Inside Valentino's Vendetta Fragrance Party With Dakota Johnson, Alexander Skarsgård, & More

Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Valentino Beauty

“Hot” was the internet’s unanimous reaction when Valentino unveiled the Vendetta fragrance campaign starring Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård this summer. Fueled by the passionate scent duo, the video sees the two actors partake on a Californian road trip. So naturally, in celebration of Vendetta’s official launch, the brand transformed Burbank’s retro Safari Inn into an epic road trip pit stop. Coincidentally, the Sept. 9 event took place in the middle of an unprecedented heatwave in Los Angeles, but the weather forecast didn’t keep guests from partying well into the night.

Campaign stars Johnson and Skarsgård mingled alongside real-life couples Alison Brie and Dave Franco, Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris, and Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham, plus Solange, Keke Palmer, Mckenna Grace, and Brianne Howey. As the sun set, guests sipped on signature cocktails and posed for photos with vintage convertibles that lined the motel parking lot before they were treated to screening of a director’s cut of the Vendetta campaign. The evening capped when rapper Yung Lean took to the roof of the motel for a surprise performance.

Of course, the epic party smelled extraordinary, too. Whichever way you turned in the crowd, you’d caatch a scent trail of Vendetta Donna or Vendetta Uomo. “It was important to make something very sexy and unexpected, yet very elegant and Italian so it was linked to Valentino,” master perfumer Dominique Ropion told TZR of Donna, which he co-created with perfumer Andrew Everett. For Ropion, the first floral that came to mind was tuberose, which he blended with ylang-ylang, red orange nectar and sandalwood. The result is a fresh floral scent that dries down with a touch of sultry musk.

For Uomo, perfumer Marie Salamagne had modern masculinity in mind. “I wanted to reinterpret masculinity for Valentino, knowing what the brand has done before, and knowing they wanted to go really bold,” she tells TZR ahead of the party. “I wanted to create an interpretation of an aphrodisiac fragrance; one that was extremely addictive and had spices as a starting point. She opted for cinnamon and ginger, and combined them with Italian citrus, patchouli, and woods.

Both perfumers note that the scents are fit for any time of the day, but both really come alive at night – just like the parking lot of the Safari Inn.

See all of the Valentino-dressed stars at the Vendetta fragrance launch party, below.