Donna Born in Roma Purple Melancholia is an eau de parfum for women by Valentino, launched in early 2026 alongside its masculine counterpart. In France the house describes it as a fruity chypre, in the United States as a warm floral: a plum accord opens it, osmanthus and jasmine form its heart, and vanilla extract holds its base.
Kimberly Wilson, of Essence, counts Donna Born in Roma among her favorite fragrances and finds Purple Melancholia darker and bolder. Osmanthus is not to her taste, but she sees it as the first flanker in the line able to exist without the Born in Roma name.
Olfastory’s review
A Donna devotee
In February 2026, Kimberly Wilson devoted her weekly Essence column to Purple Melancholia. Donna Born in Roma ranks among her favorite fragrances, and she approached the newcomer with the expectation one reserves for a beloved artist’s second album.
Darker than Donna
In the dry-down, the plum deepens and the vanilla asserts itself; she finds a little of Donna in it, no more. Where Donna is soft, pretty and easy to love, Purple Melancholia has an edge: darker, bolder.
A reservation about osmanthus
Osmanthus is not her favorite note and it makes itself felt; she recognizes a hint of Jean Paul Gaultier’s La Belle Fleur, lighter, brighter and sweeter. She sees it as the first flanker in the line able to live without the Born in Roma name.