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| Valentina! |
A couple weeks ago, I journeyed to the fabulous city of Rome, which I studied nearly ad nauseum (ha! Latin joke) in my high school Latin class for the launch of Valentino‘s latest fragrance, Valentina. The scent launched in Europe last month with beauty Freja Beja Erichsen as the face. In the film, Freja plays the role of Valentina, a modern-day heiress who skips out on an uber-formal black-tie birthday celebration. The result? A city-wide hunt for the missing birthday girl, who is painting the town Valentino red with the her pals all over Rome.
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| The blogger group in front of the palazzo
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| The iconic V
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| The entryway
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During our visit to Rome, myself and bloggers from Spain, Italy, Ireland, England, France and Germany experienced a tour of Valentino’s Palazzo Mignanelli to discover the ateliers of the House of Valentino, which was incredible. No photos were allowed, but we got to see some of the haute couture being worked on (they don’t work with sizes AT ALL, everything is created from scratch using yards of wool wrapped around a mannequin to size).
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| Marisa Berenson in Valentino |
The detail and precision required to work as a seamstress at Valentino was astounding. Seriously: The Germans and Swiss get all the press for being precise and perfectionists, but the Italians have an impeccable commitment to good craftsmanship–quality on an almost cellular level, to use skin care terminology. We had the opportunity to gawk at some of the delights from the Valentino archive, including a replica of Julia Roberts’ famed Oscar dress, the dress Marisa Berenson rocked in the above pic, and Jackie O.’s dress she wore when she tied the knot with Onassis. There was a red dress from Valentino’s first collection in 1959 that looked as utterly wearable today as it did then. Naturally, it boasted the designer’s iconic signature rosettes. Parenthetically, I adore that Valentino’s affinity for a rose applique extends even to his taste in pets. Can we not agree that the faces of his beloved pugs echoes the pattern of the folds EXACTLY of his doggies’ adorable little faces? They are the canine equivalent of ROSES.
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| Valentino’s pugs |
AND, of course, the brand’s commitment to rosettes is apparent in the perfume’s beautiful packaging. Check out the trio of flowers that grace the Valentina perfume bottle and various lotion containers.
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| The full range includes a body oil, shower gel, body lotion and deodorant.
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| Elvira, dancing on Scarface |
The fragrance is, like everything Valentino, a study of modernity and timelessness, beauty, and incredible EXPENSIVENESS. The fictional character who’d definitely wear a scent like Valentina? Scarface‘s Elvira Hancock, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, of course. It combines notes of Calabrian bergamot, white Alba ruffles, jasmine, Amalfi orange blossom, wild strawberries, cedar and amber. Remember Elvira dancing with Tony Montana at the club? My friend Leah and I bust out E’s moves all the time. She is a HILARIOUS dancer. Observe:
Some more photos from the fragrance presentation:
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| Moi, during the fragrance presentation |
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| The notes! |
Valentina by Valentino will be available in 30, 50 and 80-ml. sprays starting at $75 and will be available in the U.S. in February of 2012.
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Hey Corina! Not comparing the dogs and roses, just saying they have a similar aesthetic 🙂 His pugs are so, so adorable.
Comparing dogs with roses… how can you?:))))
Anyway,the bottle looks very nice and I love the video. It all makes me very curious to know how the perfume smells, can’t wait to try it.