valentino

Uomo Born in Roma Coral Fantasy by Valentino

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Valentino has released its latest fragrance from its Born in Roma line for men. 2022’s scent is called Coral Fantasy, with its juice resembling the color with its pinkish hue. This is the third cologne in the Roma series. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

What does Uomo Coral Fantasy Smell Like?

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

Click here to try: Coral Fantasy from Saks

My Full Review

Here’s how Valentino describes it: Inspired by the light of Rome at sunset, Uomo Born in Roma Coral Fantasy is an amber, fruity men’s fragrance composed of a colorful apple accord. Blended with smoky tobacco, this eau de toilette is infused with a heart of sage and germanium essence to reveal a powerful yet fresh cologne.

Tried it yourself? Leave your own review and score in the comments below.

I never ended up trying out Born in Roma Yellow Dream, as the original Born in Roma, is one of the few fragrances that I had a bad reaction to. Stuff makes me dizzy as hell. But, when I read the notes to Coral Fantasy, I wanted to give it a go.

I actually thought about blind buying a full bottle of this to test out, but instead found 3 sample vials for sale on eBay. It turned out to be a good call, as I don’t think I’d actually want a full bottle of Coral Fantasy.

The fragrance does open up with a pretty interesting aroma. The crisp red apple note is the star, with it sweet and juicy scent getting paired early on with cardamom and some spices.

It actually reminds me of a cider, that I’ve had before. But, with a bit of a sweeter kick.

That red apple note is great with the cardamom and bergamot, lending some warmth a slight lemon-like fruitiness of its own with the spice.  The first spray does give Coral Fantasy a warmer amber feel to it, but that’s not how it finishes.

Sage is the third player in the early stages behind the cardamom and apple. I get a nice burst of it at the very start, which will hold through the first transition.

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

I actually do get some comparison to Spicebomb Night Vision EDT. Not the same, the Valentino is better, but there is overlap between them.

At this point, it is a colder, drier, freshness.  A geranium, sage, lavender trio will then morph into a geranium and tobacco scent with hints of patchouli and vetiver coming up from the base.

Tobacco is the note that hangs around. It ends up cold, slightly sweet, with a earthy sort of freshness. Patchouli and geranium also stick it out a bit, at the very end.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, you can call this a moderate. It doesn’t overpower. That first hour or so, will create a nice scent bubble around you, but it will weaken. Much of the wear, it is a skin scent on me.

Perhaps, you’ll have better luck?

It does stick on the skin for a decent amount of time, even in that weakened state. I could still pick up the tobacco note about 7 hours in. Not great, but serviceable for an eau de toilette.

Seasonally, I’d wear this anytime outside of the summer months. It works in colder temperatures, but best in this early spring weather or even in the autumn. So, one should get plenty of use out of it.

It could be worn in a wide variety of situations. Maybe not the most formal cologne or a club banger, but beyond that, it should be fine.

Really any age could wear this one. The opening does have a more youthful vibe, but it never strays too far that way, quickly snapped back by the tobacco note.

roma coral fantasy review

Overall Impressions of Uomo Coral Fantasy

Overall, do I like this scent? Coral Fantasy is pretty good, but not great. I don’t think it is a terrible cologne, but it doesn’t for the most part, grab my attention. I like aspects of it, just the overall presentation never hits a super high level.

The opening is where you’re going to get the sweetness and the most unique aspect of this fragrance. When that’s going on and when you get the pairing of the apple remnants with the tobacco note, this Valentino is enjoyable.

After that, it’s fine and I don’t dislike it. The geranium, tobacco, and overall freshness is nice. Though, it is also kind of weak with its sillage. A decent few hours of performance, before becoming fairly mediocre.

I wanted to like Coral Fantasy more than I actually do. The notes sounded intriguing enough to me that I almost purchased a full bottle. Personally, I probably wouldn’t have gotten much use out of that.

That being said, I do think that it’s worth a try. Maybe not at full retail price, but with a significant discount, it could be a nice pick up for certain guys. This is one you should test out and see if it actually speaks to you.

Donna Born in Roma by Valentino

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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

born in roma review

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.