Although Balenciaga Prelude and Cristobal are clearly different fragrances, they are similar in many ways. In another Balenciaga review, I compared Rumba and Talisman to sisters. If you’ll allow me to flog that analogy one more time, let me present the Balenciaga brothers: Prelude, the eldest; and Cristobal, mommy’s little boy.

Prelude follows the tradition of two of Balenciaga’s other scents — Quadrille and Rumba — in being named after a form of music. But Prelude is more Beethoven than Chopin and more cello than piano. Prelude opens with a hint of brightness from aldehydes and bergamot, then quickly settles into a spicy, almost gummy stage, like a stick of cinnamon chewing gum might taste if it were made by Fortnum & Mason and stored in an amber case. Just enough carnation and jasmine surround the cinnamon to soften the edges. Prelude is deep and nostalgic smelling, but for all its depth it doesn’t last more than a few hours. Prelude was released in 1982, with top notes of aldehydes, bergamot, orange, and pimento; a heart of carnation, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, orchid, and cinnamon; and a base of amber, vanilla, patchouli, civet, benzoin, tolu, and olibanum.

Cristobal, named after Cristobal Balenciaga…

Read the rest of this article »