Shocking by Schiaparelli for Women. 3.3 Oz Eau De Perfume Spray

I've been looking for this item for over 30 years. It was great.

I have a small bottle of vintage Shocking by Schiaparelli that I love. Shocking had been discontinued for decades but was reintroduced sometime in the past 10-20 years. I purchased a large bottle of the modern incarnation and was extremely disappointed. The original perfume is a sophisticated blend of white flowers, cyphres, and aldehydes. It was probably made with real musk or animal ingredients, as was many other perfumes in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The new formula probably uses synthetic musks, and it just doesn't have the same appeal. The new formula screamed floral, without being tempered by the amber/aldehyde notes of the original. It was harsh and cloying. I'll have to continue to find vintage bottles of Shocking rather than buy the new version.

When Shocking was introduced, the fragrance was so blatantly sexy it was considered scandalous. Elsa loved stirring things up. The iconoclast designer collaborated with Jean Cocteau and surrealists Dali and Giacommeti. She outraged le haute monde of Parisian couture with her lobster skirt and her Skeleton and Tears gowns. When she had the noted parfumer M. Carles concoct her sexy, vulgar and irresistable scent, it was said that all of Paris heard Coco Chanel's jaw hit the cobblestones of the Faubourg St Honore. When Schiaparelli realized there was no color on earth bold enough for her new creation, she invented Shocking Pink. Now that's a perfume.Elsa's blatantly come hither cocktail blended a big ripe hit of orangey bergamot, deep, dark tarragon, the narcotic enticement of narcissus, spicy rose, seductive honey and heady, exotic cloves -- all reclining on a bed of unapologetically raw and raunchy civet musk. Overwhelming for dewy eyed virgins and decent little housewives, but elixir on those who were woman enough to handle it.For almost 20 years, Shocking held sway. From the days when pale Prince Edward tossed away a kingdom for the mannish Mrs. Simpson, through the second Great War with its Ritas and Avas, into the decade of Gina and Sophia, Shocking had its heyday. It was the perfume of femmes fatale who wore gardenias in their hair, French inhaled their cigarettes, danced the tango, and knew the name of every maitre 'd in every night club between Biarritz and Bal Harbour. And then everything changed.The Age of Aquarius brought Youth Dew followed by happy go lucky Charlie. By the mid 1970s, Schiaparelli's shocker was as scarce as hen's teeth and today finding a vintage bottle is a lost cause.The "new and unimproved" Shocking was relaunched by Schiapparelli Benessere in 1998, but it's not the stuff of legend. The scent retains that juicy overripe citrus smack, a rich blend of rose and narcissus, and an enticing drift of clove, but the heart is gone. The civet exists diminuendo con amore...fit for polite company and the Reverend's wife. But it's not shocking...and it's not Shocking.Too bad. I still see that sexy Shocking Pink box and dream of being one of those Shocking sirens who perched -- crosslegged, of course, on the rail of an ocean liner, chinchilla saucily tossed over one shoulder, as the flashbulbs popped.