Valentino Uomo Born in Roma

*** A necessary introduction *** This is another fragrance unfairly beaten in the fragcomm mainly for ideological reasons, in this case against L'Oréal's new business decisions with the "Uomo" line. Paradoxically, Valentino Uomo "Born in Roma" It is one of the best-selling new releases, specially in the UK & Europe: A clear example of the serious disconnection that sometimes occurs in the fragcomm with the mainstream reality. *Another important question: I've read "Invictus" many times in VU "Born in Roma" reviews. I've never liked "Invictus" or any of its flankers (for me). ... But I like this one. So draw your own conclusions. *** Review for Connoisseurs and Perfume Freaks: *** First impressions are often wrong... But you already know that, right? So you don't need to read my review, because you have really tested the fragrance well... Or not..? *** Review for stylish and fashion people: *** This is a very pleasant, modern and trendy fragrance. Furthermore - which is not always the case - it's very well done and blended: VU "Born in Roma" is more polished, pleasant and less "synthetic" than many other similar proposals on the market. I usually chew gum, especially strawberry - for your breath it's better than a strong lemon or herb smell ... Right? - . This fragrance basically smells like bubble gum, violets, a light watery breeze with woods and a clean vetiver base. The violet leaf stands out with the mineral and salty accords, which give it a fresh and aquatic undertone with a non-cloying sweetness, very pleasant. Sage and ginger add aromatic nuances and accentuate the freshness, while woody notes and an increasingly prominent vetiver are revealed during the development and dry-down of the fragrance (my favorite part). - Longevity: 6 to >8h. - Projection: Average 2h, Moderate 2 to 3h, Soft the rest. - Mood & Ocassions: It's juvenile and very trendy. Not necessarily for youngsters, but I don't see it suitable for the typical serious blue collar guy; there are things that simply do not match well. ... But if the same guy wears a dark suit for a date with his partner in a cool restaurant, things change 180 degrees with this scent. - Conclusion: It is what it is: Fresh, sweet, charming, slightly provocative... That's all. Maybe with this fragrance you have to like strawberry gum, but not all chewing gums are the same... And this is the good one.

Yo I absolutely love this scent. I walked past it for so long despite adoring the bottle design. For some reason for the longest time in my fragrance journey, I despised sweeter scents, in particular the one million types and the 9pm types of bubble gummy cloying clubbing sweetness. I always kind of put this one in that box for some reason, big mistake, because when I revisited it, I finally realized the beauty of this one, Valentino is the best to do sweetness in the designer game, I have/had a few and they have been fantastic. This edt version has this mineral fresh sweetness that is totally addictive and uplifting, classic designer dna, smellls sort of like the fragrance/makeup area at Macy’s. Overall: this stuff lasts and projects, I don’t go nose blind easily, it’s a one of one type of sweetness the way it’s so damn fresh, the bottle is sick, the line of flankers is awesome, Valentino is really the only sweet scents I have, otherwise I like more watery fresh, airy, lightly woody scents, as you can see by my collection, so this sweetness fits in that group with the others miraculously. Hats off to Valentino because they are a great house and make the most addictive scents. Anyone who hates on this scent in particular I believe is too deep into the hobby of fragrance and lost the plot, this stuff just does it right, and I can see how this wouldn’t be preferred by some, like me for a while there, but to say it BAD or overrated or whatever is ignorance and I don’t trust that persons opinion. This one is 10/10 sleeper SPARKY OUT

Immediately on the opening this is clearly a more mass appealing fragrance but in an extremely appealing way. There is a strong floral woody note on the opening. With the dry down this fragrance improves remarkably, the floral note losses its overpowering nature and a slightly spice almost salty notes with hints of an almost mineral nature that is very pleasant starts to shine. The salty mineral like note here is almost oceanic in a nature. On the far end of the dry down (about 30-45 minutes in) there is a subtle note of violet that I enjoy greatly. I am a lover of violet in fragrances so this isn’t surprising at all. Regarding performance. The longevity shocked me in all honesty, I got 8 hours total on skin and around 6 on clothes. 7 out of the 8 hours on my skin was very strong, with the last hour being a closer to the skin scent. An 8/10 here. The projection on this was amazing as well, it definitely projected outside my arm range for the 7 hours of strong wear. I would give it a 8/10 here. Overall this was a shockingly good fragrance, I’m not sure exactly why but I just didn’t expect this type of performance and delightful scent profile from Born in Roma but I’m very pleased that it was there. I would give this an 8/10 overall!

This is one of those scents that's grown on me with repeated wear. When I first smelled it I liked it just fine but thought it was a bit generic in a mass appealing kind of way. But the more I've worn it, the more I like it. It's a really well blended scent mixing fruity, floral, and woody notes into an accord that is fresh, smooth, and so likeable. I get a bit of mineral element but not full on salty, and overall this one doesn't feel like a marine fragrance to me. There's a little sweetness, a tinge of spicy thanks to the ginger, and overall it's masculine leaning but not aggressive. It's also super versatile for any time of year, time of day, or occasion. In retrospect, I think my initial impression was tempered by the fact that this one doesn't have any particular note that stands out making it memorable. Now I've come to consider it skillfully blended and with much more character than I first realized. For what it's worth, it's also my 20 year old son's favorite scent from among my 60+ scent collection. Good stuff indeed!

This doesn’t deserve half of the hate it gets - depending on how you look at it. If you look at the “Born in Roma” line as a new line, separate it from the original, you have a line a of serviceable scents that work in most situations. Not original. Serviceable. These are all mass pleasing scents that pull inspiration from the other top selling scents in the market. There is nothing wrong with that and nothing wrong with the fragrances. This one is exactly what the “reminds me of” says it is - Valentino’s take on Invictus. It’s sweet, a little bit of fresh spice, clean, and new-masculine. If you enjoy this type of scent, you will enjoy this. An easy reach for any occasion, decent scent trail and longevity, and a compliment getter if there ever was one. If you don’t like those things - that’s ok. Stick to your oud - stick to your earthy Vetivers and dirty leathers - no one is trying to take them away from you, but don’t act like this is something it’s not, a bad scent.