERY hit perfume weighed down to the gram on his channel. He'll weigh the whole box with everything inside then open it, weigh the box alone, weigh the cap, weigh the bottle. Inspect the box. Fakes are nearly always 20 grams OR MORE off from the authentic perfume. I don't care how well they did the box or bottle, if the scale doesn't come correct you have a fake as far as I'm concerned and need a refund. I've seen some perfume influencers on YouTube videos comment they knew they were buying a fake and still did anyway. Pls don't. Authentic perfumes are held to safety regulations. Counterfeits are not. They could've mixed your batch up in a rusty barrel in some back alley using whatever ingredients they want that have been banned. Don't buy it or use it. You don't know what chemicals are in it. Ingredients have been banned for a reason. Anyway, THIS is my new "signature scent". Im so happy. I didn't think I'd ever have a signature scent again considering the amount of perfumes I have collected that I feel "good" about, but not always "great". Not one that I feel nearly addicted to... except Donna. I have been neglecting them ALL for Donna. This is me in a bottle. This is EXACTLY how I wanna smell. And it's not discontinued. I went to Valentino's website to read the notes because Fragrantica tends to frequently be incorrect and I think the "my skin but better" smell it has comes from the "peach skin" note they don't include here on Fragrantica. Or maybe it's just because it smells like a luxurious face powder you wanna ration because it's expensive af. And it's still for sale (for full Valentino price tho) on the Valentino website, with no note of being dc'd, but I'd never suggest someone buy a 10 year old perfume for full price...so look for a deal from an outlet seller - then weigh it. And NEVER buy from a seller that doesn't accept returns. eBay DOES have an authenticity guarantee on all their products being sold whether the seller chooses to accept returns or not, I just think you'd have a much harder time proving the perfume is a fake and not worth the hassle when the next seller DOES accept returns so save yourself any hassle and buy from them. Besides, if they don't accept returns, to me, that seems like it's because they know it's fake and a LOT of ppl are gonna want returns. When I sell my perfumes on Mercari or wherever I'll always take a return provided they haven't used half the bottle. Because if it's legit I can just sell it to the next person or just keep it. If she doesn't find a new home then we were meant to be. Lol anyway, LOVE this perfume. Gonna start buying more "lipstick"/makeup type perfumes (iris/violet). Lipstick Fever is next. Then Insolence. I can't believe its taken me this long to get into makeup smelling perfumes but I have a scent memory of my great grandmother always wearing this body powder that was rose scented, so I LOVE rose, but if it has a powder or iris or violet note I'm always wary because my scent memory associates talc powdered rose with my 90 year old great grandmother...so I almost didn't buy this. Sooo glad I did anyway, this smells nothing like that. I think I'll try Lipstick Fever next. Clearly this is my type of perfume, in my mid 30s. The other night I layered this with Goddess, then hopped in bed and my husband said "what did you do?! 😍" And I said " I don't know what you mean..." 💅 (spoiler: I KNEW!) 😉 Edit: surprised to read comments from ppl saying this perfume doesn't have good longevity or sillage. That's probably the most important factor to me when I buy a perfume. My skin eats pefumes, too - ravenously (even when moisturized). This one lasts on my SKIN at least 8 hours. It lasts on my clothes until I wash them. My mother walked in my house and said, I can smell your perfume from everywhere in this house! She said when I walked in the guest bedroom (that I never go in) and sat for a moment to speak to her that she could smell it all night lingering in the air. If you got a bottle that isn't lasting or projecting. 😬 I'm quite sure you may have a fake...even if you bought it on Jomashop. Or maybe it's been reformulated to perform badly and the eBay seller I used sold me the old formulation? Outlet retailers/resellers often are selling perfumes from stores that went out of business or stores that needed to clear inventory for room for newer perfumes so SOMETIMES it will be an older batch (although I never keep a batch code of a perfume made 3 years or more ago - even in the bottle, unopened, they will eventually oxidize. I bought a 7 year old, brand new, unopened Mon Guerlain and sent it back because the delicate top notes had oxidized down to nothing and the base notes were all I could smell. And sometimes the ingredients can degrade to unhealthy chemicals which is why they have beauty health expiration dates on perfumes in the first place. Even though its mostly alcohol which keeps it from growing bacteria and such. The authentic Donna SHOULD last a long time. The votes for strong and enourmous longevity and sillage are correct. It performs VERY well. If yours doesn't, are you SURE it's authentic? Did you weigh it? My authentic bottle weighed about 415 grams including the top when I had used about 10 sprays and the liquid was still touching the top. The cap should have a V inside...go to YOUTUBE and look at the real vs fake bottle. Unfortunately, this one isn't on Fake Cip's channel yet but there is another channel that it is on. I type in "real vs fake (insert perfume here)". This is one of my best performing and I have...quite a few. It lasts even longer than Libre Intense on skin and clothes.

Original/Puig 2015 Formula Review I was interested in this for years because the trio of rose, iris, and leather is mi amor, but I was held back by reviews that said that this was too sweet. One reviewer likened it to a candyfloss scent, and what with the girly pink bottle, I figured that they were right. Candyfloss leather? No thank you. As the fragrance world turns though Loreal bought Valentino from Puig, and there was a threat of reformulation at the very least, if not actual discontinuation, and bottles of Donna were being dumped in the meantime due to the acquisition. So I bought a boxed bottle for $34. I'm impetuous what can I say, and I really have severe fragrance FOMO. Well! This is lovely, and while there is a bit of sweet going on, it has so much depth that it's okay. It's interesting because the two base notes I can smell as soon as I spray Donna--a cloud of earl grey style bergamot infused with a cool vanilla and dry leather. The opening is not sweet at all, the sweetness comes after it's been on your skin for awhile--a rich rose floating in peach liquor with raspberry on the edges. Not syrupy, exactly, but the rose is quite fruity and dessert-like which I really enjoy. The iris adds a bit of musk and powder, and really who can resist an iris and musk combination? As it wears down I feel that the peach note intensifies, and the dry down is a full patchouli with a slight hint of vanillic amber. Very serious for such a pink presentation! As far as the leather goes, I think that iris sometimes smells like leather or suede. The iris is what gives this a suede/leather feel...but you can't smell it in the drydown, only the top and heart notes. That's awhile though because Donna does a slow fade--the patchouli/amber drydown only appears hours after you've been wearing it. This is just lovely, serious enough with the iris/musk/suede/leather to be adult but the rose had enough desserts to be fun and compelling. I really appreciate the darker drydown--a perfume like this I expect to have a laundry musk finish, and happily this doesn't. I am puzzled by reviews that say that this smells like the (in)famous La Vie Est Belle. It's not that sweet. Maybe they are reviewing a new bottle? I saw a note list for the Loreal version that had praline. It would make sense too because both Valentino and Lancome are owned by Loreal. The two scents that I DO think Donna resembles are the original Bottega Veneta, with the smooth suede and peachy rose notes, and Oscar de la Renta Bella Rosa, with the sweet musky rose haze and patchouli drydown. Donna has very good lasting power and has interesting changes all day. Best of all I like this is the cold weather and the hot weather, so she's versatile that way. I think it's worth searching out the original formulation of this perfume. Why did they have to change it? Just leave well enough alone for God's sake. We already HAVE a La Vie Est Belle.

I have both the original from around 2018-19 (Made in France, labeled Valentino Beauty LLC) & recently obtained a 2022 bottle second hand (Made in Spain, Puig), so as I'm writing this I'm wearing and comparing the two. There has been some confusion in this comment section so let me clear something up. Firstly, it's possible that the reformulation can be found from a Puig bottle. The new formula WITH a new bottle has a studded neck just like Born in Roma. Liquid in my newer one is significantly darker, pretty much orange. It's obviously not have been stored properly since I got it second hand. My original is still faintly pink liquid. Donna has been my favorite all these years so after I heard that it was sold out and there were rumors about it being discontinued, I have been holding on to my original ever since. A bit later Donna came back, but only after Born in Roma was released (2019). That's when it became public knowledge that Valentino was actually sold to Loreal. Donna is NOT discontinued. It's pretty hard to come by any bottles anymore that are pre-pandemic though. The ones I've found have been snatched quickly. Now, the scent is only slightly different in these two, not something a regular person will notice. The original Donna is much more well-rounded, soft scent with a leathery patchouli base. Absolutely beautiful. The reformulation has a fruitier edge, it's more "in your face". I guess it's the zestiness of pergamot sticking through, there is that same tartness. The softness of leather/vanilla is pretty much drowned in there somewhere. I wish they wouldn't have cranked up the fruits in top notes, but I guess Loreal likes that... The newer one doesn't seem to ever settle to just base notes and lose that fruity edge. Kinda headache inducing :/ They are very similar though, the new formula is just sharper/sweeter, which is a shame. Also, if people could please stop comparing Donna to LVEB. They're nothing alike & it's insulting, LVEB is terrible ::)

A review for diehard fans of Puig version - written by a diehard fan of old version herself...😉 Okay, call me a "Donna e mobile". After I mourned the Puig Version and claimed that the L'Oréal version smells different (especially less rosy), I am all in with their remake of original Donna, nethertheless. And I am quite critical, since I knew the Puig version through different batches so very well (was my signature scent). On a trip, I tested the L'Oréal version again on paper, thought - "okay, not that different" (except the missing of my beloved bulgarian rosenote), but didn't buy because it was too expensive (for what it was without that Rose...). Came back to Europe and tested again, this time on skin. Thought: "okay, not that different...but wait ...what does sting in my nose? Oh, some grapefruit instead of good old bergamot, and some chemicals"..not completly different from Puig's Donna...later in even a bit rosy...but I could not get past that sting in the topnotes, again I didn't buy... Next morning up to work in a hurry, I fetched my jacket...and...omg...what was that wonderful smell? It smelled like home, glorious former times, just like the elegant basenotes of original Donna....Left on the jacket just for the beautiful smell and the sweet memories....so, of course, I went back and bought a bottle, just for that memory. On clothes the basenotes are nearly the same, elegant enough. And from far away both versions smell not that different. So, I spray once on my neck - and get a whiff of something smelling nearly like Puig. I just wish, the rosenote was still as strong as before, but it is a bit more pronounced in humid air. So, I keep the remake for that special memories that (for me) go along with this scent. And I have to admit - yes, I still like.

Am I allowed to start off by gushing and "gosh-ing" or do I need to write a proper review first? I really want kick it off with some OMG-OMG-OMG's but alright, I'll follow the suit of Donna herself - pull myself together, be elegant, eloquent and verbalise my thoughts first. Yes, yes, she is elegant, eloquent and pulled together, very lady like and impeccable. She has 2 main themes going on, she plays on 2 main characteristcs of hers - restrained and alluring. First axis is bergamot-iris-leather, the second one is rose-iris-vanilla. They do intersect and play off of each other. It's this tangy somewhat bitter and leathery accord surrounded by a cloud of softness, fairy feathers. I love the combo of bergamot and leather, it's scrumptious! With a bit of bite. However the more it develops the more approchable, attractive, warm she gets. It's not a warm scent per se, but it gives the sensation of being cared for and being pampered. However the image it evokes in me is a story. It's a short film of a woman escaping the grey, glass and steel hich-tech corporate environment on a random mundane Tuesday morning in March. She's dressed office - appropriate, behaves, hair in a low bun, etc you wouldn't expect her to be a rebel. Yet. Off she takes in her beautiful Italian convertible, with white leather seats, vanilla and rose macarons in a cream box on the passenger seat. She leaves corporate Central-Europe behind, and heads towards Italian coast. To have dinner with her Italian boyfriend, and never go back. And yes, OMG, where has this fragrance been all my while life!! And OMG how did they even dare to reformulate it?!? This is a modern classic, no question about it. Just fallen victim to thr popularity contest.. Marketing.