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...... eine Herbschöne - mit süßem Lächeln .... diese Mme Cristobal ..... :) ... - Auch hier .. ganz lieben Dank für all Eure schönen Worte -, die mich sehr freuen ... :)) (by IrisNobile)

Cristobal Balenciaga 1998

Version from 1998

8.2 / 10 176 Ratings

A popular perfume by Balenciaga for women, released in 1998. The scent is floral-sweet. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Floral

Sweet

Powdery

Spicy

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Carnation

Fig leaf

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Freesia

Jasmine

Peony

Base Notes

Vanilla

Sandalwood

Patchouli

Perfumer

Olivier Gillotin

Ratings

Scent

8.2176 Ratings

Longevity

7.8132 Ratings

Sillage

7.5126 Ratings

Bottle

8.4135 Ratings

Value for money

7.226 Ratings

Submitted by Seglein · last update on 01/31/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Cristobal Eau de Cristobal

Le Bain Eau de Parfum

Larissa

Shalimar Philtre de Parfum

Princess Grace

Allegro con Brio

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/20/2012

Abitvintage
28 Reviews

Abitvintage

Very helpful Review 8

Warm, creamy sweetness, verging on cloying.

Warm, creamy, sweetness. The carnation is ever so softly present, especially in the beginning, and gives it a gentle spice kick. I can definitely smell patchouli, sandalwood and vanilla, the white flowers too, although I can't identify them individually. I feel like I detect something else sweet and resinous along with the vanilla. Cristobal becomes very sweet on me after the dry-down, maybe even cloying. But, I find it yummy and lovely in the cooler weather. I think that I would not tolerate this well in warmer temps, it works best for me on a cool, crisp fall day, preferably in the evening.

This does remind me of Sahlini La Femme, but spicier and sweeter.

01/08/2013

7Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Helpful Review 4

Smooth Resinous Oriental

I had never encountered Balenciaga CRISTOBAL before, whether in person or online, but Guusjes was kind enough to send me a sample of this now discontinued perfume. (Thank you!)

CRISTOBAL is a smooth and resinous, lightly spicy oriental perfume. Everything is blended together beautifully, and my first reaction upon donning this creation was: "It's a perfume." There is definitely a density here which I have found lacking in many recent launches, both mainstream and niche. Something has changed in the approach to perfume making, it seems.

This particular composition reminds me of several others in a vague way, although I would not say that it's a knock-off of anything else, or vice versa. Basically, CRISTOBAL offers a homogeneous layer of slightly sweet, vanilla and sandalwood-scented clean musk with far more base than flowers or spice. It's a pleasant scent and probably better made than some of the recent Balenciaga perfumes, which seem a bit synthetic by comparison.

I wish that I understood the logic behind the house of Balenciaga better. Why did they hand over RUMBA to Ted Lapidus? Why did they discontinue LE DIX? Sometimes business and perfumery seem to be very much at odds, though they are and can only be partners in this enterprise.

08/14/2023

5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

MrsGuerlain
637 Reviews

MrsGuerlain

I do not quite understand…

This is a really strange fragrance… in an interesting way. I have had it for many years now. I spray it from time to time and it always leaves me with the idea, that I am missing something; that I simply do not get it.
Let me get this straight: this is NOT a bad fragrance. I simply just do not dig the final result. To me it is really strong at first and very masculine. I can not work out why, because I know and love all the top and heart notes. So where does this rough and a bit uncomfortably strong impression come from?! The scent takes a long time to settle well on my skin. When it finally does I get jasmine, patchouli and sandalwood in a nice combination - but there is always this odd note hanging in the background. And it is not the scent gone bad. I know because a fellow ‘fragnatic’ let me try hers. They smell the same. She loves it, btw.
The bottle is gorgeous. Frosted glass on the back, abstract pattern on the front and a beautiful golden top - and the matching golden juice inside.
Conclusion must be that no matter how old and anosmic I get, I will never understand this. I am therefore happy to see that so many of you here at Parfumo really like it.
34/365

05/16/2012

9Scent 10Longevity 7.5Sillage

Palonera
467 Reviews

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Palonera

Top Review 32

à la Fenjala

"Fenjala!"
I can hardly believe what my nose and my scent memory are telling me, but this fragrance immediately catapults me back to the seventies, back to a bath oil and bath pearls, whose scent has been indelibly etched in my memory and which are probably not entirely innocent of my olfactory passion.
"Fenjala" appeared innocently blue and silky shimmering like an Aquate that had been washed, but behind this facade lay the most irresistible seduction: warm and soft and a little sweet like a cake just out of the oven, sensual and caressing like a cape made of heavy velvet, yet gentle and floating and only sticky in the sense that the nose could not possibly detach itself from the fragrant skin.
"Fenjala" became "Fenjal," the fragrance composition completely revamped, and nostalgia remained paired with hope and yearning to someday find a perfume among the thousands that might, just might, come a little close to that magical elixir.
One day, in some perfumery, without any thought of the past, I encountered "Cristobal."
Its bottle as well as the name Balenciaga made me think of flowing gowns, of florid opulence and great drama, which is not really my style - no idea why I still took the sprayed test strip and suddenly became the little girl who never wanted to leave the blue bathwater with the wonderful mountains of foam.
"Cristobal" is a dream we all dream - the dream of being protected, of security and warmth, of being accepted and loved, and of a future that is so vast and radiant that it exceeds all our imagination.
The dream of tomorrow.

03/25/2016

Eichenmoos
10 Reviews

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Eichenmoos

Top Review 16

the search continues

Recently, I decided to test all my forgotten samples, and I felt a pang of anxiety. What if I discovered my fragrance and it was no longer available?
The image on the packaging of the Cristobal sample appealed to me just as little as the scent that emanated from it.
But on the skin, it was a completely different story. Finally, a fragrance that thrilled me from the top note through the heart note to the base.
I kept sniffing my wrist throughout the day and felt safe and embraced by this wonderful scent.
A cautious look in the evening on parfumo.de:
Production has been discontinued.
Only 1 ml left.
I am sad.

More reviews

Statements

17 short views on the fragrance

Rieke2021

2 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Opulent, beautifully nostalgic floral scent. Harmonious, soft, warm, velvety. More powdery than soapy. For well-groomed, sensual goddesses.

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Kleopatra

6 years ago

8.5Scent

Sweet warmth, lush femininity, opulence, comfort. Carefully dosed, a wearable autumn-winter dream even during the day.

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CharlAmbre

1 year ago

4.5Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

Synthetic floral sweetness (I can just about recognize the garden carnation), on a sweet base that’s becoming more gold-patchouli. "For ladies"

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Verbena

8 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Matrona. Mother goddess. Flowing robes, swaying breasts, thick jewelry. Lush, ample, fully ripe. Disarmingly generous and warm-hearted.

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Bine138

2 years ago

10Scent 9Longevity 7Sillage

Your green winks at me
Favorite flowers in your hand
Enjoy your woody charm
and dive with you into the depths of this sweet night

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Jennytammy

3 years ago

8Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

It really does smell like a floral bath from the 90s.
Soapy + fresh, but rather powdery.
Relaxing + pleasant, yet also opulent at the same time.

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Gandix

8 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 8Sillage

The opening is oddly green, lush floral, spicy; gradually it becomes a wonderfully creamy-powdery vanilla scent with a hint of spice. A rare treasure.

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