Prélude
Balenciaga (1982)

An almond rose, powdery sweet and innocent
with a sour balsamic undercurrent.
Not bad.

(A miniature version of the bottle shown above)

In vintage ribbed bottle.
A delightful Oriental, a softer, less in your face Opium. Where Opium is full fronted, unabashedly assertive, Prelude in its gentle and carefully nuanced revealed beauty is just as pleasurable

This lovely perfume is redolent of a refined amber and the scent of oleander, which has a menthol quality, although not in a medicinal way. It is quite concentrated in its edt version so a one ounce bottle of this strength is worth the price. Although not big on silage (it sits very close to the skin), it does have longevity in its favor.

Although discontinued, it is to be found often and plentiful on Ebay. Of the different bottles available, try to select the classic tall ribbed design with the round top that is indicative of the oldest packaging.

Prelude enwraps one in an incredibly soft and elegant cloud of amber, without any of the harsh, metallic, or synthetic-edged notes which often spoil oriental and ambery perfumes for me. In some ways it is similar to Patou's Normandie and to Dioressence, another impossibly beautiful amber!