Six years since its last prestige launch, Valentino Beauty returns with Vendetta, a fragrance duo that borrows its name from a 1991 original and casts Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård as lovers on the run
Alexander Skarsgård has played a vampire, a Viking and a tech billionaire. His latest role requires no costume at all: one half of a couple on the run. Photographed by Inez and Vinoodh, the campaign for Valentino Beauty's new fragrance duo casts him opposite Dakota Johnson as two runaway lovers. A modern romance that the luxury house describes as an "us-against-the-world" escape. "There's something so compelling about the way the brand celebrates individuality, emotion, and connection," says Skarsgård.
The object of all this passion is Vendetta, Valentino Beauty's first prestige fragrance launch in six years. While the word itself may raise an eyebrow considering the romantic visuals, it serves as a nod to the original Vendetta scent, introduced under Valentino Garavani himself in 1991. Better yet, it arrives as a pair: Vendetta Donna and Vendetta Uomo.
Donna, created by master perfumer Dominique Ropion with perfumer Andrew Everett, is a floral gourmand woody built around the most carnal expression of tuberose. "Behind its whiteness and solar accents, Tuberose has an ultra-narcotic character," says Ropion, who worked with an exclusive Tuberose Osmobloom extract obtained through Air-Capture technology. "It delivers the exact scent of the flower when it blooms at dawn." Everett wraps that flower in a custom red orange nectar accord inspired by the Tarocco Rosso, the prized Sicilian variety. "My goal was to capture its essence, adding a luscious nectar dimension," he says. "The addition of salty notes provides a crispiness that triggers a modern vision of addiction."
Photo: Courtesy of Valentino
Photo: Courtesy of Valentino
Photo: Courtesy of Valentino
Uomo, composed by master perfumer Marie Salamagne, answers with spice. A sparkling shot of Peruvian ginger opens onto a cinnamon liquor accord, landing on a base of pure patchouli essence. "I selected a very pure essence of patchouli, preserving its raw woody character while amplifying its depth," says Salamagne. "The goal was to create a fragrance that is bold in character while deeply connected to the skin."
The bottles, structured around a graphic V motif with a pleated cap recalling the folds of Valentino couture, are conceived as a pair. Which is, of course, the whole premise. It takes two to tango, after all, and a loverboy is only ever as convincing as his co-star. On that count, Skarsgård and Johnson, and Uomo and Donna, make a persuasive case for partnership as the most seductive fragrance note of all.