Photo: Courtesy Valentino
Bottling the beauty of Rome’s golden hour is no easy feat, but with its newest fragrance, Valentino has managed to do just that. The Italian fashion house’s latest scent, Coral Fantasy, tells the story of a lazy sunset in the Eternal City, when its many architectural treasures find themselves bathed in the coral glow of the fading sun.
To truly paint the picture in the mind’s eye, the brand sought out none other than Dima Al Sheikhly for its Coral Fantasy campaign, which sees the Iraqi influencer play the ultimate Valentino Beauty muse walking through the streets of Rome, perfume in hand, dressed in a rich chocolate ensemble.
Photo: Courtesy Valentino
“It was a huge milestone for me, to be honest,” Al Sheikhly tells Vogue Arabia about launching Valentino’s latest olfactory creation. “I’m always thinking of where I stand as a woman from the Middle East, and to have been able to represent so much of what I love on an international scale was just mind-blowing. Valentino made this girl’s dream come true.”
Sporting an edgy crimson cat eye with fresh dewy skin and creamy coral lips, Dima Al Sheikhly gives us an idea of what one can expect from the fragrance itself with her playful beauty look. Part of the brand’s Born in Roma collection, Coral Fantasy was developed by perfumers Nadège Le Garlantezec and Jacques Huclier, and presents a bouquet of refreshing notes that lead from hints of kiwi and orange—a nod to the first few moments of Rome’s golden hour—to jasmine grandiflorum from India, and amber, to signify the deep sensuality of the evening. With time, Coral Fantasy unravels into layers of Texan cedar wood and white musks.
Photo: Courtesy Valentino
In Al Sheikhly’s words, Coral Fantasy is the perfect summer blend. “This fragrance really smells like a summer dream with its notes of citrus. I personally love fresh citrusy scents, they make me feel full of life. My mood definitely lifts whenever I wear Coral Fantasy. It’s such a versatile fragrance.” Ask her what she’d pair the fragrance with, and the social media favorite is quick to pick the looks that perfectly translate the personality of the perfume. “I could wear it out during the day or at night,” Al Sheikhly tells us. “During the day, I can see myself in a flowing summer dress, of course some classic Valentino Garavani Rockstud Mules, and a pop of summer color for the bag. And at night… perhaps something darker, maybe a knee-length black leather jacket with bright color underneath. And a pro tip: it’s a great scent to layer with other Valentino Born in Roma fragrances.”
As the summer continues to unfold, the scent also finds itself in Al Sheikhly’s list of must-haves for the season, earning top spot in her vanity kit, along with the V-lighter face primer and highlighter in Rosa and the Valentino Beauty Go-Clutch Face Powder and Lipstick (“The packaging is so cute and so easy to carry!” she gushes). What more could one need for the summer?
Photo: Courtesy Valentino
