Valentino Uomo Acqua

Immediately, when first sprayed, I get the reason this is a flanker to the original 2014 release of Valentino Uomo. The parent DNA is there from the start, Iris. I am not one that enjoys the note of iris, especially the standard lipstick, makeup vibe. To me this note leans much to feminine for my personal taste, although many men don't mind it. The iris in Valentino Uomo Acqua does NOT remind me of lipstick, but of class. I must admit that I seriously doubted whether this scent DNA could actually come across as fresh while leaving in the notes of iris, green tomatoes, patchouli, and even leather. A summer scent with these notes? Miracle! They have done it and created a fresh scent for warm weather! And it's good! Here's how it performs on me... *Opening (Big dose of iris and a smidgen of freshness) *After 10-15 mins. (Fresh mandarin, lightly sweet comes on) The orange mandarin in this is just gorgeous and fresh to me!!! *Final dry down. (Light iris with just a touch of leather) Longevity: 4 hours then nothing Projection: soft. Not even an arms length Occasions: Office, white t-shit, business casual to formal Seasons: Spring and Summer Final verdict. 8/10 Bottle worthy but selective occasions

As someone who considers iris their favorite note, I can say without hesitation that this is one of the finest fresh-iris compositions I’ve ever experienced. I’d describe it as a slightly fresher, warm-weather take on the original 2014 Uomo — which I believe was/is criminally underrated. The citrusy brightness and unique green tomato leaf accord give it a breezy, Mediterranean charm, while the iris grounds it in quiet sophistication. Performance isn’t a strong point — I get around 5 hours of wear, with about 2 hours of moderate projection before it fades into a close skin scent. But when something smells this good, I’m willing to overlook its fleeting nature. It’s not designed to shout — it’s meant to draw someone in. I sincerely wish Valentino would retire the Born in Roma line and return to the restraint and class of the original Uomo series. That line had a clear identity — understated luxury, modern masculinity, and thoughtful composition — qualities increasingly rare in today’s designer offerings. If you come across a bottle, don’t hesitate. This is understated beauty in a world that too often confuses loudness with quality.

I'll say this. IMO I feel this has one of the best citric openings I have ever smelled. I get a juicy and zesty mandarin orange with some green notes (which I am assuming is the tomato leaf). The sage starts to kick in shortly after the initial blast(but it's not strong). On me the mandarin starts to die down around the 1 hr mark for me. I wish it carried over longer. Boss Projection is about 1-2 hrs and then it moderate/bubble is smaller. I would say it becomes a skin scent 3-5 hrs after application. Heat or using lotion/Vaseline will get it to stretch close to the 5 hr mark. To me this feels closer to uomo intense rather than the original uomo and of course that's due to the iris. Man I think the iris is too much on the dry down. I would like if it would have dried down into maybe a sweet leathery green base instead of having iris in it..Maybe just having iris in the mid?. Maybe a musky or woody sweet green base?. try something different ya know. It's a really good fragrance. It just has a amazing opening and meh dry down + so-so performance.

Got this very cheaply at a store in my city. 75ml for less then 40 USD. That is a bargain here in Sweden. The price was even cheaper then the net shops. I thought it must be the aftershave version but it was the EDT so I grabbed it at once and it will fit me beautifully on my vacation month in the tropics. It smells like a softer version of the original. My feeling was that it was more "herby" in the start then the original (might have been the tomato note) but it was nothing wrong with that. It gave the scent a bit more maturity and since I am pushing 50 its nice to have a scent that smells like a man with a bit of life experience. I find this version much easier to wear than the original. I tried it on me when I got home and now 5 hours later it still smells great and give off whiffs of pleasure. I got headache from the original but have not felt any symptoms of headache from this which is great. Very happy with this purchase and look forward to see how it performs in the moist heat. Hopefully it will not attract mosquitoes. :-/

Let's get back to real perfume reviewing. Nature has its own way of weeding out bad reviews ;) I just tried this today at the counter. Pretty sure it's the aqua version since the sprayer has a silver neck and the bottle is grey instead of dark grey. This scent is fabulous! True that we are seeing (probably) too many men's releases that are powder puffs but even so, I cannot dismiss how good this one smells! Uomo Acqua is fresh, very iris-forward with a hint of leather. It does not have the sweetness from vanilla like the Dior series or even the original Uomo. Compared to Prada's Le Homme it wins by having that herbal nuance from the tomato leaves, sage and patchouli. If my boyfriend is more interested in iris perfumes this will be the first thing I get him. Not Dior. Not Prada. Not Ermenegildo Zegna. This. Heck I might even get myself a bottle. Great stuff!!