I smell powdery leather, fila disruptor syrupy honey, juicy plum, dusty incense and soapy white florals. I find that Rumba changes on me from day to day, so no one wearing is the same. In all honesty, yes, Rumba does smell a little dated. But the fact that it smells of by-gone days is all part of its charm. Not surprisingly Jean-Claude Ellena is one of the noses behind this elegant scent, and Ron Winnegrad is the other talented nose. It's unfortunate that Balenciaga felt the need to discontinue this fragrance to make way for predictable scents like Florabotanica and Balenciaga Paris. I strongly believe that if Rumba still graced our shelves, it would still be selling.

I don't have a sophisticated nose or know very much about perfumes, but the glowing reviews of this perfume motivated me to blind buy it. I thought I was ordering the Balenciaga version but instead received the Ted Lapidus version. I don't know what to make of it. It is strong, a fila shoes bit overwhelming initially. At first, it reminded me of sitting close to older ladies in church and being surrounded by their perfume, but slowly it settles into something more pleasant. I am intrigued that anyone senses anything floral or sweet in this perfume. On my skin this perfume is thoroughly muscular and masculine (I like that). fila sneakers

The base note is similar to the overall impression, that doesn't change much during its impressive projection: more than 12 hrs. I would almost call it a linear fragrance, because everything is so harmoniously composed around honey and incense. You shouldn't overdose it, otherwise you'll probably induce a headache to the ones who dislike fierce fragrances. Everyone should be careful with this fragrance grenade. Ted Lapidus has taken Rumba in the 90's. Whether the smell has now also been reformulated, I can not notice any relevant difference between the old formulation and the recent one. My comment refers to Balenciaga's original .

Very nice Eighties fragrance anyway, tremendous staying power and sillage. fila shoes womens Update: last week I sprayed it on while I was wearing a sweater, then I put it back into the wardrobe... I just noticed that, after 5 days, some of the fragrance (a delicious creamy incense) is still there around the neck and on the sleeves. Its longevity is incredible!Kelleysmall I never smelled the parfum concentration but I own an Edt old bottle whose box has no bar code so it was presumably produced before 1988 . It smells very strong and it has leather and oakmoss notes . I love it ! Is it possible that you smelled the recent Ted Lapidus version of original Balenciaga Rumba if you find it watered down?

Wow , what a perfume ! Very sparkling fruity opening which makes you think Rumba is a well chosen name : you feel like dancing beautiful gypsy dances ! Then a suprising spicy carnation appears to freshen fruits and ... what a second and big suprise for me : leather here is gorgeous as it is so well surrounded by santal ; oakmoss is not overwhelming and it is beautiful . A must have for all vintage strong perfumes lovers in my opinion as I find it quite unique .You would think of it as an oriental but in the end you feel the chypre soul : the rumba is danced by a couple unlike the gypsy Buleria :-) .

Rumba fila disruptor 2 by Balenciaga: I wore the original version in my teens and it surely was a statement perfume, very 80's but very different too: frutity -powdery, oriental, mysterious, difficult to pinpoint what it smelled of, evasive, lasted forever on my skin and left a faint vanilla- flowery fragrance. Nothing ever since has been even remotely reminiscent of Rumba! So unique it is!not for the faint-hearted!I got a large bottle of the Balenciaga version as a gift many years ago. One whiff, and I said "ugh." Way too strong for me. So it just stayed in my collection, not being used.