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Serenissima
Top Review
10
Time changes everything, even fragrances
In 2009, the fragrance division of the Ted Lapidus brand underwent changes:
The wonderful "Création" in the beautiful bottle, a dark chypre with its rough edges, was revised, as was Balenciaga's fragrance "Rumba", for which Ted Lapidus had acquired the rights.
I have the classic and modern versions of both fragrances and am naturally very curious to see how the changes to the fragrance notes will affect me and how I will cope with them.
Because, as you know, I'm a bit of a bitch from time to time if I don't feel comfortable with a fragrance.
The new version of "Rumba" was first of all stripped of the ripe summer fruits that I love. (Too bad, but wait and see! We're only at the very beginning.)
Instead, the opening became lighter, fresher and greener.
With fruity bergamot, bundles of spicy, slightly peppery basil, lots of green herbs and leaves and a pleasant rose scent, the transition from the opulent seductress in the fragrance near the luxury segment to the beautiful, slightly green floral chypre has been successful.
On my skin, however, the younger "Rumba" version is already losing some of its sensuality, its enticing eroticism; the fragrance is becoming more everyday, but of course this also makes it more wearable in this day and age.
And so the tropical night with its romantic magic under the starry sky is transformed into the hall of a dance school with a parquet floor and mirrored walls.
Well, that's what can happen if you compare too close in time!
But let's take a look at the further development:
Ah! Here they are again, the well-tried and beloved fragrances that make every composition so special!
With their appearance, everything changes immediately: instead of the bright neon lighting, the still sober hall is illuminated by a few chandeliers, hung with glittering glass facets, with which the softer light plays and is vainly repeated in the wall-high mirrors.
The initially impersonal music is replaced by a combo that plays for dancing and the South American flair is already quietly peeking around the corner, even the rumba balls are now back. Can you hear their rhythmic rattling?
Such changes in mood can be achieved by a successful arrangement of fragrances and this is truly no magic, just good craftsmanship!
Lots of white jasmine blossoms and just as many sensual, more fragile orange blossoms are added to the ever-so-slightly rustic oakmoss, which loses some of its rough edges and is no longer as rough as usual, but somewhat more tamed. I love its barbs in the fragrance, which scratch at the senses to awaken them and prepare them for all the beauty that develops all around, so that it can be fully enjoyed when it subsequently spreads out on the skin with pleasure and shines brightly.
Now a sensual sense of well-being has returned; small round and light yellow-green mirabelle plums trace a fruity trail through this melange of heart notes.
However, the base has now been brought back in line with the times: Spicy leather has been replaced by animalic, creamy sandalwood and a bit of pleasantly dirty patchouli, the eroticizing warm vanilla (still generously and enticingly present in the classic version) is transformed by amber into a smoky-resinous veil that covers everything.
A successful, rounded finish to the composition.
Here, "rumba" rhythms sound in a different league; less opulent and tropical-romantic under a wide starry sky, but rather at an "after work party" and these notes change on my skin in the course of the rather long time I spend there, more and more into the pleasant scent of a very nice soap that you like to surround yourself with.
So please, not too much eroticism at the after-work party!
"Rumba" is modern here, is beautiful, albeit beautiful in a different way to its luxurious predecessor with all its opulence and seduction.
If a different name had been chosen to avoid comparing the two fragrances, it would probably have been better for all of us.
Because this "Rumba", for all its floral-chypre beauty, shows that "the better is the enemy of the good".
And for me, with all due respect, this is Balenciaga's more charismatic original version.
Conclusion:
Each of the two fragrance versions represents a fragrance generation and if it weren't for the adopted name, I would have had an easier time with this fragrance creation.
But it's well known: I love luxury soaps with their special flair!
That's why I'm wearing "Rumba" from 2009 again today!
Top Notes 
Bergamot
Basil
Green notes
Rose
Heart Notes 
Oakmoss
Mirabelle plum
Jasmine
Orange blossom
Base Notes 
Patchouli
Amber
Animalic notes
Sandalwood
Thewrongbeth
Bambuk
Lemonheads
