Valentino Valentina Eau de Parfum review

          Valentino is among the most storied brands in fashion, so I thought it would be fitting to open my review of Valentino Valentina with an anecdote! In a previous era, most ads in fashion magazines were sponsored by fabric companies whose logos were prominently displayed, while designers were credited in small print at the bottom. Valentino was the first brand to break with this tradition, creating lavish magazine spreads emphasizing the role of the fashion artist/designer. This style of advertisement was the brainchild of Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino Garavani's partner in business and life. The first ever Valentino magazine spread featured models wearing pastel colors, posing in a desert setting (shot in studio with semolina for sand!)

          Valentino Valentina Eau de Parfum is packaged in a beautiful bottle festooned with three pale rosettes dancing upon a golden background, like pastel dresses fluttering amidst a desert landscape. (The rosettes seem to be made of powdered metal, in case you were wondering.) I had the chance to experience Valentina recently, thanks to Valentino Parfums, and I have to say the scent within draws equally beautiful imagery!

Notes: Bergamot, White Truffle, Orange Blossoms, Sweet Jasmine, Tuberose, Wild Strawberries, Cedar, Vanilla, Amber.

            Valentino Valentina (2011) is a smooth white floral with strawberry and vanilla. The perfume opens with a crisp bergamot; while the burst is ephemeral it lightly trails on a bit to add a slight edge to an otherwise smooth scent. A delicious strawberry and jasmine combination enters, followed by an odd scent I recognize to be truffle. (Truffle has a woody / earthy scent like a mushroom just dug up from the ground). Vanilla enters to strengthen the scent, making it even more delectable. The high sweet florals of orange flower add freshness to the mix; they create more dimension in the jasmine and add some juiciness to the strawberry. Overall the blend of food and flowers is smooth, and all the scent trails intertwine together quite naturally! At the base, there's a hint of wood, but any lingering wood tones are caught up with the truffle. The rest is filled with a clean musky amber.

          The beauty of Valentino Valentina lies in a special ingredient: truffle. Shavings from this pungent subterranean mushroom have the uncanny ability to accentuate whatever foods they flavor. Truffle does a similar thing in Valentina; it turns the youthful strawberry vanilla more savory and adds a fullness, sans heaviness, to the white florals. All the while, you might not even realize it's there, as it has an uncanny ability to blend in. Though the pleasing strawberry and white floral path has been well trod recently (think Marc Jacobs Daisy, Miss Dior Cherie, or Jimmy Choo Flash), Valentina has a unique elegance thanks to its touch of truffle!

          Valentino Valentina ($82 for 1.7oz) is a ladylike and balanced blend of white florals, strawberry, and vanilla, with an unexpected dash of white truffle. The scent doesn't make its statement with overt opulence or eccentricity. After all, when it comes to Valentino, it's the well-placed embellishments like the flounces of a dress,  semolina sand, or an earthy mushroom that add a memorable twist! The smooth blend of Valentino Valentina is a very welcome addition to my perfume wardrobe --- and I highly recommend a sniff if you're a white floral fan like me!

        Thanks for reading! Have you tried Valentino Valentina? What surprising ingredients have you come across in perfume?

Love, Dovey.

P.S. I've also been delighting in a bottle of Valentina Assoluto, the next scent in the Valentina series. I can't wait to share my 'notes' on Valentina Assoluto with you!
Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.