valentino

Uomo Born in Roma Yellow Dream by Valentino

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Uomo Born in Roma Yellow Dream was one of the fragrances in this series from Valentino, that I had yet to try out. To remedy this, I ordered a travel sprayer sized decant of the cologne in order to finally test it out and give it a proper review.

How does it smell? Does Roma Yellow Dream last long? Is it actually worth a try?

Born in Roma Yellow Dream Review

Notes include: pineapple, mandarin orange, gingerbread, ginger, vanilla, cedar

Click here to try: Yellow Dream

My Take

My closest comparison to Yellow Dream is Stronger with You Freeze. It doesn’t have that same cold vibe and is also a better scent. But, these two have a similar aroma at times between them. Yellow Dream is much more wearable and well done.

Yellow Dream kicks off with a bright, juicy burst from its fruit notes. Pineapple comes through a bit more prominently than the mandarin orange, though both get tempered by the warmer, spicier elements.

Right away, there’s some weight in the base. The gingerbread accord is strong here, so naturally there’s going to be a good amount of ginger and cinnamon spice going on.

Still, the vanilla makes its presence known pretty early.

The fruitier notes will begin to weaken in the mix and this one turns warmer and more focused on the gingerbread and vanilla notes. You still do have that fruity sweetness, but the juiciness definitely isn’t at the same level.

From that point on, Born in Roma Yellow Dream is pretty straightforward. It’s got that gingerbread and vanilla combination, with an underlying freshness to it thanks to the cinnamon and ginger.

But, additionally in the dry down, you will get some cedar to fully round things out and give this one a woody base to operate off of.

Yellow Dream rounds off the harsher edges of the pineapple and spices that it can have in the early stages and what’s left with this Valentino is simple and enjoyable.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Yellow Dream is fairly moderate with its performance. The fragrance projects well enough, has some thickness and a rather dense scent trail in that opening hour, but isn’t going to be completely beast mode beyond that.

I do think that it’s solid, though.

Yellow Dream lasts for at least 7 hours for me and on the high end, might end up sticking around for 8.5 hours on my skin.

Seasonally, Yellow Dream is best in the autumn through early parts of spring. It can be cloying, especially when things start to heat up. Yes, the pineapple and ginger do lighten things up a bit, but this still isn’t a summertime cologne.

Yellow Dream does trend more towards younger guys. This isn’t something you’d wear to most offices or whatever, but any age group could wear this in less formal situations.

For younger men, this could be a daily wear to class or something that you wear for evenings out. At least when it’s cooler outside. Yellow Dream does have that cozy and sweet mass appeal, so it should be able to draw complements.

Overall Impressions of Uomo Born in Roma Yellow Dream

Overall, do I like this Born in Roma fragrance? I do like it. However, similar to the rest of this Valentino series, Yellow Dream is not a complete love for me. Though, I do consider it to be one of the best of the Uomo side of things.

The gingerbread, pineapple, spice, and vanilla work very well together at times. The dry down, I’m less enthusiastic about, but it’s not too bad. I’ve seen that some people like the opening act less, but I find it to be enjoyable even with that initial strong burst of its fresh notes.

The performance is good enough. Nothing insanely good, but it does what it needs to for most situations.

I went through using the travel sprayer already, so, it’s something that I did like well enough to wear around often. I don’t personally want a full bottle of the stuff, but if you do, you should probably grab it before Valentino does away with it and the online prices get too high.

I don’t think it’s worth paying a high price for, but Yellow Dream is worth checking out.

11 Best Valentino Perfumes for Her

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Valentino is a name in the fashion world which is synonymous with elegance, class, grace, and looks that are completely classic. Of course, the perfume line from Valentino tries to embody the image which the name tends to invoke in women from around the world, and in most cases, succeeds completely.

For this post, I have selected eleven scents which I feel are the best from the designer. Some of these may be discontinued, but still available online at various stores. But, I’ve updated it recently with newer picks, as well.

Also, check out: Sexiest Women’s Perfumes, Top Kenzo Scents, Our Homepage

Favorite Smelling Valentino Perfumes

Best Winter Scent

Valentina Myrrh Assoluto– Myrrh is an underused note in the perfume world and even when it is included; it can be poorly done. Myrrh Assoluto is a definite exception, as this is a fantastic fragrance.

It’s warm, with sweet vanilla, and hints of rich leather peaking in throughout the wear. It is bold and enveloping, like a wrapped blanket around your body. This type of fragrance is going to be a cold weather scent, so, avoid if you’re in a tropical location.

Sort of a unique offering from Valentino, though, it has an amazing darkness to it and is overall very beautiful.

Soft Daily Wear

Valentino Rock ‘n Rose by Valentino For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 1.6-Ounces – As the name suggests, the heart of this fragrance is its rose note. It combines with other florals and sweeter smells to create a memorable, light, and highly feminine perfume that is unique in its own right.

It opens up with a mix of sweetness and a somewhat sharp aroma, provided by black currant. As it dries down, it can take on a bit of creaminess and feels powdery at time. Sandalwood and gardenia are flanking the namesake rose.

Best Born in Roma

Donna Born in Roma– So, the best of the Donna Born in Roma series is the original (at least thus far). Yellow Dream is second, in my mind.

Initially, this one has a good deal of tartness between the black currant and bergamot notes, but this will gradually become sweeter, without feeling sugary. The citrus seems like it is stronger than the currant on first spray. Pink pepper also gives it some warm spice, before it transitions.

Really, vanilla and smooth cashmeran wood will eventually emerge to lead Born in Roma. But, jasmine dominates the middle and gives this a nice floral heart pairing with the vanilla. Sweet, easy to wear, and softer than it may initially seem.

The woody and vanilla dry down is fairly simple, but highly enjoyable for a popular designer fragrance.

Dreaming Roma

Born in Roma Yellow Dream– Updating this page, I’m not sure if this one is still my second favorite in the Donna Born in Roma series or not. However, it is still near the top.

It starts with a lemon note up top, which surprisingly isn’t too sharp or intense in that opening act. Underneath that, is a soft rose, which shares the beginning of the wear with that lemon and the two work very well together.

As we move forward, it’s a musky rose fragrance with a light hint of that initial lemon. It’s somewhat sweet and it feels like there might be another unlisted floral note in here also, that is supporting the rose.

This one is very simple and a nice clean daily wear. It might be too pricey for what you get, but I think it’s nice overall.

Golden Roma

Born in Roma The Gold– I could’ve also went with Born in Roma Intense, but I think this one is a bit different enough from the others, that it deserves spot on the list.

This one is a gardenia based fragrance with that ‘solar’ sort of smell they put in perfumes and a creaminess added by a coconut. To me, the coconut note isn’t too heavy, but more blended into the rather simple bright white floral mix.

So, that top is going to be slightly juicy and tropical with a mandarin orange and that coconut, but that will start to fade and this will be more dominated by the gardenia.

This also gets compared to Alien Goddess by Mugler. However, I think that Born in Roma Intense is closer to the mark there.

Very pretty, somewhat has that fluffy aroma at times (ala Cloud), but this one is an easy to reach for perfume if you enjoy gardenia.

Unisex Leather Option

Valentino Donna Noir Absolu– Donna Noir Absolu has overlaps with the men’s version of this, but is unisex at the same time. A blast of peppery spice in the opening, settles down into a smooth leathery joy.

On top of that leather is a sweet/tart fruitiness and just a hint of booze, at least early on. The further along you get, the drier that the perfume becomes, with an incense smokiness permeating the fragrance. Not super heavy, not too sweet, just a well-blended and great smelling perfume.

Valentino Jasmine Blend

Valentino Valentina Eau de Parfum Spray, 2.7 Ounce– Citrus notes blended with vanilla, sweet floral ingredients, and woodsy notes like cedar. It has a refined air of elegance to it along with something that is strikingly natural.

Jasmine is the main floral note here, at times it is supported by strawberry, and later a fairly large bit of truffle. The fruity notes, don’t really seem all that strong, and it has more earthiness than a super fruity vibe.

In the end, jasmine and tuberose, with cedar and truffle, and a bit of strawberry remaining. Very inviting and surprisingly wonderful fragrance for daily wear.

Light Scent for Spring/Summer

New by Valentino Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 1.70 Ounce – This is another very classy and sensual scent by Valentino. Like the others it contains some delightful floral notes including, mimosa, orange blossom, violet leaves, vanilla orchid, and pear blossom.

A very versatile perfume that can be a star performer for the right lady. Pomelo and orange flower give it a citrus fruit character, especially up top. It provides a bit of juiciness to the composition, sitting underneath a bouquet of flowers.

The floral notes that stick out are the mimosa, orange blossom, and heliotrope. There is a powdery finish and Valentino EDP also delivers a solid performance with an upbeat personality.

Frangipani and Pear

Donna Acqua by Valentino– This flanker fragrance to the original Donna, has enjoyed some popularity over the past few years, becoming one of the best selling Valentino perfumes (though, I think Born in Roma gets more attention). It also, happens to be one of the most attractive.

It is led by frangipani, with a sweet nuttiness sitting underneath from the almond note. However, I think that the main support is the pear note, whose crisp juiciness provides much of the ‘Acqua’ feeling that is present.

Light, fairly sheer, with a dose of creaminess from sandalwood and frangipani. There is a jasmine note, also, that comes through more after a few hours.

Discontinued but Great

Valentino V Absolu By Valentino For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 1.6 Ounces – Great perfume, if you can still score a bottle of it. It is an interplay between sweet and spicy, the sweet eventually wins out and a beautiful and warm dry down makes this an absolute winner.

V Absolu has plenty of creaminess from the frangipani, sandalwood, and delicious vanilla. There is a woodiness and some fig, especially upon the initial spray. Again, it’s been discontinued, but it’s good enough to keep a spot on the list.

Simple, Easy to Wear, Very Nice

Valentino Voce Viva 3.4 oz / 100 ml EDP Women Spray– This one seems to have gotten some critical reviews since its release, maybe because it’s not super original? However, I think it’s actually a pleasant and attractive fragrance.

It opens up with orange blossom, a general citrus aroma, and vanilla. It’s bright, sweet, and creamy. You’ll also get some ginger, and later, a gardenia note. It will be a citrus floral fragrance for the opening act.

Then, it will shift to be a floral, vanilla, and mossy scent. Vanilla and gardenia, with a clean and dry aroma coming up from the base. All in all, a perfume with a lovely profile. Not super unique, but it does distinguish itself and gives you a great performance.

Voce Viva is extremely versatile and one that can be worn pretty much anywhere in the spring and summer months. My full review

Uomo Born in Roma Green Stravaganza by Valentino

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Valentino’s Born in Roma series continues to roll along on both the men’s and women’s side of their fragrances. Uomo Born in Roma Green Stravaganza was released by the designer in 2024, but I recently bought some more perfume samples and received this one as a part of the lot.

So, after testing this Green scent out, how does it smell? Does it last long? Is it actually worth a try? Below is my complete and updated review of this cologne.

Born in Roma Green Stravaganza Review

Notes include: bergamot, coffee, vetiver

Click here to try: Green Stravaganza

My Take

Here’s how Valentino describes it: A fougere ambery fragrance, uplifting your extravagance with the bright Calabria bergamot heart, a fresh aromatic complex, and an addictive coffee accord.

So, Born in Roma Green Stravaganza is a fairly simple fragrance. It’s paired down so that it can be the line’s go to option for the spring and summer months.

The opening is mostly about the bergamot note. It actually sort of reminds me a bit of YSL’s Myslf up top. Same use of citrus. However, here it doesn’t take on the same level of juiciness and intensity.

The bergamot is smoothed out by the inclusion of coffee. The coffee accord isn’t heavy or dominant, but it’s used to beef up the scent a bit while maintaining its freshness. It darkens the feeling of the wear compared to the usual bright and citrus-laden summer colognes.

As we move along, the bergamot will lose a good deal of its power, and Born in Roma Green Stravaganza will be much more of a balanced bled.

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. I think there is a light ‘amber’ note that isn’t listed and the greenish finish is pretty vetiver heavy on my skin.

Not much obvious coffee aroma left and I can still detect the citrus that prevents a complete domination by the vetiver.

That’s about it with this cologne.

Projection, Longevity, and Versatility

The opening here actually does have some weight to it and reach, as far as the projection goes. It will leave a fairly substantial scent trail in one’s wake for the first 30-60 minutes, with a decent amount of sprays.

But, that will tone down into something that could be considered a lighter moderate scent for most of the wear. It’s noticeable for a majority of the wear, but isn’t going to be in your face about it, before it turns completely into a skin scent.

For me, I get somewhere in the 6-6.5 hour range of use out of Green Stravaganza. It’s about what I was expecting, something simple and for the warmer weather, and not a dense long-lasting powerhouse.

Seasonally, again, this one is spring and summer for most places. If you live in a warmer climate, I guess that will be more year round for your area. It’s fine in more moderate temperatures.

I don’t think that it would smell bad in colder weather, but maybe feel out of place with it’s livelier ‘greenish’ aroma.

This Born in Roma isn’t a serious fragrance or a nightlife scent. It’s not completely juvenile or informal. I’ve been wearing it around as a casual daytime fragrance when I’m running errands around town or just lounging around the house. Something along those lines.

Overall Impressions of Uomo Born in Roma Green Stravaganza

Overall, do I like this cologne? I do, even if I ultimately think that it falls short of being something that is truly great. In the end, I think it’s a pretty good scent that wouldn’t be a bad pickup at the right price.

The opening act with the bergamot at its peak, blended with the coffee accord giving the fragrance some more depth is really quite attractive. It works well on a warmer day and is my favorite part of the wear.

After that, it’s fine. The general woodsy aroma with some soapy touches in the dry down is fine. I’m not enthralled with the back half of Green Stravaganza and it really doesn’t hold much interest for me.

The performance is middle of the road, but still better than a lot of fragrances that are spring and summer wears.

I have finished out my samples of this scent for this review. I won’t personally be grabbing a bottle of this Valentino, but I do think that it’s a solid enough effort from this line.

Uomo Born in Roma Yellow Dream vs Coral Fantasy

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Uomo Born in Roma has become an extremely popular line of fragrances for Valentino and is producing new flanker scents each year. Two of these flankers to the original are: Yellow Dream and Coral Fantasy.

But, which of these two actually smell better? Which lasts longer? Which is ultimately the better buy? Here is my full breakdown and comparison of each, after having tested each of them out.

Tale of the Tape: Uomo Born in Roma Coral Fantasy vs. Yellow Dream

Coral Fantasy

Notes include: red apple, tobacco, patchouli, sage, geranium

Click here to try: Uomo Coral Fantasy

Read my review: Coral

roma coral fantasy review

Yellow Dream

Notes include: gingerbread, lime, pineapple, cinnamon, vanilla, lavender, cedar, geranium

Click here to try: Born in Roma Yellow Dream

Opening

Coral Fantasy opens with a sweet and succulent red apple note, supported by cardamom and other spices in more subtle roles.

Sage and some citrusy bergamot round out the opening profile. That bergamot enhances the red apple beautifully. Very bright and fairly sharp.

In the later stages, freshness emerges through geranium, clean-smelling lavender, and tobacco.

Meanwhile, Yellow Dream opens up with some light freshness and juiciness from its fruity notes. The pineapple is slightly stronger than then mandarin orange, but both are somewhat subdued by the warmer and spicier notes.

There’s already a heaviness in the base. I get lots of the gingerbread accord, obviously we’re going to have plenty of ginger and cinnamon spice in this mix.

Though, that vanilla note is already fairly present from the jump.

Which is better?

I like both in the opening act, but Coral Fantasy has a more unique and ultimately somewhat better dynamic at the start of the wear than does Yellow Dream.

Edge: Coral

Projection

Coral Fantasy is a more moderate fragrance overall. It doesn’t achieve the same reach as Intense or even the EDT, though it does start reasonably strong.

It’s also not as heavy of a scent as Intense or others in the line, like Rockstud Noir.

Yellow Dream is also pretty moderate with how it projects. It is the heavier and thicker of the two fragrances and I also think that it has a bit better projection than Coral Fantasy.

Not a massive difference, but I’d give the edge to Born in Roma Yellow Dream.

Edge: Yellow Dream

Longevity

Coral Fantasy tends to persist in that 6-7 hour territory. Perhaps slightly longer, but I still consider it a step down compared to Roma EDT.

With Yellow Dream, I get more than 7 hours and maybe it hits 8 or 8.5 hours in total sometimes. It’s not an absolute beast with its performance, but it does have a slight advantage again here over Coral Fantasy.

Neither is great, Yellow Dream is just better.

Edge: Yellow Dream

Versatility

Seasonally, both of these work best from autumn through spring. Neither is built for hotter weather, but can do just fine when things are temperate.

Coral Fantasy has more of an extension into warmer weather than does the heavier Yellow Dream.

They’re both quite versatile in their use cases. Coral Fantasy and Yellow Dream can be worn by any age group, though these aren’t very formal fragrances. Both will have more use cases among the younger age cohort.

One is cozy and spicy sweet, while the other is more of a sweet, tobacco, and woodsy aroma.

Not much separation here.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

So, overall which of these two Valentino fragrances is the better one between them? Which do I actually prefer wearing?

With Born in Roma Coral Fantasy, I was excited to try it out upon its release. Ultimately, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped for.

The apple note is good and is the highlight of the fragrance, but I was expecting more. It was above average with decent performance.

Though, it’s saving grace in this competition could’ve been that Yellow Dream isn’t particularly outstanding either.

Yet, having worn both of these fragrances quite a lot, I still think that I prefer Yellow Dream more so than Coral.

I like the opening act of Coral Fantasy, but then it becomes pretty unremarkable. Yellow Dream is pretty good throughout at least, with moments where it is much better. To me, it’s just a steadier level of enjoyment.

There’s not a huge gap in my opinion of all the releases from the Born in Roma line. These two are almost neck and neck, but I have actually wanted to wear Yellow Dream here recently, and that was not the case when I had a bunch of samples of Coral Fantasy.

I basically forgot about it after I did my testing and review of that cologne.

Winner: Yellow Dream

Ranking Uomo Born in Roma Colognes

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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?

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

roma coral fantasy review

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