Valentino Beauty unveils Vendetta, its first prestige fragrance franchise in six years

Valentino Beauty has unveiled Vendetta, its first prestige fragrance franchise in six years.

The launch is supported by a campaign featuring newly appointed Brand Ambassadors Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård.

Inspired by the original Vendetta scent, which was created by the fashion house’s founder Valentino Garavani in 1991, the new interpretation “proposes a return to emotional depth” at a time “when love risks becoming performative, algorithmic or diluted”, said Valentino Beauty in a company statement.

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“The fragrance family speaks to a generation seeking authenticity and instinct in a world shaped by restraint, channeling Valentino's heritage through a contemporary lens: warm colours, strong character and a confident embrace of feeling,” the statement read.

Vendetta comprises two scents, Vendetta Donna, created by Master Perfumer Dominique Ropion in collaboration with Perfumer Andrew Everett, and Vendetta Uomo, created by Master Perfumer Marie Salamagne.

Vendetta Donna is a “floral gourmand woody built around the most carnal expression of tuberose”, a flower known for its aphrodisiac, narcotic scent.

The scent has at its heart tuberose Osmobloom – Valentino Beauty owner L’Oréal’s exclusive air-capture technology that captures the molecules naturally exhaled by the flower, leaving it intact.

This method “intensifies both luminosity and sensual depth” of the fragrance, and captures Tuberose blooms with “creamy radiance, warmed by golden flowers”, revealing a fragrance that “feels solar, enveloping and unapologetically bold”.

Ropion said: “Behind its whiteness and solar accents, Tuberose has an ultra-narcotic character.

“While preserving its solar notes, I sought to amplify its lactonic tones, its skin-like texture, and its depth.

“The tuberose Osmobloom extract – an exclusive innovation – was invaluable, as it delivers the exact scent of the flower when it blooms at dawn."

Vendetta Donna “introduces a vibrant red orange nectar accord: juicy, syrupy, and edged with a subtle salty tension”, which is said to give the fragrance an immediate bright and sparkling lift.

“To create an element of surprise, I immersed this carnal Tuberose into a custom-crafted red orange nectar accord,” said Everett.

“I envisioned it as something elevated, soaring far beyond conventional 'sticky' gourmand addictions to explore Italian sensuality.

“My inspiration was the Tarocco Rosso orange, a prized Italian variety celebrated for its taste and sweetness.

“My goal was to capture its essence, adding a 'luscious' nectar dimension.

“Finally, the addition of salty notes provides a crispiness that triggers a modern vision of addiction.”

Bottles of Vendetta Donna (left) and Vendetta Uomo (right)

Meanwhile, Vendetta Uomo is a woody spicy gourmand that “explores masculine sensuality through texture and contrast", read the company statement.

The fragrance opens with a “shot” of ginger CO₂ from Peru.

Captured in a high-definition extract, the concentrate of “uplifting brightness” is underpinned by the freshness of Italian citrus.

At the heart of the fragrance is a cinnamon liquor accord offering an “addictive, spicy and edgy warmth to the trail, further enhanced by a blend of spices, giving to the note a sensual enveloping, and intensely charismatic signature”.

Vendetta Uomo has a base of patchouli essence, offering “depth and structure, enhanced by a modern carnal woods accord”, with the woody foundation said to radiate “vibrancy and confidence, leaving a bold yet controlled trail”.

Salamagne said: “I selected a very pure essence of patchouli, preserving its raw woody character while amplifying its depth.

“The composition develops a tactile, skin-like quality.

“The goal was to create a fragrance that is bold in character, while deeply connected to the skin.”

The deep red hue of Vendetta Donna’s bottle echoes Valentino's signature colour “as a symbol of passion, intensity, and bold emotion”, and becomes “a visual extension of the scent's character”.

Both scents feature a graphic V motif silhouette flacon, that is rooted in Valentino’s identity and are conceived as a pair, “echoing the narrative of connection at the heart of the fragrance duo: distinct identities, unified energy”.

Actors and newly appointed Valentino Beauty Brand Ambassadors Johnson and Skarsgård will appear in cinematic campaign images for the new franchise, photographed by Inez and Vinoodh, the Dutch-American visual artist duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

With an ‘us-against-the-world’ escape theme, the ‘Vendetta duo’ of Johnson and Skarsgård play “two lovers bound by instinct rather than convention”.

Combining heritage and modernity, Donna and Uomo “embody a contemporary duo archetype: deeply connected, confident and emotionally fearless”, Valentino Beauty said in its company statement.

A campaign film featuring the pair will also follow, showing Donna and Uomo “on an inspiring journey, a modern romance propelled by instinct, freedom and unspoken magnetism”.

The launch of Vendetta marks “a new olfactive chapter” for Valentino Beauty, the company said, and will debut in the US in late August.