When in Roma

This dupe opens with the sweet vanilla-and-lavender pairing that anchors Valentino's Born in Roma Intense, given a light zing from ginger. A touch of nutmeg and pink pepper move through the heart, echoing the original's mineral, slightly salty middle stage without quite replicating its distinctive texture. The base settles into vetiver, amber and tonka bean, which lands close to the original's warm, powdery finish but with less of the smoky cashmeran depth that reviewers single out as Born in Roma Intense's signature. It's an easy, crowd-pleasing sweet fragrance in its own right, and the opening vanilla-lavender combination is genuinely recognisable, but the mineral woods that give the original its modern edge don't fully come through here.