Reviews of Roma (1988)
by Laura Biagiotti

I could swear Roma had some Meditteranean herb among the topnotes - I recognize it from what you'd smell on the air on a Greek isle or something, yet I couldn't place it... I keep thinking maybe oreganon, but that's not quite it, it's grassier, citrusier, more bracing...? But I guess that hauntingly familiar yet in perfumery strikingly original herbal note is just an illusion created by the mint, blackcurrant leaf and bergamot together... Anyway, it sits on top on a very sweet and creamy base - the effect is like having a main course with green herbs and a vanilla pudding for dessert all mixed up on the same plate. Not entirely appealing. And after the herbal topnote is gone it's just that rather boring and generic creamy sweetness forever and a day.

One of my favourite women's perfumes along with Chanel No. 19. Roma opens with an astounding fresh mint array. It then deveopls ever so smoothly into a flowery mid then what seems like an ambery base note. This fragrance is like waking up on a spring morning, having breakfast on a balcony of your Marrakech riad with the breeze wafting the fragrance of fresh mint, flowers and musks and ambers of the souk into your face. Sublime!

In the late 80s and 90s, this was my signature scent. I loved how it bloomed, that it was never loud, and that it stayed in my clothes. I dropped a scarf once, and a woman picked it up and crushed it to her cheek. "Lovely!" she said. "I knit it myself," I said proudly. She took the scarf from her face and handed it to me. "No dear, not the scarf, the fragrance." It still is. I know it's and oriental, but to me, it will always be the embrace of someone who believes in you.

I have worn this scent for several years back in the late 80´s and early 90´s. Love this one! I have a bottle again, and I wear it quite often. I find this one fresh and light, even if it is an oriental, and that is really fun! It´s quite loud, but the freshnes makes it very wearable. It has really great personality!

This is a lovely light scent with lots of neroli. I didn't detect the mint, but the lovely fresh citrusy topnotes (not at all harsh) mellow into a sweet, orange-tinged vanilla (not too sweet). The civet is there but very subtle. My only complaint is that the EdT does not last very long on me, and it costs a bundle in Europe. I'd buy it again at American prices, though....

I chose Roma as my wedding fragrance in '95. The quest was one of those 'I'll know what I'm looking for when I smell it' situations and when I found Roma I just knew it was perfect. Romantic, sunny, highly individual and not worn by everyone else, it ticked all the boxes. An ideal fragrance for a special occasion.

I have had a love affair with this perfume since high school. One of my dear friends from Rome (I know, too convenient) sent me a mini, and I became obsessed. It was not yet available in the US, or at least in my home town, so I had to wait until I actually went back to Italy to get more. Perhaps the fact that it was new, and so many women in Rome were actually wearing it, fixed the (very literal) association between name of fragrance and city. To this day, it is still at the top of my list. I've never noticed the citrus/bergamot (I love both)...though grapefruit is a distinct possibility... nor do I get the mint; this is creamy amber, balsam, (cedar?), and something floral. (I honestly can't identify the floral, but it's there, part of the overall texture.) The other reviewers who described this as warm and cuddly are dead on. This is a fall/winter perfume; it only works as a summer perfume if you live in the deep south, and have the balmy, heavy night air to complement it. I simply can't praise it enough.

This lovely fragrance comes in a beautiful bottle shaped like a roman column and is a tribute to Laura Biagiotti's home town of Rome.
It begins with uplifting notes of mint, bergamot and blackcurrant bud which are soon joined by floral notes (Lily of the valley, Jasmine, Rose)
before mingling with a definite note of balsam (reminiscent of the hills behind the city). Base notes include patchouli, musk and sandalwood. The sillage is excellent and this perfume will get you loads of compliments. Not everybody will be wearing it either, despite it's reasonable price.

Spicy and assertive, with lots of notes vying for your attention at once (typically Italian, in that sense). Also strangely upbeat, for such a heavy scent. Not my favorite oriental -- like VintageVogue, I like a little darkness and ambiguity -- but nice to have around for those days when you're in the mood for it.

Not for everyone, and the sweetness and fruitiness, despite the finely crafted balance with oriental spice, will not please those yearning for 'freshness'. No fragrance is further from marine scents than this one. Disctinct and confident, whether you like it or not.

One of my top 5 favorite women's scents. A glorious floriental with notes of black currant and jasmine with civet, amber, sandalwood and vanilla in the base. Rich, heady, great development, wonderful sillage...could easily be worn by a man.

I have seen on other fragrance boards that Roma has been discontinued; however, I have not been able to verify that from a reliable source. Roma is a classically constructed vanillic oriental-ambery fragrance, similar to Shalimar, but with a good helping of mint in the opening. Be prepared for that big poof of mint when you first apply Roma. It’s there, it’s unmistakable, and it’s big. Takes a while for the mint to calm down, but when it does the drydown is pretty nice. Roma is still readily available online and is usually to be found for a good price. Roma is redolent of sunny days along the Tiber, crowds gathered around the Colosseum, and a brisk walk to the Pantheon. My only criticism (besides the mint) is that I’d have liked Roma to have more of a chiaroscuro feel to it; this is modern Rome bristling with its native Italians and all the colorfully clad, excited touristas. I’d like to smell something that combined the aura of ancient and modern Rome. Something with a dark note that represented, say, the Subura with its dangers and oddities. Don’t remember the Subura? Get out yer copy of Juvenal’s Satires, blow off the dust, and read what I mean. Still, Roma is very nice, very classic, especially in the way it dries down. Let’s hope Roma is alive and well after all and that the rumor of it being axed is wrong. If you like Shalimar, I think you’d like Roma, too. Roma aeterna vivit.