Cialenga

Cialenga is an excellent example of a classic, old-school chypre. Inky-dark, mossy and richly floral, it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as its more famous compatriots, Givenchy III, Mitsouko, Femme et al., but Cialenga is significantly less well-known. I have a vintage miniature of the parfum, and it is superb stuff - dense and complex but adhering to the classic chypre structure. Fruity up top, Cialenga opens with bright citrus, followed closely by blackcurrant, which, alongside the mossy chypre base that emerges early on, reminds me of Cartier So Pretty. An big, powdery bouquet follows, led by rose and sweetly clean but intense white florals. Powdery iris is surprisingly dominant here, a beautiful inclusion. There is an underlying greenness, stem-like and slightly dewy, but the mossiness continues to develop in the background. The drydown is leathery, ink-like and dense - an unapologetically dark chypre base. The beautiful vintage oakmoss note is king here, rounded out nicely by a cloud of patchouli and dry, woody notes. I get a hint of cloves too, adding warm spice. The leather quality is dry and woody rather than animalic. It fades to a mossy skin scent with a hint of powdery florals. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. Unisex by today's standards, Cialenga is a timeless, surprisingly wearable beauty despite being very 1970s in style. A top-notch leathery chypre, Cialenga is an underrated gem. Extroverted elegance in a bottle. 4.5/5.

Another worthwhile vintage Balenciaga fragrance that you don't hear a lot about. Cialenga holds it's own with the better known green chypres that became popular in the 60s and stayed through the 70s such as No 19, YSL Y, Ivoire de Balmain, Coriandre, Amazone, Calandre and even Guerlain's Chamade. It has similarities to all of those and is a duplicate of none. Cialenga is more aldehydic in it's opening than No. 19, and then overall somewhat softer, warmer and rounder with a lower dose of galbanum and the addition of blackcurrant to it's heart (Interesting that neither aldehydes nor galbanum are given as notes here since without those there is no Cialenga but anyhow) and then a powdery, sandalwood and moss drydown. I've got to admit, green chypres are a genre I don't wear as often as any others that I own but sometimes green is just the thing and in that case Cialgena is one of my favorites. (I'm not a fan of No. 19, so shoot me now.) A little of the parfum goes a long way - the edt needs to be used more generously. It's not seen that often but if you like any of the fragrances mentioned at the beginning of this review and you're into vintages, chances are that you'd like Cialenga. If stored properly (boxed and/or in the dark, cap closed tightly) my experience is the top notes in 2016 are no less than they were in 1975 - though if you're not into aldehydes you may wish they were. =)

I still remember vividly the day I discovered this masterpiece among my best friend's bottles . This happened exactly 27 years ago and I was just 23 . When a frangrance makes you smile , opens your eyes wide with amazement and you feel your jaw fall because of great surprise you are definitely in front of " your masterpiece fragrance " . I was young and loved so much this gorgeous chypre with green notes added to splendid oakmoss , vetiver , cloves and a hint of rose so beautifully blended , a light sweetness by ylang-ylang ... I never tried to buy a vintage bottle of it because I am afraid of getting one which has gone bad because of time , although it is not impossible to find it online nowadays . It is a fragrance which has marked my tastes : I always appreciate well blended smells with oakmoss , cloves and vetiver and tend to put aside very sweet perfumes . I remember I also liked Michelle from this house but not as much as Cialenga as I found Michelle too sweet ! This makes me giggle today as Michelle elegant sweetness is nothing to be compared with the candies in bottles you can smell these days . It was another era then and a girl aged 23 could never think about smelling old lady wearing a real perfume such as Cialenga and probably could never conceive to dress herself up into some fruity candy .

I’ve never thought that I would like so much a perfume like Cialenga. My grand-aunt own a 120ml EdT bottle that she bought way back the 90’s. The first time I opened the box, a woody smell reached me hard enough to turn off any possible interest (I’m a huge oriental lover). Tried it once more in a Buenos Aires trip. This time it went better! After a while, I found a 1oz pure parfum bottle (with just a little perfume in it) and bought it for my collection! What is this!! What a scent! I’m completely in love with it. It’s mysterious, woody-earthy kind of perfume that you feel powerful when you use it. A lot of people say that it’s possible to link Chanel n°19 with Cialenga. Well, sorry but in my opinion Cialenga is far much better than n° 19! It envelop you with only two drops for the hole day. I’m not that good in finding out all the notes but what I get is a wonderful oak moss, soaked in a clove kind of potion. After a while I get vetiver and cedar. It takes me to a 70’s Paris, walking through stone streets and feeling the ice cold wind in my face. Inside the luxury boutiques, the yellow lights warm everything around. A real mist of luxury and power! Unique!!!!

Song sparrows sing outside my window as I contemplate Cialenga, and it embodies springtime: it's not cold, but cool, there is an inky dampness of thawing earth, the verdancy of young leaves and the silhouette of white florals, in the periphery. There is a cassis that renders the opening movement tart and palpable, tinted with rose. Most notably, the iris forms its crux, anchoring the seemingly gossamer elements to a violet-hued, powdered woodiness. The mossiness of its base is translucent and luminous. It feels disciplined, restrained, poetic. It reminds me of the emphasis of line, color and form in minimalist art, like Ellsworth Kelly: down to the bare elements. In its sparseness, each component breathes, each outline is lucid. This may underwhelm noses hungry for lots of heft and activity, but in a more meditative state, it all 'comes together.' I imagine this would've been more popular with the well-read than the extroverted party-goer. I'd love to try this in parfum form as the EDT is quite beautiful.

I found a vintage bottle, EDP, and don't understand why this has been discontinued. It's a wonderful warm and spicy fragrance,dry rather than sweet. Love it. What a remarkable combination of notes. The opening is sharp with aldehydes and citrus, with a touch of acridness from the black current. The middle notes are floral but very dry in aspect, no heavy sweetness in these notes. It's very "woody", you get a lot of sandalwood and cedar here, even in the first 15 minutes. The drydown continues to evolve the earthy theme of patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss and cedar. This fragrance contains everything I love in a scent; it has personality and a lot of depth. A wonderful day or night scent for me, great sillage and longevity (8 hours). Apply with moderation, it' a powerhouse scent. Definately worth a look for all you woody-chypre lovers out there. Still available online for now. I'm stocking up since I know it won't be long before it's totally gone.

I received a micro-mini of Cialenga from a generous Fragrantican. It is... in imperfect but not unwearable condition. As the bottom notes are the top notes, I will presume that it is vintage. When I first when to apply it, very little came out, so I gave it ample room. An over-application really brought it out. Not feminine in a girly way. Mossy, bitter, earthy, leathery, a woody, not overly floral chypre, except for some dusty iris that rises up with a slight peppery clove, but not spicy. Classy, dark, interesting. From a different era. Vetiver is clearly dominant, with much oakmoss and some cedar. I used to revel in vanilla and white flowers. Now I am on a chypre kick, and Cialenga holds her own among the greats. Forty years ago, did she feel fresh and young? Maybe. Or was she already a mature woman with plenty of secrets?

Hi I discovered this wonderful perfume, emblematic in its sophisticated refinement, in the 1980s as a gift to my mother. After many years of inconclusive searches, being cialenga a perfume discontinued, I finally managed to find a dozen vintage packaging, perfectly intact. And it become one of perfumes that wearing more willingly and continuously huge success, despite being a feminine fragrance the wearing quietly without problems, love it and I don't care. the only sad awareness is that sooner or later commercially it will ends, and reissues are never equal all original, as success for mythic fragrances from Givenchy, where givenchy III for example is very much different from the original masterpiece.

I had never heard of this but managed to find and successfully bid for a pure perfume dating from the 1970s. It is absolutely heavenly! It's hard to describe but seems to have all my favourite ingredients in a perfect balance. The oakmoss is to die for. What a difference it makes! I can't believe this scent is no longer made. I definitely prefer this one to other green-woody scents. It is certainly superior to Chanel No. 19 and although on me it has some similarities with Givenchy III, (minus the peachy flavour), it is, on the whole, better than Givenchy. Would love to find an Eau de Parfum or Eau de Toilette as I'm sure the fragrance would also work very well in a diluted, misty form.

For people wondering what the category is of this perfume, it is a cross chypre - green - floral. It is a softer more 'aldehydes' version of the vintage Chanel N19 EDP 1st release. Chanel has never been able to attain that level for the later releases of Chanel N19. I think I had tried them all in my despair to find a large bottle of the vintage. But I gave that up, after buying so many chanel n19's that I was soo glad to discover this interpretation of the concept, but this time by the house of Balenciaga.

Hi Rithacha, No worries! I gave Chat a bottle of Cialenga a while ago and she did indeed love it very much!! She loves almost all Balenciaga's very much. And I agree, it is a typical ' Cannot go wrong with' house! Action

Vintage balenciaga perfumes are the givers of the perfect clove scent herbie, but not tooo herbie. The drydown is jasmine and clove. But not the powdery but the creamy sort of jasmine.

Once you try it and never forget! One of the most soft and strong fragrance ever. Must have from vintage list.

Thanks to Persephone's amazing generosity, I had the opportunity to sample this amazing Balenciaga creation. In fashion and in fragrance, it seems that this house can do no wrong. Cialenga reminds me of a member who used to be on fragrantica - you might remember her as Chat Lunatique. I'm confident she loved or would have loved Cialenga! Sharp wit, martini-dry humor, impeccable taste in classic-structured quality perfume. Think YSL Y, the Balmain series, Scherrer, Niki de Saint Phalle, Coriandre, the great green chypres of their time. Cialenga has a similarly disciplined structure, precise as a fine clock. A strong green opening, rose-iris-lily heart, and a base that does not skimp on the woodsy moss. If you like a French chypre, Cialenga will make your heart skip a beat. Cialenga did give me a double-take with the fruity currant note, which smelled a little out of place at first, but endeared itself to me almost immediately. It's quirky, and I like it.

I had a bottle of this way back when, well, way back in the early 70's. It really wasn't my kind of perfume at the time, but I wore it before I discovered Chloe and Parure, which I really did adore. Come to think of it, the only reason I wore Cialenga was that a gorgeous English girl a few years older than myself wore it exquisitely, rocking the dark, sensual notes. I was very young, I wanted to be her. Instead, I exuded the other side of Cialenga, the ancient, oily orange peel with spices side, distinctively unpleasant and un-sensual, more like something used to preserve mummies than a seductive potion. Truth is that on my chemistry, Cialenga smelled much like I actually was at that time: neither gorgeous nor sexy, somewhat awkward and confused - just a very young girl pretending to be all grown up.

Because so many members have compared Cialenga to vintage Chanel No. 19, (with many preferring Cialenga) I had to sample it to satisfy my curiousity. I go back to the mid 80's with No. 19, and have spent many years daring the perfume counters in department stores to show me something I'll like better (or even just as much). None have so far. Including, now, Cialenga. I find the current No. 19 EDP very satisfying. Cialenga by comparison (I sampled the vintage parfum) is similar, but if I have to describe it in my limited perfume vocabulary, I'd say it smells like a soapier, mustier, slightly spicier version of No. 19. But that little magic thing that No. 19 has just isn't there. So, for me at least, No. 19 has yet to be dethroned.

Old leather and woody notes dominate at first, florals and herbs come later. Is this supposed to smell like that, I wonder at the first try. Is this really a womens scent? Reading the other reviews shows that C. is indeed supposed to smell like that, and yes, it is a womens scent. Ivoire and Cabochard are mentioned, the first I hate and the second I love. Cialenga is going to take some getting used to. Good lasting power, modest sillage. Very masculine trending, sugar and fluff free. A skillfully blended chypre, maybe a little bit dated, C. is worth a try.

I wore this today and the dry, briskness of it made me think of Diorella, but I haven't compared them side by side. I love the scent but it lasted about 15 minutes on me. I have a mini, an edt and a parfum mini, all vintage. The first I can't smell at all in the bottle. The second I sprayed myself with liberally and then reapplied. I could smell it a little by the time I got to work. I took the parfum with me and applied that. It was absolutely glorious, for maybe an hour. I read how long lasting it is for others and it makes me sad.

I love my vintage Balenciaga. Cristobal, Balenciaga pour Homme, Ho Hang, Portos, Le Dix....these are all amazing scents. Cialenga somehow flies under my love horizons. Unfairly so, since it is a great fragrance. Cialenga kicks off her daily walk like a big breasted spicy oriental characterized mostly by cloves and incense. Then she takes a step left towards chypre territory, full on mossy mode, and soon after goes on zigzagging picking up roses and lipstick kisses until she blissfully faints in the nearby forest. ****(*)

i received a mini bottle of this from a friend, after she recently went to one of the flea markets in berlin. such a thoughtful gift, and i had never heard of this one. it starts off smelling like maple-y woods to me, with something earthy, airy and watery, which i'm putting down to the oakmoss, vetiver and green notes. here it gets a bit soapy, but still earthy and maple-y. what an odd combination of notes, but so interesting. after the drydown it's primarily the green notes and subtle florals. still with a soapy overtone, and i think, some hints of iris.