Rumba

I do own both as Balenciaga and Ted Lapidus , and it's always be in my collection just because they both are created by Maestro Ellena - but I would never dare to wear those - the first sniff burned my nose and watered my eyes ..no no no ..I can't - it's just deeply offensive to my whole olfactory system :)))

Back in the 90's, when I would walk past someone they would say, "I can smell.. biscuits, or incense" or something along those lines, as if they were surprised to smell that smell, where they were. I never got an insult. I much prefer the Balenciaga to the Ted Lapidus. I don't mind Rumba Passion, or Fever. Balenciaga Rumba stands out from the crowd. I treasure what I have left of my BalenciagaRumba! 😊 7.3.26

After mistakenly receiving Rumba TEd Lapidus and deciding to keep it, finally got my hands on Balenciaga Rumba to compare both. While their notes are identical Ted Lapidus Rumba feels heavier and more retro while Balenciaga is a more youthful rendition and yes they are very similar. I prefer Balenciaga more as it's lighter, easier to wear. Anyway, this is just such a nice smoky, sweet, leather, plummy, boozy, peachy, surprise. You will definetely notice honeyed marigolds and carnation. This is a sexy night time type of scent for a confident badass woman wearing her favorite leather jacket on a date. Moderate longevity. Something in it reminds me of another classic like Amarige. Simply gorgeous. In Love.

I still have the original Balenciaga Rumba EDT from the early 90s. Imagine a sweet teenager wearing this monster of a perfume 😂 but didn’t we all back then? This is an EDT? Ah… they don’t make them this grandiose anymore. Yes it’s not the most classy scent out there, but the complexity and the performance should teach many a niche and intense parfum version a lesson. Rumba starts with a deep fruity mix that is sweet in an old-fashioned way; not sugary, but more like compote from a tin. The fruits are intertwined with lots of green, even the moss from the base is sensible in the top notes. It then emerges into heavy florals sprinkled with some spice, probably the carnations. The base is extremely rich and powerful, slightly animalic, smoky and dark. This is a perfume to be worn in winter nights by a dominatrix in a power suit. May be over a business dinner where she wants nobody to pay attention to anything or anyone else but her. Still 2 to 4 half spritzes would be more than enough.

When all those Plum bases as Prunella were used in almost every fragrance!

A good kind of garish does exist and it's something like Balenciaga Rumba. It is the pinnacle of kitchen-sink floral amber, boasting a grandiosity that has given it a cult status of sorts. A bitter marigold blast and tart raspberry contrasts with a thick prune-whip plum accord and honey drizzled all over a panoply of white florals, including an indolic jasmine. It has this throaty quality, smoky with bangs over one eye and dancing in candlelight—in fact, there is this beeswax candle facet just as the flowers start to hush. Then the line "she's got incense, wine, and candles, it's such a freaky scene" comes to mind as an incense sensation enters, and the musks and sweet leather funk in the dry down is super-freaky, too. In summary, Rumba is loud, rich, and takes no prisoners. Wear it daringly, or wear it sparingly. From its punchy pungency to its sensual smolder, this is either one for the completist or diehard collector (like me) or for a certain personality that has no fear. I mean, no fear, as in you will unequivocally get attention wearing this bold number.

Vintage: Plummy honeyed resinous mossy 80s bomb. Garish and over-the-top, like 80s pop art in a bottle. It is interesting that the current perfumes on the market are so thin and screechy aromachemical that even this campy perfume feels grand in comparison.

I don’t know if I’ve made a review of this before but I just wanted to say how much I love this! It’s like flowers and fruits, specifically plums, stewed together with honey. Almost boozy, very sweet, very potent. There is no oak moss crispness like in Diva or Magie Noir. Also there’s no way people are getting leather! This is not a leather fragrance. Sweet heavy fruit, florals and spice!

True vintage. Projection through the roof. Stays on me for days. Beautiful musky honey, plum, moss and amber. I will always want to own one. 10/10

A strong pong at the start, assuming it’s the animalic accord. Weird and impolite. If this is supposed to be fruit, why would plums & peach smell like homelessness? I don’t think my mini is bad, because I remember the Ted Lapidus version. This one though seems even more shocking. For those who want to be unforgettable… Dries down to a smoky plum.

I was lucky enough to find a vintage Balenciaga Rumba perfume, unopened in a box, black glass bottle with gold engravings. When I opened the box and the bottle, I nearly fainted at the magnificent symphony of scents coming out of the bottle, matured for over 30 years. This grand perfume filled the whole room. Rumba is truly an old-school grand regal perfume, not for the faint-hearted. Other reviewers have described the individual notes much better than I ever could. They all are there in the bottle and more. If Rumba is old-fashioned and out of date, then be it. For me, it is is ageless. Wish they still made perfumes like this; but they don't. I dabbed a drop of this nectar on my wrist - and I can still smell it almost 24 hours later. My skin is dry and it eats perfume but not so with Rumba The sillage is unbelievable, "enormous". The dry-down is the most beautiful dry-down of all the perfumes I have ever smelt: intense, deep, very soft and somehow very comforting. This will be a treasure in my collection.

I was somewhat hesitant to even try this fragrance after hearing Rumba describe as loud and in your face. People who described it that way must have been talking about the Lapidus version because I'm certainly not getting that here. There is no denying this is a big fragrance, in line with other classical fragrances of its day, but it is not aggressive or overwhelmingly so. What I am getting are florals dripping in honey (love that tuberose 💖) combined with delectable, slightly boozy fruit. The addition of leather distinguishes it from other loves of mine in the same fruity floral vein, Dily's and Fath de Fath, modernizing it a bit and being different enough where it's not redundant having it in my wardrobe (as if I really needed a reason 😂). Though this starts out as a fruity floriental, it ends up as a gorgeous mossy, woodsy, fruity chypre. And despite the kitchen sink abundance of notes, I don't find it too much or unwearable at all, at least compared to other heavy hitters of the day. Then again, I did dab it on so spraying might give a more aggressive result. I am still curious about the Lapidus version though, but I can't imagine it smelling any better than this, especially since Lapidus is so inexpensive. I'm suspicious over whether the quality of ingredients is on par with this. Since I have my doubts about that I would like to get my nose on a sample to see if my suspicions are correct or not. Or even to find out if maybe Jean Claude Elena thought he might have been able to improve on the original formula. Whatever the case, as of now, I am just enjoying this mini that is so potent and long lasting with just a few dabs that I doubt I need anything bigger at the moment. It just occurred to me that this is how I imagined Rochas Femme would smell, but that pungent cumin note ruined it for me. So glad I found what I was looking for here.

I am unsure about how Balenciaga's Rumba here differs from the Ted Lapidus version, and having never smelled the latter, I'm not going to speculate. I have a vintage miniature of the Balenciaga version, and like other vintage Balenciaga perfumes I've tried recently, I'm quite impressed with it. A big, kitchen-sink-y floriental with honeyed fruity nuances and a chypre base, it is not dissimilar to Michelle, another vintage Balenciaga I've tested recently. I prefer Michelle, it being marginally less bombastic. The syrupy Rumba is certainly of its era, but is much better than the likes of Lancôme Poème. As the listed notes would suggest, Rumba is quite plum-dominant. The fruity opening is led by plum, bolstered by sweet peach. A fleeting raspberry note makes an appearance, before the white floral heart emerges. Orange blossom bridges the gap between the fruity opening and the floral heart. Heady tuberose appears, which, alongside the plum, reminds me a lot of Cacharel LouLou. Other white florals round out the sweet, creamy bouquet, with carnation adding a spicy edge. I get some almond-like heliotrope as it develops further. The sweet amber-vanilla drydown is initially syrupy but becomes increasingly dry and mossy as the chypre accord comes to the fore, tempering the sweetness beautifully. Woody notes round it out, and the sweet amber becomes more leathery as it fades. Some powdery florals are still detectable, but it is the everlasting plum that remains until final fade. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. Another decent, underrated offering from Balenciaga, Rumba is like a more syrupy Michelle with the tuberose turned down and the addition of a copious amount of plum. Boldly beautiful, it is a fun, extroverted cold weather evening scent. To be worn with confidence. 4/5.

I had completely forgot about this perfume until today when I walked by a vintage perfume store. It reminded me of my friend back in the 90’s. This was her perfume and once in a while she let me use it, back then I was not able to spend money on perfumes or anything that it wasn’t necessary. I cant wait to go back to the store when its open so that I can finally buy it after 20+ years. This is a very sexy provocative smell and performance is amazing! Very seductive. Im speaking of a vintage Rumba so early 90s

To Constansa, I suggest you look for a vintage bottle of Balenciaga’s “Rumba.” I’ve no idea why Ted Lapidus felt they had to do their own version, which, in my opinion, knocks one over the head with a mallet and should have been called “La Cucaracha.”🤣 The original and better version of “Rumba” is charming, effervescent, vivacious and seductive.

looking for a blind buy. Like the stronger ones. Looks like Balenciaga Rumba and Ted Lapidus Rumba are the same bottle design, same notes. Is it difference only in the price? How these 2 are connected?

Iconic! In its last time it was caresless, and chip. In its splendor time Rumba meant luxe and opulense as Poison, I imagine women having dinner in Maxim s, or going for a walk in the Fifth Avenew ... with them fours and jewells... making a fragantic force s field . Earthy, sweet, bitter and warm, powdery and woody.

I founded it as an expensive licquor, opulent and imprinting, in the same vein of Coco, Poison and Montana blue box

Yuck. That's my first impression of the dark, vintage juice I just received. It is a used bottle, with only about 20% left, so there is a possibility it has turned. Having never tried it before, I have nothing to compare it to. I've read where some vintage buyers find that the juice that sits in the sprayer has gone bad, but once they spray that bit out, the true scent comes through. In all fairness, I have not given it a proper try yet, and right before I scrubbed it off, some of the plummy, Poisonesque notes started coming through, but the opening was a disaster - musty, dusty oak moss, and what I think might be a shrieking note of waaaaay too green tuberose, which is NOT the type I like. I will try it again on a day where I have nowhere to go, and try the trick of clearing the sprayer, and see how that works. I really hope it makes a difference, because from what I have experienced, this is one offensive scent on my skin! =========== Later, same day. After washing off what I was wearing earlier, I decided to give this another try. Sprayed on both wrists, the initial notes are still not my favorite, though now that the original shock has died down - or perhaps now that whatever was left in the nozzle has been sprayed out - it's no longer a mess. No more yuck. What remains is the very sharp tuberose and an animalic honey and leather with a distinctly urine-ish quality. This is more apparent when I sniff my wrist, but from a distance, it is not as strong. It takes a good 30-45 minutes for this to recede before the plum comes into play, and this is where the similarities to Poison begin. I have no idea what marigold smells like in perfume, though I have a vague memory of the scent from sniffing them as a child. The peach, amber, and sandalwood provide some depth, and I detect a slight sweetness which may be from the now tamed honey. So far, I think I like it. I'm still waiting to see what happens with the dry down, but I am glad that I gave it fairer try. It will definitely be worn this winter, and I can't say it will ever be a love, but it is a nice, complex scent and I can appreciate the quality. By the way, I don't get any patch or oakmoss, making this more of a slightly oriental fruity floral. ____________ Dry down - yes. Yes, I like this. Very much!!

This perfume brings good memories to me. It was my teenager fragrance along with "Animal." I would like to try it again now that I'm in my forties.

Rumba is perfect for these cool coastal days and I will be enjoying this a lot in fall and winter months as well. I haven't worn it in warmest temps but it would probably bloom if modestly applied. I've had these little carded samples of Balenciaga Rumba for a long time. I didn't really pay a lot of attention to it as I have so many perfumes and samples as well. I had, however, been hoping to luck out and get some vintage Dior Poison but kept missing out. One day I was sampling the Rumba again and ran across the reviewer (conti-alessia) who mentioned this as being Poinsonesque. I kind of paused and it was like it finally made sense to me! I finally understood the lemming that Rumba was trying to answer for me! It really does have that same feel to me and I've forgotten about the Dior now. Rumba is my thing! I bought an older bottle of the Balenciaga version and when it came I sprayed it and thought it had gone bad. Then I remembered to spray it through the uptake tube and after that it smelled beautiful as ever. It is a smooth spiced floral and someone else mentioned it smelling like being surrounded but a hundred spiced beeswax candles. That's a very accurate description. Rumba makes me think of honeyed candied fruits and lush orange blossom bouquets. Rich and full and opulent. Here's the important part, DO NOT OVERAPPLY! This is a bold perfume and has potent power! One or two sprays strategically placed is perfect! It mellows down to a pretty scent that reminds me of a spicy clean smell not unlike the way clean fresh clothes smell (thank you Downy and Snuggle.) I mean that in a great way! I've also discovered that Burt's Bees lotion for dry skin is the perfect moisturizer to layer this over. B.B. has a soft vanilla scent and it gives the perfumed a honeyed base to go over. There's your PSA for today! So glad I didn't give a pass to Rumba! It's a new found love for my collection.

Something must have gone wrong with the bottle I purchased . It is the worst perfume I have ever experienced. It was almost nauseating and reminded me of being a child and the smell of syrup of ipecac , which was horrific . I will say one thing positive, and that is that this perfume has huge sillage and admirable longevity . It may be that I simply got a new bottle that had been improperly stored, since others here find it pleasant .

Vintage, dark color. I cannot experience any of the many notes (certainly not honey and plum, as the votes here indicate as prominent) because the OAK MOSS is completely dominant and overbearing! Not sure if the age of the bottle is to blame, but this stuff is obnoxious!

I blind bought a big bottle of the vintage R, and it's been a real experience using it. The vintage is dark, think of Youth Dew. And it's intense and heavily balsamic. The honey note isn't as strong as I'd like, but it is there. It's a dark honey, natch. The lighter stuff just wouldn't stand up to the other notes. R. is one of those perfumes one has to get used to. At first I hated it, after some time I could tolerate it. Now I kind of like it. Maybe I'll learn to love it! Sillage is moderate, longevity a bit better. This may be work safe if used lightly. R. is pretty unisex, a man could wear this if he enjoys heavy scents. To sum it up: R. is unusual, esp. for this age where lighter sweet florals and aquatic scents are popular. It's the kind of fragrance many will reject and others will love. Vintage Rumba is worth a try.

I have the vintage (very Dark juice) and it lasts 24 hours. Unfortunately the scent is unquestionably feminine. Plus it's soft, so not for me.

This thing is absolutely vile. Its what my worst nightmares are made of.I shudder everytime I think of the time when my brother just sprayed it once in our home...and I had to practically shove him in the bathroom to scrub this venom off and exhaust my whole house and still I could pick hints of this devil's rancid breath. My God I can feel my bile rising just thinking about that soul sucking gasoline/kerosene like heavy putrid reeky shit.

This is an example of what real perfume is ladies and gentlemen! Smells delicious! Not in the cupcake way either. It’s powerful so a little goes a long way and lasts like a good perfume should. It’s sweet floral and very complex but I love it! Can be pulled off by young and old alike that is if you’re not scared. Worth a try for sure, very inexpensive. Afumeheadtoo.

If you like an old school powdery floral oriental chypre with leather, imagine one that fell out of the sky dripping in plum and honey and pretty much any desirable note you can think of and you have Rumba. It’s a dream fragrance if you like this style. Magnificent actually. The bottle is a little less than desirable and it has the bad plastic cap but just ignore it because what’s inside is worth it. It’s what a lot of people refer to as “old lady” and if you’re like me as soon as I hear that description I break out a note pad because that usually indicates something good. I have only smelled the old Balenciaga version with the dark juice. No idea what the newer one smells like. But the old Rumba will blow your socks off, again if this is the kind of fragrance you enjoy. This is a mega powerhouse so it’s a bit of a surprise that it was co-created by Jean-Claude Ellena. Rumba and First are quite a departure for him but when he decides to go large he goes to Jackson and doesn’t mess around. Scent is subjective and one person’s “OMG this is the best thing I’ve ever smelled in my life” is another one’s “meh”. For me, it’s a 10/10.

Reviewing the vintage by Balenciaga: No need to fall down the rabbit hole with this one. I think that some people rate a perfume more highly the more nostalgia it has for them. As a modern sniffeuse, this is enjoyable, but it is not "OMFG, THIS IS THE AMAZING BE-ALL, END-ALL PERFUME OF ALL TIME!!!" that a lot of the reviews make it out to be. There's some civet, some honey, some incense. It's fine. It's not quite a full perfume to me - it's like a house made out of three different rooms, and there are a few steps missing from one of the staircases to get to each room. Something just doesn't quite fit.

My aunt used to work in this company where the perfume was made. It's a heavenly woody floral scent.