I have been unreasonably fond of Valentino ever since I watched his documentary, “Valentino: The Last Emperor”, and learned that the man is all about the pugs. He frequently incorporates his eight pugs into photo shoots and designs adorable tiny outfits for them. Who could resist this endearingly grouchy little man and his pug posse?
That’s why I find it so frustrating to see Valentino fail over and over in his perfume line. Each and every one of his fragrances have been unacceptably dull and generic, and the new Valentina is no exception.
Valentina is the same sweet fruit punch fragrance that we’ve had the dubious pleasure of smelling in such recent perfume releases as Justin Beiber Someday, Coach Poppy, Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola!, and Fendi Fan di Fendi. I cannot even explain to you how utterly boring this perfume is. It is honestly on par with applying the liquid from a fruit cup to your wrists. We’ve smelled better versions of this perfume a hundred times.
I would say that Valentino needs to fire whoever is behind their fragrance line, but strangely enough, Valentino fragrances are produced by fragrance firm Puig, which is also responsible for the perfectly competent perfumes of Prada and Comme des Garcons. This suggests to me that it is Valentino itself that is responsible for the poor quality of its fragrances. I hate to say it, but I suspect that Valentino really could not care less about its fragrance line. No thought or effort has been put into these perfumes, and it honestly shows. Valentino needs to put less money into the admittedly adorable bottle and more money into the actual perfume. Whatever they’ve been doing, it isn’t working.
SCENTS OF SELF 
I agree!
Thank you! 😀
I agree that the houses’ perfumes aren’t impressive. I haven’t smelled Valentina (though the bottle is cute), but the other semi-recent one I remember was Rock’n’Rose, which besides being a fugging stupid name for a fragrance, wasn’t very impressive either.
I do remember that they’ve changed their fragrance licensing a bunch in the last few years; Valentina is their first perfume with Puig.
http://www.nstperfume.com/perfume-houses-u-to-z/valentino/
I honestly don’t ever remember hearing anything good about their fragrances but I wonder if some of the really older ones are better.
Rock’n’Rose is so bad, in both concept and scent. I remember liking Valentino V Absolu maybe seven years ago, but who knows whether it was actually any good??
Since I didn’t expect much from it I’m not disappointed at all. Though I wish it was much better since I really like the bottle and wouldn’t mind owning it if the perfume was slightly more interesting.
The bottle is sooo lovely! I really wanted an excuse to own it, too!
I tested this and Vince Camuto, and was given samples, and …
I THREW THEM AWAY.
They were that bad.
WHOA. Well, thank you for the warning on Vince Camuto! This year’s new releases haven’t been very promising so far, especially when compared to some of the stronger mainstream scents of 2011 (Candy, Violet Blonde, Bottega Veneta…)
I tested this again the day before yesterday but it was the same as I remembered – like a musky version of ground up white chocolate chip cookies “with a hint of strawberry”. Like you, I love the bottle, but can take or leave the pugs. Had Valentino posed with rough-haired dachsunds I might have cut him more slack on the scent.
Also, from memory Valentino (the original scent with a fig note?) wasn’t too bad, but the “V” version was the usual sweet fruity musky monsense.
Nooooo! How could you leave those poor puggy-wugs, with their heartbreakingly crinkly faces??? Just what kind of monster ARE you, lady?! 😉
I don’t think I’ve ever encountered the original Valentino, but I agree on Valentino V. I think I remember the V Absolu being nice, but I wasn’t into perfume when I bought it, so who knows what it was actually like.
I’m with everybody else: the bottle is beyond adorable, the scent isn’t worth it.
I think the Lolita Lempicka line is pretty much the only brand with scents as great as their beautiful bottles!
I always love your writing, Ari. Have I said that too much already? Well, too bad, I’m sure I’ll say it again! My favorite line this time is: “Who could resist this endearingly grouchy little man and his pug posse?”
I can always count on you to make me laugh. Thank you!
Sujaan, please never stop with your generous compliments! It may sound silly, but I’m pretty good at convincing myself that I’m a terrible writer (or scientist, or girlfriend…), so you telling me that you like my writing really means more than you could ever know.
LOL Loved the pug comment but im afraid i love this perfume. I’m wondering if i got the same batch as everyone else? I have a beautifully floral, powdery feminine perfume that i really love………..does anyone else actually like this or do i either have a different batch of unknown origin or the worst nose in the UK?
Sarah, now this is a good question! Everyone who commented here, except for flittersniffer, is located in the US, so it’s entirely possible that y’all might have a different version over in the UK! Either way, I’m so happy that you’ve found a perfume you love! 😀