BALENCIAGA "Cialenga" (1973)

                           

YEAR: 1973

Top notes: citruses, black currant, green notes;

Middle notes: iris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, clove, rose, lily;

Base notes: Vetyver, sandalwood, patchouli, oakmoss, virginia cedar.

Perfumer: Jacques Jantzen


(ABSTRACT: 

"Cialenga", by Balenciaga: forty years tribute (1973-2013)

Probably it was not the most celebrated women's fragrance by Balenciaga, comparing with LeDix and Quadrille, but it was a wonderful scent. Moreover, when it comes to Balenciaga, any scent is wonderful and remarkable.
Many times we hear -speaking about fragrances- "vintage" lovers are always exaggerating, talking nonsense about alleged "Golden Age" that in fact never existed. Well, Cialenga, as virtually all the old Balenciagas, is an excellent demonstration of the contrary.



Few Maisons such as Balenciaga have made "quality" their uncompromising point, and I am personally convinced that, when we speak about perfumes, Balenciaga can not be ignored, being at the same level (better?) of the most renowned Houses. Just read the list of Balenciaga perfumes, to stand speechless: Ho Hang, Cristobal, Michelle, Pour Homme, LeDix, Rumba, Quadrille ... each of these deserves a separate discussion.

Cialenga (sadly interrupted since a long time), created by Jacques Jantzen (the same perfumer two years earlier had contributed to the creation of the immortal Ho Hang), had a name deriving from the partial anagram of  "Balenciaga", and , oddly enough, is not one of those perfumes with an infinite longevity. Indeed, by the standards of the time, lasts quite small: if applied in the morning, at night is almost gone, unlike many "olfactory bombs" that persisted for days. But the (relative) lack of longevity is compensated by an explosion of several aromas for which words fail to describe.: all that can be said, for the umpteenth time, is "it's a scent from another Era...". 
With an almost overwhelming dose of vetiver, oakmoss and patchouli, to surround a marvelous "buttery" nest, that does so much "a great noble lady" of yesteryear. 
The scent illustrated in the photographs is an EDT splash bottle from the Seventies; it was stored for  decades inside a box, practically without ever being touched)
Rating:   9 / 10 Stars.)

il flacone Parfum è differente da  quello EdT, così come il tappo.
("Parfum" bottle and cap are different than "EdT" one)

WARNING

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