Donna Born in Roma by Valentino

Valentino’s Born in Roma line is their latest successful release. As of now, they’re up to three of each for men and women. I got a sample of the women’s Donna Born in Roma, recently. So, I figured I’d try it out and give my full review of how this scent does. Does it smell good? Is it actually worth a wear?

What does Donna Born in Roma Smell like?

Notes include: jasmine, vanilla, black currant, cashmeran, pink pepper, bergamot, guaiac wood

Click here to try: Born in Roma on Amazon

My Full Review

Before we get into my review, let’s see how Valentino describes it: A couture floriental jasmine trio, twisted with an overdose of woods.

Born in Roma starts off with a nice sweet/tart/juicy fruit blend. I get more of the black currant than I do the citrus bergamot. The black currant note actually doesn’t get as sharp as it usually can, since it is tempered by the pink pepper and jasmine notes.

The black currant is actually great in this composition. It really adds a playful dynamic to the jasmine dominance that increases during the first half of the wear.

Even with this early fruitiness, you’re still going to start smelling where this is going with the floral, woods, and vanilla all already playing a role.

A few minutes in, I’m already getting a lot of jasmine out of Born in Roma. At this stage, it’s a pretty basic sweet white floral perfume with some very light spiciness.

There isn’t a ton of development with this Valentino. For me, the dry down is jasmine and vanilla sitting on a woody base. It’s well blended and the individual wood notes, don’t even stand out to me…just an impression.

One difference is, that the jasmine doesn’t completely dominate the second half. It’s still the main note, but that blend keeps it from going overboard.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, this is a lighter moderate scent. It’s got some nice power up top, but that’s pretty short-lived, and it’ll be a nice little scent bubble thereafter. Wasn’t a complete skin scent for me, but not a beast.

The longevity was actually good, even without the huge projection. It seems to go for somewhere in the 7-8 hour range. Not a marathon wear, but you should be able to squeeze a full workday out of it.

Seasonally, Donna Born in Roma can pretty much work year round. I would probably avoid the extreme cold and extreme heat, but outside of that, you’re basically good to go.

The age range probably skews more youthful, but it isn’t a purely teenagers’ fragrance. High school girls could wear it, but it’ll probably be mostly for women in their 20s and 30s.

The versatility is its greatest strength. Lots of people are going to like it and should gather compliments fairly easily. Daytime wear for most occasions, office or school safe, and could even venture into the night…if needed.

More of a pretty and playful sort of perfume than anything that screams ‘sexy’.

Overall Impressions of Donna Born in Roma

Do I like Born in Roma? Yes, this is a very nice perfume. If you want a versatile and all around crowd pleaser, this is a scent that you should look into.

If you don’t like jasmine, it might not be. But again, it’s not a pure dominant jasmine wear, either.

The opening act is nice, with those fruity notes up top. The sweetness will stick around for a long while, even as the perfume begins its shift. The vanilla adds a nice touch to the mix, but doesn’t bog down this Valentino.

It’s actually a pretty simple dry down, but it is still attractive and keeps my attention.

Performance is decent, but not amazing. Extremely easy to wear and safe, but doesn’t ever feel like a boring fragrance. For me, it’s a strong like. I don’t absolutely love it, but this would be great on a lot of women.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.