Valentino Donna Born in Roma Purple Melancholia Valentino 2026

a very very strong start. fruity too. to the point where you almost have to sneeze depending on how close you get it to your nose. i haven’t smelled anything like this in a while. this is perfect for a warm spring or fall day. it’s giving kaiserschmarrn (delicious desert with a plum compote). very long lasting as well. you can still smell in on your clothes a day later. to me this would be a „special occasion“ perfume and nothing that i’d wear on a daily basis.

I prefer skin scents that i spray on my wrist and can enjoy sniffing while i work.
Born in Roma Melancholia was initially a bit sour on my skin when i stuck my nose to it, so initially it was a no. But on the 2nd testing, one spritz was enough to give me a fluffy, warm, fruity cloud of gentle sweetness all around. I quite enjoy it, even though it's not a skin scent. The plum is sweet, like the ripe fruit itself, and warm; different from the sour umeboshi-like plum scents i'm used to, like serge lutens, feminite du bois. For a bottle named Melancholia, it evokes the opposite feeling: it's more uplifting and gently happy-making.

This scent yanked me by my hair straight back to 1997, sick with a sore throat, crying in a dimly kitchen because I didn't want to swallow a spoonful of hateful purple cough syrup.

If the scene painted above is unfamiliar to you, it is possible that you could enjoy this fragrance!

This is NOT a safe blind buy, even if you have loved (as I have) every other DBIR fragrance. Test at your own risk at your local Sephora.

I risked my spiritual health to test this on my skin and allow it to dry down. Reader, this scent is irredeemable.

(Originally posted on fragrantica under nicoco but reposting here because I'm switching platforms.)

Purple Melancholia starts out with a juicy, fruity tea scent that makes it a lovely option for warmer environments. The plum doesn’t last long though, less than an hour before the Donna Born in Roma dna takes centre stage for the next 5 hours. The drydown is sweet and powdery on skin, but creamy and floral on fabric. It lacks the intensity of the original DBiR, making it a good choice for modest sprayers.

If you already have a favourite Donna this one may be superfluous, but I may add a 10ml bottle to my collection for warm weather use.

Edit 2026/04/12 : Since being given time to mature, it’s developed a sweet/sour scent that reminds me of buttercream. It’s not bad, but it very easily turns sickly in heat, so I must amend my current recommendation for use in warm environments. It’s much more of a spring/autumn fragrance once it’s aged.

The fragrance opens with a very green, fresh, fruity accord. I don’t really perceive plum here, but rather yellow fruits such as apricot or mirabelle, likely suggested by the osmanthus, which creates that impression.

As it dries down, vanilla begins to emerge, adding a touch of depth and making the composition slightly more interesting.

Overall, it is not unpleasant, but it remains fairly ordinary; I had been hoping for something much more daring.

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