Alessandrite I

Having never smelled Chanel 5, and while I have many Santa Maria Novella products, I don’t recognize this scent as a familiar one. I do love this scent in fact, Alesandrite is my favorite of the three perfumes in this line that I have. While the scent smells more feminine and powdery on me, the bottle is heavy and thick. It’s made for man hands.

Came across the brand unexpectedly while browsing in a department store, had no prior knowledge of any of the scents. This one was a distinct aldehyde bomb in the opening which inevitably recalls Chanel No. 5 or No. 22, rapidly progressing to the frizzy musk overdose that SMN's Melograno or Amouage Gold are inundated with. The soap and musks are heavy and enveloping. So amused to come on here and find that Exenidi had similar thoughts already, more than two years ago. Spot on with the review!

On me this is a scrubber. It smells masculine & musky as well as aldehydic. I do smell a little bit of the jasmine & bergamot. I don’t think it smells like No 5 or Melograno or Caleche. Those are all much better IMO. And much less expensive! I like some of the other Valmont fragrances (and absolutely love & use one of their face creams) but this is the first one I’ve tried from this Veneziane line and it’s pretty disappointing.

Selling at least 3/4 full bottle in USA. Purchased via Valmont site. Did not enjoy this fragrance as aldehydes are not working for me at all.

احب واعشق هذه الدار لكن للاسف هذه العطر خالف توقعاتي بكل اختصار اشم ريحة سڤن اب ، لا انصح ابدا بالشراء العمياني

Okay. Strap in, everyone. I feel like I’m losing my mind here. I’ve been re-applying this throughout the day. The longevity isn’t great on skin, but better on clothing. Maybe two to three hours maximum before it quiets to a skin scent, which is tragic considering that a full-price bottle of ‘Alessandrite I’ is equal to a 2.4 oz bottle of Maison Francis Kurkdjian‘s Baccarat Rouge. I have no idea what everyone—including Valmont themselves—is on about concerning the “Aldehydes”. I’m a proud owner of three variants of Chanel’s No. 5, two variants of Guerlain’s Liu—and, for more modern Aldehydic interpretations—Gucci’s Flora Gorgeous Orchid, and Tom Ford’s Metallique, which feature Aldehydic Vanilla accords. Valmont’s Alessandrite I, has nothing to do with any Aldehyde I’ve ever smelled. I notice a regular occurrence in a lot of modern Aldehydic offerings, that notes such as Violet Leaf, Melon, or the general inclusion of simple Citruses are used to attempt an inference of Ozonic and Aldehydic elements. ‘Alessandrite I’ is no different. This is almost purely Jasmine and Bergamot. Plain and simple. There is a “citrus zest” element in the opening that endeavors to offer itself up as an Aldehyde, which keeps things from becoming “too sweet” for your average luxury consumer. But it is not an Aldehyde as most fragrance collectors think of it. Three affordable fragrances immediately came to mind upon smelling this: Beauty by Calvin Klein, White Luminous Gold by Michael Kors, and (to a lesser extent) Aquatic Allure by Victoria’s Secret—if each of these were made “bitter” by the addition of Bergamot zest. In all honesty, this is a pleasant Jasmine fragrance—though NOT Jasmine Sambac—with a touch of Bergamot, and the zest of said citrus used to imbue an Aldehydic element. I imagine that layering Beauty or White Luminous Gold over, say, Chanel No. 5 L'Eau or Chanel No. 22 would probably get you close enough to Valmont’s Alessandrite I, without spending half a grand for a product with less longevity and low sillage.

I have just tried it in Harrods. The scent is a child of Santa Maria Novella Melograno and Chanel5. It’s classy and soft, quite addictiveand all that bla-bla that comes with description of the classics above. Compared to Chanel5 though, it is a tad warmer and possibly more powdery , and at the same time softer than Melograno, as well as it is more femme leaning. Very well rounded creation that I am tempted to buy, as a lover of soapy classic fragrances. On the other hand I have both of the classics above and can’t justify Alessandrite at the moment (it’s not cheap at all). The sillage is quite impressive too and it remained in the blotter after 4 days still smelling pleasantly soapy. However, if you buy this and wear - I am almost 100% sure you will get compliments people thinking you wearing Chanel 5 or Melograno. So you basically buy this bottle for your own vanity knowing that even if you smell like Chanel/SMN it actually isn’t. You trick them all😁

Starts of with a peculiar granny like smell. After half an hour or so turns into a completely different, fresh, soapy sent. It is a pleasant fragrance though not sure if it is worth the steep price.