Ranking Uomo Born in Roma Colognes

Uomo Born in Roma is the men’s side of the very popular Valentino Born in Roma fragrance line. There are now more than a handful of colognes that have been released by the brand, but which is the best smelling of them? Which is the right option for you?

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Uomo Born in Roma Fragrances Ranked

Note: This is the list as of now. I have yet to try the newest release, nor have I gotten a hold of the now discontinued ‘The Gold’ Born in Roma cologne. I will update, as soon as I come across those scents.

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The Best Roma

Born in Roma Intense– To me, this is the best of the bunch thus far. I wasn’t expecting much from it, following my testing of the EDT version, but Intense surprised to the upside.

Now, do I think it’s a great fragrance? No. I don’t think any of these Valentino colognes are amazing, Born in Roma Intense is just a clear cut number one among the rest.

Intense opens with fresh sweetness. The original was sweeter with more Invictus vibes, but they share similarities.

The major difference is the lavender note running throughout, which keeps it from becoming too candy-sweet, though it still flirts with that territory. I  really appreciate the lack of mineral oil/saltiness accord that gave me headaches in the original.

After 20 minutes, Intense becomes a balanced lavender and vanilla combination that feels almost unisex.

The dry down is lavender and vetiver on my skin. Vanilla and amber provide support, but it’s much less sweet and more of a floral/fougere aromatic. Clean and easy to wear. Intense review

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Warm and Cozy

Yellow Dream– I’m not sure that I have much of a preference between Yellow Dream and Coral Fantasy or Green Stravaganza. It might be recency bias, but I would probably lean more toward wanting to wear Yellow Dream.

Is it a great Born in Roma scent? It’s sort of like a better and warmer version of Stronger with You Freeze. Lots of overlap in terms of smell and style between Uomo Yellow Dream and that series from Armani, particularly with Freeze.

At no point am I offended by it, while at the same time I’m never quite wowed by this cologne either. It’s just nice, warm, and wearable.

There are points of the development where the gingerbread, pineapple, spice, and vanilla are working together in concert quite well. This is a cozy wear that should be popular with those who like a sweet and spicy gourmand for the autumn and winter months.

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The Rock

Rockstud Noir– I’m pretty sure that this edition is already discontinued. It’s a better version of the original EDT, mixed with elements of the Ralph’s Club scents and Y Le Parfum.

But, I think I’d rather wear the YSL scent than this one. Polo? It’s a toss up. I like the opening here more, I think.

If you’re a fan of the original EDT, you’ll probably really enjoy this one. I’m not, but I do like this more as a cologne.

You do get a powerful start from the bergamot here. It is actually stronger and juicier than what Green Stravaganza provides. It’s backed up by sage and ambergris.

It has a clean and somewhat blue-ish sort of freshness to it. This is probably the most versatile daily wear of the bunch. That opening with the full bergamot and sage is when this is at its peak. After that? Fine. Not too interesting

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Green Fresh

Green Stravaganza– Imperfect. Simple. Green Stravaganza really had an opportunity to be a great cologne, but instead is slightly better to me versus the rest of the list. Really not much separating it and Yellow Dream, for example.

What’s good here? The bergamot. It’s like YSL Myslf (at the start) without the major floral note. Instead, you get the citrus freshness with a light touch from a coffee accord.

It’s fresh, somewhat earthy and greenish at times thanks to the inclusion of the vetiver note. The dry down has a soapy/amber finish to it.

The simplicity here is at the same time a mark against it and also a selling point. It’s steady throughout, in terms of my enjoyment of it. But also, I don’t feel like it reaches the same highs as Yellow or Coral Dream.

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A Fantasy

Coral Fantasy– This is the Born in Roma that I was really wanting to try out, when it was released, and the fragrance does open up with a pretty interesting aroma.

The crisp red apple note is the star, with its sweet and juicy scent getting paired early on with cardamom and some spices.

That red apple note is great with the cardamom and bergamot, lending some warmth and slight lemon-like fruitiness of its own with the spice. The sage is another major note.

The transition into the next phase, does come on early. The initial fruitiness will begin to fade. Geranium freshness will permeate, the lavender and tobacco notes will begin to show up, and the red apple will be a role player.

At this point, it is a colder, drier, freshness. Overall, I don’t think it’s that much better than the EDT. A nice enough fragrance, but ultimately was a disappointment to me. Coral Fantasy review

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Original Roma

Born in Roma EDT– The original is okay to me. The first few times I tried it out, I got a headache from it. After that, it was fine, just not all that great nor is it very original for much of the wear.

Born in Roma smells a lot like the original Invictus and Invictus Aqua in the opening act. Roma has that same artificial candy-like sweetness.

The difference is that it is toned down in the Valentino and there aren’t any citrus notes, as in Invictus. Instead, this one gives me a very prominent mineral accord (like mineral oil’s smell) and violet leaf (which is also in Invictus Aqua).

With that, some light ginger, salt, and some sage also come through. It’s not an aquatic and the mineral accord is the equivalent of the Invictus ambergris.

The back half is where Born in Roma begins to have its own personality. Less of that candy-like sweetness and more of a soapy/fresh clean scent. The main notes that I get throughout are: violet leaf, mineral accord, vetiver, and wood. Born in Roma review

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