Valaya Parfums de Marly 2023

Available since 2023 in a beautiful white glass bottle. The nose behind it is Quentin Bisch.
Often compared to the scent of fresh cotton, experienced cotton noses may disagree. You may feel this if you have otherwise had little contact with the cotton-like category. Fresh yes, but at the same time present and with oomph. Cocoon like, elegant and sensual. A white fragrance. The intention behind this creation was to develop an intimate fragrance, my translation for intimate is close to the skin, Valaya is not that. Valaya is also meant to represent fresh air and mindfulness. Its delicate and pure formula is meant to evoke a woman's skin in all its beauty.
White, transparent fabric and soft light express a femininity that is timeless. The enduring sensuality...could also be a bridal fragrance. Most perfect in spring and summer, the musk lends elegance, the fragrance radiates. There are very few fragrances that smell of white peach without smelling too girly, too fruit juice-like or too cheap. The bottle fits the fragrance perfectly and the fragrance in turn fits women who stand for their own femininity, I can hardly imagine a rocker bride smelling like Valaya. More like Cate Blanchett 10 years ago. The fragrance starts out fruity, fresh and extremely elegant, becoming less fruity in the dry down, but even more elegant. There is a certain similarity to Bergamundi, the notes are also similar, Valaya is more feminine and creamy, the freshness is common to both.
Valaya is freshness and lightness, a good mood fragrance.
Be sure to test it on the skin, the fragrance is completely different on the paper strip and hardly develops at all. The longevity is typical of de Marly and excellent! Otherwise you only know this kind of longevity from the oud clubs, and you can smell oud at 100 meters on the train, mainly on southern men. For me, oud is exhausting, loud and not socially compatible, but I digress.
For a de Marly, Valaya is almost an understatement, a very successful one. A fruity freshness, round, coherent. The fragrance is often accused of having a synthetic note - I can smell it on the paper, but not on the skin. A pleasant fragrance without drifting into fruity cocktail triviality. Feminine, elegant and carefree, initially slightly floral, with woody accords in the finish. White oversized blouse, no shirt borrowed from a friend, just a soft blouse, iced matcha in hand and a relaxed stroll through the city. Some compare the fragrance to expensive fabric softener. The fragrance provides no surprises, a safe bet.
Yes, I would buy the fragrance again, but not for this price.