Valentino Fragrance

Valentino Fragrance is the perfume and beauty line of Maison Valentino, the Italian luxury fashion house founded in Rome in 1960 by couturier Valentino Garavani and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti [4]. The beauty and fragrance business does not operate as an independent company: it runs under license, held by L'Oréal since 2019 [5], while the fashion house itself is owned by Mayhoola for Investments and Kering [4]. The line draws openly on the maison's Roman couture heritage, and it remains active, with new releases through 2025.

The perfumes are positioned at the luxury tier and sold across multiple channels internationally. Alongside fragrance, the line extends into makeup, spanning lip, face and eye products.

Maison Valentino was established in 1960 in Rome by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti [4]. According to the company, the house grew into "a protagonist of international fashion," working across Haute Couture and ready-to-wear for women and men, with fragrances forming part of the wider Valentino Garavani accessories world. The fragrance business is considerably younger than the couture house in one sense but old in another: the first Valentino perfume, Valentino Classique for women, was released in 1978.

Valentino's scent catalogue built up steadily over several decades. Very Valentino arrived for women in 1998 and for men in 1999, and Valentina launched in 2011. The line's more recent chapter opened once L'Oréal took over the license: Born in Roma debuted in 2019, fronted by models Adut Akech and Anwar Hadid, followed by Voce Viva in 2020 [4].

The fragrance license has changed hands more than once. Puig held it from 2010 to 2018, having taken over from Procter & Gamble, before L'Oréal was granted the worldwide agreement [5].

The beauty and fragrance line and the fashion house are governed by two separate arrangements. L'Oréal was granted a worldwide, long-term license for Valentino fine fragrances and luxury beauty in an announcement dated 28 May 2018, effective 1 January 2019; the business sits within the L'Oréal Luxe division [5][6]. At the announcement, L'Oréal's Nicolas Hieronimus said the company was "thrilled to have been granted the license of Maison Valentino," adding that the brand "will appeal to millennial consumers around the globe" [5].

The fashion house itself is owned by Mayhoola for Investments, which holds 70 percent, and Kering, which acquired a 30 percent stake in July 2023 [4]. The house reported group sales of 1.35 billion euros in 2023 [4]. Kering's other houses include Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron and Brioni.

Valentino describes its beauty division as structured around three codes: Color, Cool and Couture. The company frames the line as breaking with traditional beauty standards and celebrating individual expression and diversity, summed up in the tagline "For each moment a mood, for each mood, a color." On its licensor's brand page, the line is described as embodying "authenticity, heritage, and a rebellious spirit" while blending maximalism with a modern sensibility [6]. Brand President Claudia Marcocci has framed the mission as elevating "the ordinary into the extraordinary" through beauty rooted in couture heritage [6].

The fragrance range centres on the Born in Roma pillar, which spans women's (Donna) and men's (Uomo) editions across numerous flankers, including the Purple Melancholia, Green Stravaganza, Ivory and Extradose lines. A second pillar, Anatomy of Dreams, is described by the company as a haute couture perfume collection of seven olfactive stories inspired by Rome. Earlier signature scents named by L'Oréal at the time of the license included Valentino Donna, Valentino Uomo and Valentina [5]. The line also includes a hair and body mist range and a makeup offer covering lipsticks, gloss, foundation, primer, concealer and eye products.

On sustainability, the company says it pursues "responsible beauty" through refillable lip products and gift packaging wrapped in reusable tote bags.

Several of the perfumes have been tied to high-profile faces. Lady Gaga served as the égérie of Voce Viva at its 2020 launch, while Adut Akech and Anwar Hadid fronted Born in Roma in 2019 [4]. Akech has also been presented by the brand as an ambassador for its inclusivity message.

Valentino Fragrance is active and globally distributed. The catalogue continues to expand under the L'Oréal Luxe license, with a men's flanker, Born in Roma Extradose Uomo, released in 2025 and the Anatomy of Dreams collection in current rotation.