Valaya is a Parfums de Marly release that they came out with in 2023. I bought a sample of this perfume, as a part of a larger order, since I hadn’t ever tried this one out. Really, I had no expectations as to what it was or how it smelled, just a curiosity as to what PdM had come up with.
How does Valaya smell? Does it last long? Is it actually worth a try?
Valaya by PdM Overview
Notes include: aldehydes, orange blossom, peach, bergamot, mandarin, musk, vanilla, lily of the valley, vetiver, nympheal, mahonia, akigalwood, musk, ambroxan
Here’s what Parfums de Marly has to say about Valaya: a sensual and elegant fragrance opening with bergamot, mandarin, and sweet white peach, leading to a blend of white flowers settling on musk, vanilla, and woody base notes.
Valaya starts off with its fruity notes being prominent, but not completely dominating the early mix. Bergamot has a few minutes of run at the top, with some light mandarin, before the sweeter peach takes over.
The perfume has a rather sharp freshness due to that fruit accord and the aldehydes. For me, the aldehydes are slightly more heavily weighted in the opening versus the musk, but that will reverse.
Even in the opening, the musk isn’t weak. It feels very shampoo-like on my skin, at this early stage.
Valaya does settle down into something with a less ‘screechy’ aroma, after 5-10 minutes. Mainly, I think it’s the citrus quieting down that allows this one to become more pleasant.
Once I’m at this point, the floral notes become noticeable. I mostly get the orange blossom note, and the lily of the valley, doesn’t feel distinct here. It’s sort of orange blossom with a generic floral smell.
Maybe that’s what Nympheal is supposed to be? I’m not sure what that ingredient is. Perhaps that’s the somewhat odd synthetic scent that I pick up or just a mix with the ambroxan.
The middle act is a sweetish floral with a dose of musk and vanilla. On me, the aldehydes begin to really dissipate. There is some powder here, but it wasn’t too strong on me. Also, Valaya takes on a woodier profile in the base.
That’s really the final transition. Musk with some vanilla and woods, is the thrust of it. A general sweetness and floral impression remains sitting underneath.
Sillage, longevity, and versatility
Valaya opens up with some strong intensity. The result is a fairly far reaching fragrance that doesn’t need to many sprays to get attention.
It will settle down. I still find it to be strong, maybe on the upper end of moderate? Nonetheless, this isn’t a perfume that ever felt weak or insubstantial in any way.
The longevity is actually quite good. I got more than 9 hours of wear with this one, on my skin. Spraying it on clothes, Valaya is a fragrance that will just keep going and going.
Seasonally, this is for sure a spring and summer fragrance. Between the fruits, flowers, and aldehydes…the decision is pretty much made up for you.
Definitely a daytime wear, also. Something like a daily wear or something that you can just wear around casually when the sun is out. I don’t find Valaya to be sexy at all. Just clean and fresh for the most part. So, no romantic wear or nightlife with this one.
Overall Impressions of Valaya
Overall, do I like Valaya? Not really. If it were an inexpensive scent, it’d be okay. At this price? It’s a complete pass for me.
It started getting on my nerves during the wear, not completely headache inducing, but I wasn’t really enjoying having this perfume on either.
The opening is too sharp. The middle is somewhat better, but synthetic. The dry down is probably when I liked this scent the most.
Is it terrible? No, just nothing that really demands most people run out and buy it.
The performance is really quite good. So, if you’re one who really loves this for whatever reason, you do get some value in that respect.
This isn’t among Parfums de Marly’s best fragrances for women. It seems like one that I will forget about in a few months.
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.
Angels’ Share and Oajan are two fragrances which fulfill a distinct role in the winter months. That of the sweet and spicy perfume laden with cinnamon and highly attractive. However, since both are expensive to acquire and have so much overlap, they can often be the final two options that people need to decide between.
Well, on this page, I break down each of these unisex fragrances and compare them across categories. Which smells better? Lasts longer? Is the better buy?
Oajan kicks off with the cinnamon note being joined by benzoin and the tonka bean. Add to that, the continuing emergence of the osmanthus note, which adds the fruity-like sweetness to the mix.
It’s a bold and spice heavy opening act. Fresh and dark, with a thick warmth from the honey beginning to come through after 5 minutes or so.
Angels’ Share starts of with its signature cognac, oak, and its tonka bean note. The cognac has an apple-like sweetness to it, which is great.
The sweetness is enhanced by the inclusion of vanilla and praline. Which all plays well off of the spicy punch of the cinnamon note.
Which is better? It’s actually a very close decision for me, as I really enjoy how both of these perfumes start off.
But, I might slightly lean towards Angels’ Share. It’s boozy sweetness is better balanced with its toned down cinnamon note. Oajan can be rather intense that way. Not a massive win for the Kilian, but it takes this category.
Edge: Angels’ Share
Projection
So, with older batches of Oajan, this would’ve been a fairly straightforward win for it.
Now, it’s closer to being a toss up. The opening act is stronger and heavier with the PdM scent versus Angels’. That projection still packs a punch. However, it doesn’t sustain it for as long as it used to before settling into something more in the upper moderate range.
Angels’ Share doesn’t start off as strong, but it’s also got itself a good reach. It too settles into an upper moderate level.
That being said, Oajan still has an edge with this one. Not as much as it used to, but it fends off the Kilian.
Edge: Oajan
Longevity
With Angels’ Share, I get 9-13 hours of wear on my skin. It’s a really good performer like most of these colder weather scents.
Older batches of Oajan used to last 11-12 hours for me. With my current bottle, it only seems to get to about 9 hours. Or, the lowest of what I get with the Kilian perfume. Those last few hours aren’t exactly strong, either.
So, Angels’ Share takes it, nowadays.
Edge: Angels’ Share
Versatility
Both of these are cold weather fragrances. Neither is for formal wear.
While each is technically unisex, Oajan leans more masculine, than actually being something that most women would reach for.
I wear each of these for casual to semi-formal situations. Lots of the time, it’s for nights out or when I just want something substantial and cozy to have on.
There’s not much distinction here, other than Angels’ Share being more of a unisex fragrance. So, I guess that I’ll give it the slight edge.
Edge: Angels’ Share
Overall Scent
Overall, which of these fragrances do I prefer?
Obviously, since I own bottles of each of them, I think that they’re both great scents. As such, it’s more like I’d choose one 6 times out of 10 versus the other.
I’d lean that fragrance being Angels’ Share. It’s not always my favorite between them, as sometimes I dislike the praline note and how it presents. But, that cognac is great with the oak and other sweetness.
I will say, for most men, Oajan might be the one to go with. It doesn’t have the same level of sustained sweetness as Angels’ Share, though, it definitely is sweet and has periods where that sticky honey note really pops.
Angels’ Share in its current form, just does most everything a bit better than Oajan in its newer releases. That might change again, at some point. For now, I’d opt for the boozy Kilian perfume.
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.
Kalan is a Parfums de Marly release, that I never got around to when it came out back in 2019. I’ve had the sample for a long while now, just sitting in a box, so I figure it’s high time that I gave it a full review. How does this one smell? Does Kalan last long? Is it worth a try?
Here’s how PdM describes it: Intense and subtle at once- Kalan surprises with a sparkling opening, blending black pepper and spices with fresh notes of blood orange. The fragrances is embodied through a heart of orange blossom and lavender, while it evolves as facets of white sandalwood unfold and drape into notes of moss and precious wood.
The opening is a blast of the blood orange note and the spices. The black pepper is going to be the most noticeable under the juicy and sparkling citrus. But, there are some other spices lurking about.
Two other notes that I pick up early are: orange blossom and moss. The mossy aspect of this really comes through in the opening act, on my skin.
The next phase will be a mix of the moss, lavender, and the remaining blood orange influence. For me, most of the spice has dissipated by this point in the wear. It feels like a woodsy floral blend with some sweetness and amber peaking in.
As we move forward in the wear, earthy woods that is softened by lavender, with hints of amber is basically what I get. Lots of sandalwood, moss, and just sort of damp and generic smelling wood notes.
Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility
With Kalan, I do get a pretty bold start. A strong projection and solid scent trail in your wake for an hour or so.
After that, it stays above average with its performance. I can detect it a good 4-6 feet from where I sprayed Kalan on a t-shirt, after a few hours. It of course will diminish into something more intimate, but it takes a while to get there.
On my skin, this will go up to about 9 hours. It may last a little longer or a tad less than that, but eight or nine is what Kalan seems to be capable of. Not too bad with its longevity.
Seasonally, this could be worn basically anytime outside of the height of summer. It’s fine when it’s temperate to warm out, but the hotter days wouldn’t be ideal for Kalan.
It’s spice, citrus, and woodiness to provide a good blend that can work in autumn and winter, while also being fine when things get somewhat warmer.
With that, Kalan can work in daytime and nighttime, but I don’t find it to be a particularly sexy fragrance. Again, it has the boldness to serve as a nightlife option, but there are better fragrances for that.
It’s not so heavy that it can’t work as an office scent. Though, I’d still go light with it, in that situation.
Overall Impressions of Kalan
Overall, do I like Kalan? Honestly, it’s not for me. It’s a pretty unique scent, isn’t going to have mass appeal, and this PdM isn’t one that I enjoyed wearing. It wasn’t terrible, but I never got into it.
Even as something with a unique style, there’s nothing about Kalan that I liked all that much. The lavender, amber, moss, and woods in the dry down is probably the best part to my nose and even that isn’t too exciting.
The opening feels messy and off-putting. Peppery moss with blood orange, isn’t all that appealing.
The performance does well enough for something at this price point. It’s not amazing, but if you do happen to enjoy the smell, it doesn’t just completely disappear in an hour or whatever.
This is a fragrance that I suggest testing before you buy, to see if you’re one of the people who will actually love wearing this. Most of you can skip it and not miss anything, though. At the high Parfums de Marly price, it’s not really one to blind buy for the majority of people.
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.
Today’s review is going to be of Safanad by Parfums de Marly. Now, I still have three or so fragrances from this house to do a write up on, from the samples I received a few months back. I’ve tried them all out, just need to organize my thoughts and post them on here.
Anyway, Safanad is our target for the moment. This PdM perfume was released in 2013. As usual, I will cover: what’s inside, how does it smell, develop, perform, and whether or not it is worth a purchase.
Before we start let’s see how Parfums de Marly describes this perfume: Safanad “the Pure” Arabian breed, is personified through this Orange blossom note, leading to white flower bouquet, settling in a very sensual oriental base of sandalwood and vanilla.
My Full Review
So, the opening blast from Safanad is led by the orange blossom note and is flanked by ylang ylang and that familiar aroma of iris. It’s quite floral and does produce that bouquet effect that Parfums de Marly described it as.
The composition is dominated by the orange blossom, however, and the vanilla note emerges with is own sweetness to go along with the other floral notes. I do get a bit more of the iris than the ylang-ylang, but neither is particularly massive within the mix.
I’ve seen some other reviewers say that they get a lot of the ylang-ylang, but on my skin, it’s much less potent for whatever reason.
As it moves along, I do indeed pick up on a pear note in Safanad, it’s really not my favorite ingredient by any means but it is nice here. It’s there at the start, but gets overshadowed in my opinion, until things settle. A good little sparkle, but that’s about it.
About half an hour or so into the wear, it becomes a creamier sort of scent, with the iris and vanilla notes wrapped up in a warm and embracing amber.
It’s very well done and held together by the sandalwood base note. I’m not exactly sure what it is in this fragrance, but there is a very slight boozy element to Safanad, if I’m really paying attention. Can’t quite put put my finger on what is creating that vibe.
At the end, I get plenty of amber, vanilla, sandalwood, and orange blossom. Those are the notes that make it through and form the last dry down period.
Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility
Projection wise, Safanad has a moderate to strong sillage. I don’t find it overpowering, but wouldn’t want to go nuts with the sprays either. It’s exactly what it should be, not too powerful, but not wholly weak.
The longevity was decent on my skin, maybe 7 hours, but not more than that. Somewhat of a let down for something at this price point.
Not that you always need a perfume to go much longer than this. Though, it’s nice to know that it can when needed. I was expecting more, after it started off so strong.
Seasonally, this is a fragrance mostly for cooler weather. It’s like a comforting blanket, rather, than some airy fruity scent you’d find in the summer. It works for the autumn and winter. You could probably get away with it in springtime, also. I just wouldn’t like it in the high heat.
I don’t find this Parfums de Marly perfume to be particularly sexy, but it is attractive, and pleasant to smell. I’d say it’s a good daily wear, casual, or even formal.
It is definitely a more feminine fragrance and has a well put together vibe. Lovely, creamy, just not mouth watering.
Overall Impressions of Safanad
Overall, do I like Safanad? I do. It’s a nice floral scent for the wintertime and doesn’t go full on ‘green’ garden or bouquet the entire time. You get some lovely floral notes, amber warmth, creaminess/powdery, and a solid sandalwood peaking through.
This is a sweeter type of floral, without going full on sugary or becoming a cloying or immature mess.
The sweetness of the pear and the great orange blossom note are really a highlight. As is, the amber. I don’t have too many complaints with the way that this fragrance smells.
Again, maybe you’ll get more of the ylang-ylang than I do, but I also usually favor an iris note over that yellow flower. Just a preference and I also really enjoy orange blossom, in most fragrances.
The longevity isn’t amazing, but the performance here is pretty darn good overall. It’s a really pretty fragrance and one that has a unique-ish aroma, that will help one stand out from the crowd, while not being too in your face about it.
Safanad is among the better releases from Parfums de Marly. It gets overshadowed by Delina and some of the others, but is very good itself. If it sounds interesting to you, it’s well worth a try.
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.
Delina is a very popular fragrance from Parfums de Marly. It’s blend of rose, lychee, rhubarb, and more are a sweet and powdery take on the classic rose perfume. “Why is Delina so expensive?”, does become a common question, however. PdM are a higher quality niche brand and their prices are just that high.
As such, it can be worthwhile to find something that smells like Delina and/or Delina Exclusif without breaking the bank. Or, maybe you want something similar that’s not exactly the same. On this page, I am going to keep an ongoing list of scents that can provide alternatives that can almost duplicate the experience.
Litchi, rose, vetiver, and vanilla are notes that are shared by both of these perfumes. But, Very Good Girl isn’t an exact match, just closely related.
It opens up with a fruitier aroma that has an added tartness added by red currant. On the whole, Very Good Girl is fruitier and the rose is less prominent than in the Parfums de Marly scent.
The litchi and rose will take over the composition and the vanilla will serve a minor role. It’s somewhat powdery, less so than our target, and has a lighter freshness to it. I got about 7 hours of wear from this fragrance when I tested it out.
It’s a cheaper alternative, that still provides a designer level experience. Very Good Girl Review
Arabian Rose
Rose 01 by Swiss Arabian– Rose 01 is a very nice and less expensive alternative to the original Delina. The opening with the lychee, citrus, and pink pepper can be sharp (even more than Delina), but it will settle down to more sweetness, rose, and a tad creamy.
Up top, though, it is a sharp tartness…but very rich, also. I think it is interesting, almost like a different take on Angel Nova. The musk actually comes in with the rose, peony, and vanilla notes to calm the intensity.
The main difference between Rose 01 and our target is the lack of rhubarb. Not a big deal and might even be preferable to some. The muskiness is elevated here, the performance is good, and the price is right in comparison.
Dua Exclusif Inspiration
Miss Congeniality by The Dua Brand– Dua has a whole host of their ‘inspired’ fragrances, based on popular perfume formulas. Miss Congeniality is the one that does a great impression of Delina Exclusif.
I also like, Adeline by Fragrenza (listed below), and both of these scents strike very close to what you get with the Parfums de Marly.
The opening with the pear, lychee, and citrus hits the mark very well. I think that the Fragrenza version might be a tad more powerful, but the Dua is no slouch either. Plus, the pear itself is fantastic in this blend.
Another Inspired by Option
Duchess by ALT Fragrances– If you’re looking for a cheaper option with an aroma near that of Delina, Duchess from ALT fragrances is going to possibly be one of your best bets. ALT has its series of perfumes that are ‘inspired by’ the best sellers, with Duchess being the ringer for Delina.
Lychee, rhubarb, and rose providing that same sort of blend as the expensive PdM. Fresh, sweet, and a lovely rose. As close as you’re going to get, outside of picking up the real thing.
Exclusif Aroma
Adeline by Fragrenza– This is a sample that I picked up recently, which smells more like Delina Exclusif, rather than the original. But, it is actually really close to being identical in terms of smell, and matches its performance too.
Seriously, Adeline is powerful stuff. I sprayed some on a shirt laying in my bedroom and could smell it in the next room, for the opening act. So, not too many sprays needed with this one.
The lychee, the rose, and that rhubarb up top are all here. Adeline does a great job at being similar to the development and layers of Exclusif and does so at a fraction of the price.
Rose Inspired
Madame Rose by Oakcha– Oakcha is another brand that is doing some inspired takes on popular niche and designer fragrances. Madame Rose is their version of the Delina formula.
Now, I haven’t tried this one out as of yet. I will update if I do in the future. But, I’ll add it to the list for those who want to try Madame Rose out.
I’ve heard good things about this brand and this Delina inspired scent has a ton of positive reviews about it. So, it’s probably a good option for currently $30-45 per bottle, depending on the size you choose.
Lady Rose
Lady Diana by Alexandria Fragrances– Another inspired creation that I haven’t tried, but I’m more familiar with this brand, and they’ve produced lots of great stuff in the past.
Their version is called Lady Diana, and while still being cheaper than the PdM perfume, this is a higher price when compared to the other scents seeking to mimic our target scent.
Rhubarb, peony, nutmeg, vanilla, rose, litchi…all of the ingredients are there to strike up a close comparison and I highly doubt that it’s very far off.
Forte Rosa is apart of the Aqua Allegoria collection by Guerlain. Aside from having an extremely long name, it has a very similar, yet distinct aroma from that of La Rosee.
The PdM fragrane has that fresh watery note, along with a sparkling pear, which only adds to that quality. The Guerlain comes out with a peach note and some cassis.
La Rossee and Forte Rosa are lighter and less overwhelming rose options for the summer. Again, not entirely the same, but they do hit a very similar chord overall.
Delina La Rosee with More Florals
Chloe Eau de Parfum– Delina La Rosee does end up smelling quite a bit like this best selling Chloe fragrance.
It’s no surprise when you share lychee, rose, and peony as main notes. Chloe and Delina La Rosee both have an aquatic sort of finish to them, but with the Chloe, it comes from the use of freesia and lily. Less of a pure water and more of a dewy floral sensation.
A very clean rose and peony blend is the dominant force here, it also doesn’t have that same massive fruitiness that some of the Delina scents do. Easy to wear, classic, with a powdery aroma playing off of the dewy lightness.
Not Exactly, but in the Same Vein
Rose Extase by Nina Ricci-Pink rose, red berries, and vanilla. This Nina Ricci perfume is pretty affordable and hits a lot of the same chords as our target does. But, they don’t smell exactly the same. 60-70%? Perhaps.
The opening is a mix of being super sweet and actually fairly tart. The raspberry and red berry blend, do come on strong. But, it settles, you get more rose, vanilla, and musk. At times, it feels creamier. Then, you get bouts of powder.
Clean and pretty easy to wear once it settles. Not nearly as high as quality as the Parfums de Marly. It just gives you another option to consider, a decent price, and solid overall performance.
Focused Rose and Vanilla Exclusif
Atomic Rose by Initio– If you want something closer to Delina Exclusif, but without all of the sharper fruity notes, Atomic Rose can be a good choice.
This one does have light citrus note (same bergamot), but that litchi and pear aren’t present, which allow for a more focused concentration on the rose and creamy vanilla. With a pretty strong pink pepper, early on at least.
Though, Atomic doesn’t give you a price break and can actually sell for more than the PdM perfume that it resembles. The performance, however, is outstanding.
You still get some great sweetness here, along with a developed jasmine note, and the wonderful amber without the underlying oud or other woody-like notes.
Raspberry Lychee Rose
Angel Nova EDP by Mugler– Now, I’ve only tried Nova EDP, as of now. However, the EDT version is supposed to have a greater use of the rose note and be a closer comp to Delina. So, you might want to check that one out.
Either way, Nova EDP has a similar style and construction, without being the same. This one takes the fruitiness early on to another level. The lychee is the same, but Nova adds a very sweet and juicy raspberry note.
Actually, to my nose there also smells as if there might be a mango in the mix. Nova has vaguely tropical smells, early on.
The fruitiness will settle and reveal the Damask rose note. There’s some spice, earthiness, and a resinous quality during the dry down. Patchouli and benzoin.
Very strong sillage early on, that will settle into something moderate. But, I got about 9 hours of wear from Nova EDP. It isn’t an inspired by rendition of Delina, but it’s got enough overlap to bear a resemblance. Nova EDP Review
Another Option
Delilah by Maison Alhambra– Delilah is another inspired by Delina fragrance, that seems to have a good reputation of coming pretty darn close to the original for cheap. If even comes in a similar looking bottle.
Now, I haven’t actually tried this one out, but I figured that I should include it for those who want a less expensive alternative perfume. It seems to sell for around $45, with positive reviews about its resemblance to our target.
I’m not familiar with the Alhambra brand, so I can’t actually speak to its quality. Nevertheless, there it is for those who want to try.
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.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
