Valentino
Valentino
142 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
That first spray hits like inhaling smoke from burning oolong—bitter, slightly resinous, with a mineral saltiness that makes your nose wrinkle pleasantly. The tea dominates entirely, warm and slightly austere, with barely a hint of what's to come beneath.
As the tea's initial punch settles, jasmine blooms through the dissipating smoke with an almost dusty, slightly soapy character. The sweetness becomes more apparent now, softening the tea-jasmine interaction into something less austere but still unconventional—like jasmine flowers pressed between pages of a leather-bound book.
The fragrance contracts into a thin, slightly powdery vanilla base with ghostly traces of the jasmine and tea lingering as memory rather than presence. The scent becomes increasingly transparent, fading rather than transforming into something substantive.
Donna Born In Roma Green Stravaganza announces itself with the unmistakable bitter-sweet rasp of Lapsang Souchong tea—that smoky, resinous Chinese black tea that tastes like a campfire made of pine needles and honeyed leather. It's an unconventional opening that immediately signals this isn't another linear floral. What makes this composition intriguing is how Juliette Karagueuzoglou allows the tea's phenolic bite to coexist with jasmine absolute rather than burying it. The jasmine doesn't arrive as the typical creamy, indolic bloom; instead, it emerges slightly dusty and aldehydic, caught between the tea's smoky grip and the fragrance's pronounced sweet accord (clocking in at a full 100%).
This is a fragrance for someone who gravitates towards unexpected pairings—who'd rather drink jasmine-scented tea than spray another conventional white floral. The green accord (64%) suggests citrus-tinged greenery, though it reads more as a whisper beneath the sweeter, more synthetic elements than a structural pillar. The unisex positioning feels accurate; there's nothing particularly feminine or masculine here, just a curious, slightly austere personality that refuses to soften entirely.
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3.9/5 (243)