In 2009, changes were on the horizon for the fragrance line of the Ted Lapidus brand:
The wonderful “Création” in its beautiful bottle, a dark chypre with its edges and contours, was revised, as was Balenciaga's fragrance “Rumba”; for this, Ted Lapidus had acquired the rights.
I have both the classic and the modern version of both fragrances and am now, of course, very curious to see how the changes in the scent notes will affect me and how I will cope with them.
As is well known, I can be a bit fussy at times if I don't feel comfortable with a fragrance.
The new version of “Rumba” has first been freed from the ripe summer fruits that I had come to love. (A pity, but let's wait and see! We are just at the beginning.)
Instead, the opening has become lighter, fresher, and greener.
With fruity bergamot, bunches of spicy, slightly peppery basil, plenty of green herbs and leaves, and a pleasant rose scent, the transition from the opulent seductress in the fragrance close to the luxury segment to the beautiful, slightly green floral chypre has been successful.
On my skin, however, the younger “Rumba” version already loses part of its sensuality, its alluring eroticism; the fragrance becomes more everyday, but thus, of course, also more wearable in today's time.
And so, the tropical night with its romantic charm under the starry sky transforms into the hall of a dance school with parquet flooring and mirrored walls.
Well, such things can happen when you compare too soon!
But let's look at the further development:
Ah! Here they are again, the tried and true beloved scent notes that make each composition so special!
With their appearance, everything changes immediately: The previously sober hall is illuminated not by bright neon lighting but by some chandeliers adorned with sparkling glass facets, with which the softer light plays and vainly repeats itself in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
The initially impersonal music is replaced by a combo that plays for dancing, and the South American flair is already peeking around the corner; even the rumba balls are back. Do you hear their rhythmic rattling?
Such changes in mood can be achieved by a successful arrangement of scent notes, and this is truly no magic but just good craftsmanship!
Countless white jasmine blossoms and just as many sensual, delicate orange blossoms are, fragrant and foamy, added to the always somewhat rustic oak moss, which loses some of its edges and corners and comes across not as roughly as before, but a bit tamed. I love its barbs in the scent that scratch at the senses to awaken them and prepare them for all the beauty that develops around it, so that it can be fully enjoyed when it then spreads indulgently on the skin and shines brightly.
Now, a sensual feeling of well-being has also returned; small round and light yellow-green mirabelle plums leave a fruity scent trail through this mélange of heart notes.
However, the base has now been adjusted a bit to the times: Spicy leather has been replaced by animalistic, creamy sandalwood and a bit of pleasantly dirty patchouli, while the erotic warm vanilla (which was still generously and enticingly present in the classic version) is transformed by amber into a smoky, resinous veil that lays over everything.
A successful, rounded conclusion to the composition.
Here, “Rumba” rhythms resonate 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 over the course of the rather long time spent there, more and more into the pleasant scent of a very nice soap, with which one enjoys surrounding oneself.
So please, not too much eroticism at the After Work Party!
“Rumba” is modern here, beautiful, although differently beautiful than its luxurious predecessor with all its opulence and seduction.
Had a different name been chosen and thus a comparison of both fragrances avoided, it would have been better for all of us.
For with this “Rumba,” despite all its floral chypre beauty, it shows that “the better is indeed the enemy of the good.”
And that is, for me, with all due respect, Balenciaga's more charismatic original version.
Conclusion:
Each of the two fragrance versions represents a fragrance generation, and had it not been for the adopted name, I would have found it easier to appreciate this fragrance creation.
But it is well known: I love luxury soaps with their special flair!
That’s why I am 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
Lemonheads
Thewrongbeth
Bambuk
Andrula
SchatzSucher
Ergoproxy
Yatagan
Serenissima
Paloma58
Minigolf
