Anyone who regularly samples mainstream fragrances can vouch for the fact that a disconnect between the advertising and the juice is not an uncommon occurrence, and the gulf can be just as wide at the higher reaches of the price (and status) scale as at the lower. It’s not at all unusual for an aura of luxury, sensuality and sophistication to be projected onto what smells, essentially, like a strawberry lollipop.

Valentino’s new¹ Valentina does not sink into strawberry lollipop status, but it’s far too well-behaved to live up to its advertising — I almost wished for strawberry lollipop, or some other sign of exuberance. (There, I’ve already given away the ending, so now you can skip the rest of today’s post and go on about your business). Valentina is supposed to be sensual and sexy, and the advertising, featuring model Freja Beha Erichsen, might also lead you to expect something playful but elegant, rebellious but sophisticated, with all the funding such attributes might require, and then plenty more to spare. The bottle’s floral decoration in subdued tones of pink and ivory could be the haute couture version of the stick-a-flower-on-it trend that started with Marc Jacobs Daisy…

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