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A Unique DNA - Born in Rome
It was an entirely normal day in a completely ordinary German town when I first applied this fragrance and smelled it on my forearm.
"Why the forearm right away?" some connoisseurs might think in shock... there are test strips, after all.
Yes, that's true, they exist.
But: For me, test strips are just a way to make a preliminary selection, to get an initial impression of whether something goes in a completely different direction than I would like to wear on my skin.
In my opinion, true testing cannot be achieved with test strips.
I have always tested fragrances that are designed as crowd-pleasers only on my skin, because the detour via the test strip simply does not benefit me.
Well, I had Born in Roma on my forearm back then... and I found it... simply too sweet.
I wore it throughout the day, sniffing here and there, but I didn’t understand the Born in Roma DNA at that time.
I think I simply had too little experience with sweet fragrances that are not gourmands.
I did not know or understand the interpretation of such a sweet summer scent.
It is not a clubbing scent like Ultra Mâle or another vanilla-sugar treat for cold winter evenings.
This fragrance belongs to a category of its own, of which I would certainly not claim, especially after the releases of recent years, that there are few representatives.
However, I would definitely argue that Born in Roma has created a completely new DNA within this category, a unique composition that, when broken down into notes, does not reveal how the combination of individual ingredients can create this fragrance, and that Born in Roma is indeed more than the proverbial "sum of its parts," just as DNA itself is more than the mere sequence of nucleotides.
This DNA of Born in Roma seems, especially in light of the reviews here, not to be decipherable by everyone. I also do not fully understand the listed fragrance notes here and will try to describe what my impression was and is.
For that, I initially needed a second encounter with Born in Roma. This occurred entirely unremarkably in the form of a sample that was given to me at the perfumery when I purchased another fragrance.
This time I tested it at home. In the evening. I could appreciate the fragrance more.
Upon reapplying, the recognition value of the Born in Roma DNA set in. And I felt like so many others who have fallen for this fragrance and count themselves among its fans - I succumbed to this DNA. But what does this DNA smell like?
What also unfolded during the third testing on my skin, and why are the fragrance notes here on Parfumo, in my opinion, different from what I perceive?
Initially, there were top notes of ginger and blackcurrant that unfolded so gently on my skin. And indeed, these can already evoke the association with the vibrant energy of the Italian capital. If one continues to walk through this association in the warm, narrow streets, the heart notes of jasmine and lily of the valley blend with this unmistakable warm base note. It is as if one is olfactorily wandering through a blooming garden, surrounded by the sweet and sensual scents of the pulsating city.
This fragrance unfolds as a love letter to the beauty and elegance of Italy.
It exudes a timeless sophistication and an irresistible allure.
And yet it remains quite linear.
The sophistication lies in its DNA, not in its progression.
Overall, I can say little more than that this Eau de Toilette is a harmonious composition of sweet-fruity, floral, and warm notes that promises an olfactory journey.
It is a fragrance that can likely be worn both during the day and in the evening, although I clearly prefer the evening.
The warm evening.
The summer evening that does not call for delicate citrus but is pulsating and sweet.
Urban and loud.
And on which one feels like a fragrance DNA that leaves a sweet trace of luxury and style behind.
Born in Roma is a fragrance that enchants the senses and touches the soul when one perceives it as a homage to beauty.
And it has a distinctiveness that sets it apart.
I absolutely accept it if one does not classify it as a masterpiece.
But I simply cannot accept how poorly it is rated overall here.
To all those who criticize the synthetics, I want to shout, yes, that's true, but it is part of the DNA.
Rome itself, in olfactory representation, would not be broken down and distinguishable by salt, vetiver, and lily of the valley, but would be a wild sweet mix, a pulsating blend, an urban homage.
And here we are. This is it: the DNA of Born in Roma.
And what is synthetics anyway? Do you think Geza Schön picks oak moss in the forest for us for our beloved Ormonde Jaynes and Clive Christians? There hasn’t been any oak moss in fragrances since around 2004 or so.
Not everything that glitters is gold. And not everything that is out there is strictly natural. And yet we celebrate and love our niche. And that sometimes contains a good portion of synthetics. And that need not be particularly good or particularly bad.
But likewise, fragrances are not automatically bad because they are designer. And receiving a truly distinctive fragrance DNA from a designer can indeed be worth more than if the next niche house creates a fragrance that is very, very similar to one already sitting on the shelf, reminding us that our fragrance world can indeed be repetitive.
Fragrances like Born in Roma manage to break this repetitiveness by creating something new.
Something with its own DNA.
And that is why it is also correct that this fragrance was not published, released, or launched, but
"born".
Born in Roma.
"Why the forearm right away?" some connoisseurs might think in shock... there are test strips, after all.
Yes, that's true, they exist.
But: For me, test strips are just a way to make a preliminary selection, to get an initial impression of whether something goes in a completely different direction than I would like to wear on my skin.
In my opinion, true testing cannot be achieved with test strips.
I have always tested fragrances that are designed as crowd-pleasers only on my skin, because the detour via the test strip simply does not benefit me.
Well, I had Born in Roma on my forearm back then... and I found it... simply too sweet.
I wore it throughout the day, sniffing here and there, but I didn’t understand the Born in Roma DNA at that time.
I think I simply had too little experience with sweet fragrances that are not gourmands.
I did not know or understand the interpretation of such a sweet summer scent.
It is not a clubbing scent like Ultra Mâle or another vanilla-sugar treat for cold winter evenings.
This fragrance belongs to a category of its own, of which I would certainly not claim, especially after the releases of recent years, that there are few representatives.
However, I would definitely argue that Born in Roma has created a completely new DNA within this category, a unique composition that, when broken down into notes, does not reveal how the combination of individual ingredients can create this fragrance, and that Born in Roma is indeed more than the proverbial "sum of its parts," just as DNA itself is more than the mere sequence of nucleotides.
This DNA of Born in Roma seems, especially in light of the reviews here, not to be decipherable by everyone. I also do not fully understand the listed fragrance notes here and will try to describe what my impression was and is.
For that, I initially needed a second encounter with Born in Roma. This occurred entirely unremarkably in the form of a sample that was given to me at the perfumery when I purchased another fragrance.
This time I tested it at home. In the evening. I could appreciate the fragrance more.
Upon reapplying, the recognition value of the Born in Roma DNA set in. And I felt like so many others who have fallen for this fragrance and count themselves among its fans - I succumbed to this DNA. But what does this DNA smell like?
What also unfolded during the third testing on my skin, and why are the fragrance notes here on Parfumo, in my opinion, different from what I perceive?
Initially, there were top notes of ginger and blackcurrant that unfolded so gently on my skin. And indeed, these can already evoke the association with the vibrant energy of the Italian capital. If one continues to walk through this association in the warm, narrow streets, the heart notes of jasmine and lily of the valley blend with this unmistakable warm base note. It is as if one is olfactorily wandering through a blooming garden, surrounded by the sweet and sensual scents of the pulsating city.
This fragrance unfolds as a love letter to the beauty and elegance of Italy.
It exudes a timeless sophistication and an irresistible allure.
And yet it remains quite linear.
The sophistication lies in its DNA, not in its progression.
Overall, I can say little more than that this Eau de Toilette is a harmonious composition of sweet-fruity, floral, and warm notes that promises an olfactory journey.
It is a fragrance that can likely be worn both during the day and in the evening, although I clearly prefer the evening.
The warm evening.
The summer evening that does not call for delicate citrus but is pulsating and sweet.
Urban and loud.
And on which one feels like a fragrance DNA that leaves a sweet trace of luxury and style behind.
Born in Roma is a fragrance that enchants the senses and touches the soul when one perceives it as a homage to beauty.
And it has a distinctiveness that sets it apart.
I absolutely accept it if one does not classify it as a masterpiece.
But I simply cannot accept how poorly it is rated overall here.
To all those who criticize the synthetics, I want to shout, yes, that's true, but it is part of the DNA.
Rome itself, in olfactory representation, would not be broken down and distinguishable by salt, vetiver, and lily of the valley, but would be a wild sweet mix, a pulsating blend, an urban homage.
And here we are. This is it: the DNA of Born in Roma.
And what is synthetics anyway? Do you think Geza Schön picks oak moss in the forest for us for our beloved Ormonde Jaynes and Clive Christians? There hasn’t been any oak moss in fragrances since around 2004 or so.
Not everything that glitters is gold. And not everything that is out there is strictly natural. And yet we celebrate and love our niche. And that sometimes contains a good portion of synthetics. And that need not be particularly good or particularly bad.
But likewise, fragrances are not automatically bad because they are designer. And receiving a truly distinctive fragrance DNA from a designer can indeed be worth more than if the next niche house creates a fragrance that is very, very similar to one already sitting on the shelf, reminding us that our fragrance world can indeed be repetitive.
Fragrances like Born in Roma manage to break this repetitiveness by creating something new.
Something with its own DNA.
And that is why it is also correct that this fragrance was not published, released, or launched, but
"born".
Born in Roma.
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