Valentino
Valentino
119 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Mandarin oil floods the foreground with immediate citrus radiance, but the bergamot adds a slightly honeyed undertone that signals sweetness is coming. Within moments, that vanilla base pushes upward, creating a syrupy brightness rather than a zesty one—this is no crisp cologne opening.
The jasmine and orange blossom bloom into a creamy, almost buttery floral mass around the two-hour mark, with the vanilla becoming increasingly prominent. The flowers lose their fresh character entirely, instead adopting a soft, almost custardy quality that sits somewhere between perfume and skin scent.
The crystallised moss emerges as the florals and citrus fade, leaving a powdery, faintly mineral vanilla base that feels distinctly synthetic but oddly appealing. What remains is soft and skin-close, with a subtle dustiness that prevents the finish from collapsing into pure gourmand territory.
Voce Viva Intensa arrives as a study in controlled sweetness—a fragrance that understands the difference between indulgence and excess. The Italian mandarin and Calabrian bergamot announce themselves with immediate brightness, but here's the crucial detail: they're not crisp or sharp. Instead, these citruses arrive already kissed by sugar, pre-emptively softened by what's clearly a generous vanilla framework beneath. The jasmine sambac absolute in the heart doesn't do the typical white floral thing; paired with orange blossom, it skews creamy rather than dewy, almost approaching the texture of honeyed skin.
What makes Voce Viva Intensa compelling rather than cloying is that crystallised moss base note—that synthetic, almost mineral quality that prevents the composition from becoming a simple gourmand. It adds a fractured, slightly powdery quality that cuts through the vanilla's warmth, creating an unexpected tension between sweetness and something vaguely aldehydic and cool.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.6/5 (183)