Prelude by Balenciaga c1982

Launched in 1982, Prelude by Balenciaga entered the world under a name carefully chosen to evoke both anticipation and emotion. The word Prelude comes from the Latin praeludere, meaning "to play beforehand"—prae meaning "before" and ludere, "to play." The modern form we use today is French in origin, and it is pronounced "pray-lood" (or in English, often "prel-yood"). In the musical world, a prelude is a short, often expressive composition that sets the tone for a larger piece. But beyond music, the word conveys the delicate tension before something meaningful begins: a glance before a kiss, the hush before an overture, the quiet flutter of expectation.

Choosing Prelude as a perfume name instantly evokes a feeling of romantic suspense. It is a word that carries refinement, elegance, and subtle sensuality. It paints a picture of a woman pausing before entering a ballroom, of twilight before evening, of the first stirring of desire before it blooms. It suggests not just a moment, but a mood—one filled with potential, softness, and allure.

The early 1980s was a transitional period in culture, fashion, and perfumery. The era is often referred to as the beginning of the Power Decade, when the extravagance and boldness of the late '70s gave way to more structured, assertive styles. Women were stepping more prominently into professional spaces, and fashion responded with broad-shouldered silhouettes, sharply tailored suits, and an emphasis on control and confidence. Yet despite this assertiveness, there remained a strong undercurrent of femininity—romantic ruffles, silky blouses, and opulent evening wear were also in vogue. Designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana, and Karl Lagerfeld helped shape this balance between strength and softness. Perfumes, too, began to reflect this duality.

In fragrance, the late 1970s had been dominated by bold chypres and animalic florals—scents like Opium (1977), Charlie (1973), and Chloe (1975) which spoke with volume. But by the early '80s, there was a gentle shift toward more polished compositions—still rich, but more refined. Prelude fit this shift gracefully. Though it opened with a sparkling aldehydic top—an echo of earlier decades—it soon revealed a spicy floral heart and a warm, animalic base. This structure allowed it to balance freshness with depth, youth with sophistication.

For women in 1982, Prelude may have felt like a counterpoint to the louder, more aggressive fragrances of the era. The name alone would have conjured a sense of elegance and romanticism—a fragrance for the woman who preferred understatement to spectacle, allure to command. Prelude was a fragrance not of arrival, but of approach—a slow, elegant reveal.

Interpreted in scent, a "prelude" might begin with the gentle fizz of aldehydes, clean and radiant like the glint of light on satin. The heart would swell with spicy florals, evoking passion just beginning to stir—perhaps carnation, rose, and lily given warmth through clove or cinnamon. The base, balsamic and animalic, would ground the composition in sensuality, suggesting the promise of intimacy yet to come.

In the context of its time, Prelude was neither entirely conventional nor radical. It reflected the evolving mood of the early '80s—still romantic, but more composed. It was not as bombastic as some of its contemporaries, but it offered a kind of poised femininity that would have appealed to women seeking both beauty and nuance. As a scent and a name, Prelude remains a study in quiet sophistication—suggestive, elegant, and full of promise.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? Prelude by Balenciaga is classified as a young, fresh floral fragrance for women. It begins with an aldehydic top, followed by a spicy floral heart, resting on a balsamic, animalic base.

• Top notes: aldehydes, Guinea orange, spicy notes, Calabrian bergamot, Jamaican pimento berries, Bourbon geranium
• Middle notes: Dutch orchid,  Zanzibar carnation, Egyptian jasmine, Grasse rose, Comoros ylang ylang, Alpine lily of the valley, Saigon cinnamon
• Base notes: Mysore sandalwood, Venezuelan tonka bean, resin, Madagascar vanilla, Ethiopian civet, Siamese benzoin, ambergris, Somali olibanum, Colombian tolu, Indonesian patchouli

Scent Profile:

As I bring Prelude by Balenciaga to my nose, I am instantly enveloped in a luminous veil of aldehydes—effervescent, shimmering, like sunlight refracted through frosted glass. These synthetic molecules don’t have a distinct scent of their own, but instead add a sparkling lift, amplifying the other notes to come like the overture in a symphony. They create a sense of clean, airy expansiveness, setting the stage with elegance and breath.

Immediately beneath the aldehydes, a bright thread of Guinea orange bursts forward. This is no ordinary citrus—its vivid character is both tart and full-bodied, slightly floral, with a rind that offers hints of bitterness. The Calabrian bergamot, grown in southern Italy’s sun-washed groves, brings a more refined citrus note, softer and greener, with an almost tea-like elegance. It acts as a bridge between the aldehydes’ brilliance and the heart's eventual warmth.

Then, the warmth begins to build. Jamaican pimento berries—commonly known as allspice—add a round, aromatic heat. Their scent is a curious combination of clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon, imparting a soft but exotic spice that deepens the top’s sparkle. Alongside it is the crisp, green vibrancy of Bourbon geranium, grown on the island of Réunion. Rich in citronellol and geraniol, this geranium offers a balance of rose-like sweetness and minty sharpness, already hinting at the floral story to come.

As the top fades, the heart unfolds with a luxuriant, almost tactile floral bouquet. Dutch orchid lends a powdery, creamy nuance—subtle, but with a vanillic hush that cushions the more assertive notes. Zanzibar carnation adds an immediate jolt of heat: spicy, clove-like, and just a touch medicinal, like a silk scarf touched with fire. This rich floral is grounded by Egyptian jasmine, warm and narcotic, with indole—a natural aroma compound that gives jasmine its slightly animalic, fleshy warmth.

Threaded through this heart is the eternal softness of Grasse rose, the most prized rose in perfumery. Harvested by hand in the cool early mornings of the French Riviera, this rose absolute is velvety and honeyed, rich with a natural complexity that no synthetic can quite replicate. Comoros ylang ylang, from the volcanic islands off the coast of East Africa, brings a tropical, creamy yellow floral note—lush and almost custard-like, tempering the sharpness of rose and jasmine. And then there is Alpine lily of the valley—a dewy, green floral whisper that brings freshness and clarity, like a stream running beneath the petals.

All of this floral richness is stirred gently by Saigon cinnamon, which brings a touch of woody spice. This Vietnamese variety is warmer and sweeter than Ceylon or Cassia cinnamon, and here it gives the floral heart a golden, glowing warmth without overwhelming it.

As the scent deepens into its base, the fragrance settles with remarkable sensuality. Mysore sandalwood, now almost extinct in perfumery due to overharvesting, is the anchor. Its soft, milky-woody aroma is both sacred and seductive—creamier and more resonant than any other sandalwood variety. Alongside it is Venezuelan tonka bean, rich in coumarin, offering a warm, hay-like sweetness with hints of almond and tobacco.

Resin and Madagascar vanilla combine to form the rich balsamic undercurrent. The vanilla is dark and syrupy, with a rum-like edge distinct from lighter vanilla varieties, while the resin lends depth and a chewy, almost leathery texture. Ethiopian civet, once a treasured animalic note (though now usually recreated synthetically), brings a deep muskiness that evokes skin, fur, and heat—it pulses beneath the sweetness, grounding the fragrance with a primal hum.

Siamese benzoin adds a soft, ambery warmth, evoking polished wood and incense smoke. Ambergris, once harvested from the ocean as a rare secretion of the sperm whale, lends its salty, sun-warmed scent—a note like wind over the sea and warm skin. Somali olibanum (frankincense) gives a light, smoky resin note that evokes temples and stillness, while Colombian tolu balsam deepens it with rich, sweet, slightly medicinal warmth. Finally, Indonesian patchouli—earthy, dark, with a damp, loamy richness—wraps the composition in a soft shadow, echoing the sensual tension the name Prelude promises.

Together, these elements create a fragrance that dances from sparkling freshness to warm seduction, from delicate powder to rich animalic skin. Every note in Prelude feels like a breath held just a second too long—charged with anticipation, lush with emotion, a scent that lives in the pause before passion.

Bottle:

Fate of the Fragrance:

Prelude by Balenciaga, once a luminous fixture in the brand's fragrance portfolio, has long since slipped into the realm of discontinued classics. Released in 1982, it remained on the market at least through the early 1990s—confirmed to have still been sold as late as 1992—but has since become elusive, sought after by collectors and perfume enthusiasts who remember its refined complexity. Today, it exists as a quiet echo in the vintage perfume world, with surviving bottles occasionally surfacing through estate sales, auctions, or specialized online fragrance resellers.

Its discontinuation marked the end of an era for a certain style of perfumery—elegant yet expressive, constructed with fine natural materials supported by careful use of synthetics. The rarity of Prelude today adds to its mystique. For those who remember it, there’s often a deep sense of nostalgia attached: it was a fragrance that embodied grace and confidence, one that stood apart from louder, more aggressive compositions that began to dominate the 1990s. Now, it lingers as a scent memory, precious and often described with the same wistfulness as a favorite song from youth—one that begins softly, builds to something breathtaking, and then fades, leaving a lasting impression.