Valentino Uomo Born in Roma Intense Review: Is it Intense Enough?
Valentino Uomo Born in Roma Intense is the newest release from Valentino in a long line of already successful men’s fragrances such as Uomo, Uomo Intense, and Uomo Born In Roma. Being that this new fragrance is a flanker of a flanker it really needs to take the fragrance in a new and Improved direction that vastly builds or elevates the fragrance. This was achieved when Valentino released the Intense version of Uomo, which was mostly loved by the fragrance community.
Valentino promises that The new intensity to Born in Roma Intense comes from the ‘amplified vanilla infusion’, which we can also see in the note breakdown as bourbon vanilla as a top note, lavender in the heart and vetiver at the base. Which compared to the 7 notes in the original Born in Roma, The Intense is much simpler. The same two brilliant perfumers (Antoine Masondieu and Guillaume Flavigny) worked on both fragrances.
After smelling Uomo Born in Roma Intense, you are hit with a sweet blast of vanilla followed by a soapy lavender, which stays quite linear throughout the entire wearing. The vetiver note is only there to bolster the cleanliness and add a slight smokiness. To me, this smells like a luxury bar of soap made from fine lavender and vanilla. That’s not a bad thing as Born in Roma Intense is supposed to represent a night out in Rome where it’s usually quite hot, so keeping the fragrance simple and replacing the mineral notes in the original Born in Roma with a slight sweetness from the vanilla in the Intense definitely elevates the fragrance to a new intensity that I enjoy and is also still very versatile for cold weather or high heat.
The design of the bottle is very similar to all the other Valentino Uomo fragrances with the iconic Valentino rock-stud. This edgy pyramidal design, inspired by Roman architecture, is a house signature of Maison Valentino. Part of Valentino’s fashion iconography and a symbol of Roma where it embellishes the city’s doors and walls, the rock-stud is a transformative symbol which I enjoy but sadly the only difference of the new Intense flanker is the colour of the lower section of the bottle which is slightly darker pink than the original Born in Roma. Actually, having the Bottles side by side they are almost indistinguishable.
After owning and wearing Born In Roma Intense I have come to realise that It is mass appealing and gets a lot of positive reactions, It has consistently lasted around 6 hours on my skin and even longer on clothes, which lives up to the idea of it being an Intense flanker, as the original Born in Roma only lasts 3 hours on me. Although I enjoy the smell and longevity of Born in Roma Intense, I much prefer the smell of last year’s release Born in Roma Coral Fantasy, which could have also been called Intense as I get the same longevity.
Coral Fantasy smells more unique, which has a scent reminiscent of candied red apple and sweet tobacco, which I much prefer more than the vanilla and lavender soapiness of the Intense. It the vastly superior flanker and I would go as far to say that it would be redundant to own both.
Valentino Uomo Born in Roma Intense is just okay. I can Imagine it being well received by the public because it has a scent DNA that is difficult to not like. The target audience for this will be people that want to upgrade from Paco Rabanne Invictus or Ralph Lauren Ralph’s Club as they’re in the same ball park.
