Valentino Cologne for Men: The Uomo Bottles and Their Italian Rivals

Valentino Uomo launched in 2014. The house had made men's scents before it, but Uomo gave the house a men's fragrance with real personality. Five years later Uomo Born in Roma arrived in 2019 and gave the line its current look, a pyramidal bottle that pays tribute to the Rockstud, the stud that started life on Valentino leather goods. If you are shopping for Valentino cologne for men, this is the family to know, and it is easy to see why it works for a gift or for yourself.

Start with Uomo Born in Roma Eau de Toilette, which the brand describes as a modern vetiver with mineral salt, ginger and sage, made for an everyday signature. Uomo Born in Roma Intense Eau de Parfum adds vanilla to lavandin and smoked vetiver, and Extradose Parfum adds more vetiver to boost projection and longevity, according to the brand. Then come the seasonal colors. Purple Melancholia has cardamom, lavender and coconut. Coral Fantasy is inspired by the coral sky over Rome, with red apple, tobacco and sage. Green Stravaganza puts coffee and bergamot over vetiver. Vendetta Uomo opens with a ginger shot and cinnamon liquor over patchouli. The original Uomo Eau de Toilette is the one to sniff if you want to know where it all began.

A quick test: pick two, spray one on each wrist, and walk around for an hour. The one you keep sniffing is your bottle.

If you are not sure Valentino is the right house, compare it with the other Italian names. Prada Luna Rossa Eau de Toilette is lavender and clary sage with orange essence, sporty and clean. Prada Luna Rossa Carbon is a modern fougere with lavender, green bergamot and ambroxan, in a black bottle with the Prada red stripe. Gucci Guilty Pour Homme Eau de Toilette blends lavender, Italian lemon and orange blossom over cedarwood and patchouli. Gucci Guilty Pour Homme Elixir de Parfum is deeper, a woody ambery leather with orris butter and benzoin. Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme is Sicilian lemon, rosemary and patchouli, a summer shirt in a bottle. Dolce&Gabbana Devotion For Men Parfum puts coffee in the heart, with lavender on top and ambery woods below. Versace Pour Homme is bergamot, neroli and blue hyacinth over cedarwood and musk, and Versace Dylan Blue is a Mediterranean mix of citrus, aquatic notes, and patchouli. Armani's Acqua di Giò is the sea-air classic, Prada Luna Rossa Ocean is the marine take on the Luna Rossa line, Prada's Paradigme is bergamot over ambery woods, and D&G's K is the lavender one.

Pairing tip: use a fresh one for the day, like Light Blue or Luna Rossa, and a warmer one after dark. Two bottles cover a lot of ground.

What I would skip: the sweeter Elixir and Devotion Parfum on a hot afternoon. Warm coffee and benzoin are lovely in October and heavy in July.

For nights out, look toward vanilla, leather and smoke. Yves Saint Laurent Y Eau de Parfum is sage and geranium over sensual woods, the brand's take on a white T-shirt and black jacket. Prada Luna Rossa Black opens on bergamot and angelica and settles into patchouli, coumarin and woody amber. Gucci Guilty Absolu de Parfum for Men pairs orange flower absolute with a rum accord and a red chili pepper accord, the boldest bottle in this row. Emporio Armani Stronger With You is chestnut, lavender and sage over vanilla, the closest thing here to a fire in October. Montblanc Explorer, a woody leather scent, puts bergamot over vetiver and patchouli. Viktor&Rolf Spicebomb Extreme layers black pepper and caraway over lavender, with tobacco and vanilla underneath, in a black bottle shaped like a grenade. Rabanne Phantom Parfum mixes lavender, vanilla and vetiver in a matte black bottle, and Rabanne Invictus Victory Absolu Parfum Intense brings black pepper, amber and sandalwood.

How to wear them: these are heavy, so start with one spray on the chest. If you want more, add a second on the neck, not more on the same spot.

What I would skip: Guilty Absolu and Stronger With You for a crowded lift or a long meeting. They are warm and sweet, and they travel further than you expect.

Picking by occasion is the idea behind this edit, so I would sort the last stretch of bottles the same way. For a warm day, I would reach for Light Blue Capri in Love from Dolce & Gabbana, the Uomo Casual Life from Salvatore Ferragamo or Acqua di Giò Profondo, the mandarin and patchouli Eau de Parfum that sits a shade deeper than the Acqua di Giò in the row above. Prada L'Homme is iris and geranium, clean enough for an office. Armani Code, with mandarin and cedarwood, Burberry Hero, with bergamot and cedarwood, and Valentino Uomo Born in Roma Yellow Dream, which adds cinnamon to the family at the top of this edit, sit between day and night. For the evening, Dolce & Gabbana The One Pour Homme, Versace Eros Flame and Eros Parfum, Gucci Guilty Pour Homme Parfum and Guilty Essence, and Armani Stronger With You Intensely, with pink pepper and vanilla, all lean warmer and louder. YSL L'Homme comes in three strengths here, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum and Le Parfum, which makes it the easiest way to learn what concentration does. D&G's The One Pour Homme and Gucci's Guilty Essence are the two I would grab for the office, one amber and one green. Dior Homme Intense, powdery iris and ambrette over warm cedarwood, sits at the deeper end of the lineup. Dior Sauvage and Bleu de Chanel are worth smelling next to the Italians as a reference point, and Rabanne Invictus Victory Elixir Parfum Intense is the one I would smell last, once your nose is tired of sweet.

Pick by occasion, not by hype. A vetiver or lavender scent like Uomo Born in Roma Eau de Toilette works at a desk. A fresh citrus like Light Blue suits a warm day. Vanilla and leather belong to the evening. If you are buying for someone else, look at what they already wear and go one step warmer or one step fresher. Try it on skin and give it a few hours before you decide. A good cologne does not shout when you walk in. It shows up when someone leans in to say hello. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Valentino Yellow Dream and the Bright, Sunny Perfumes to Wear With It and Valentino Purple Melancholia, a Plum and Vanilla Mood.