Shocking

Vintage Shocking by Schiaparelli I blame Frida Kahlo for making Shocking by Schiaparelli my new obsession. My cousin, a friend of the curator, arranged for us to have a private tour of Frida’s show at the Palacio De Bellas Artes in Mexico City. It was breathtaking. There were paintings from private collections that I’ve never seen in print before. She told us stories of Frida that the collectors told her. It was as if Frida herself was speaking to me from beyond. I thought I had died and gone to heaven and I didn’t think it was possible to love her any more than I already did. It was there that I learned that Shocking was one of Frida’s signature perfumes, along with Tabu. It makes perfect sense since both Frida and Elsa Schiaparelli were the “wild” children of their day. Both women had such passionate and colorful lives – Frida as an artist and Elsa as a designer – it was a match made in heaven. From that day forward, I was determined to find and wear this scent. I am a firm believer in cooking and in perfume that you should always start with the original formulation before you change it and make it yours; so I knew that nothing less than the vintage fragrance would do. It took me years, but I finally found my vintage bottle with the “S” in the corseted bottle based on Mae West’s figure. I began with the Eau de Cologne, knowing that if I liked it, I would upgrade to the pure parfum. Today is the first day I wear it, and for the occasion, I put together a Shocking pink vintage outfit that Ms. Schiaparelli would have loved. Then, in a moment of passion, I doused myself. With a vintage fragrance, it can sometimes go either way. You can go straight to Heaven or Hell with a spoiled note or two, and I usually play it safe by just dabbing it on and waiting it out. Not this time. I went for it. I doused myself. I figured I had nothing to lose and Frida and Elsa would have wanted me to go for it. Then, I grit my teeth and waited. About 10 minutes later, I got what I now know is the QUEEN of honey scents. I felt like I was walking in a room full of cut flowers dipped in honey where someone has just made love. It’s a full and complex composition; so well blended that I can’t pick out any particular notes. It has that naughty animalistic undercurrent that I LOVE. It takes the entire fragrance out of the “nice” and “pretty” categories and puts it in the “dangerously beautiful” “sultry”, “risqué” categories. This is not a signature scent, this is a LIFESTYLE. Both Frida Kahlo and Elsa Schiaparelli are beautiful women – beautiful inside and out – for who they were and what they contributed to this world as women and this fragrance is a tribute to that lifestyle. I can’t deny that this fragrance makes me feel beautiful and inspired and unique. I feel like it’s the only fragrance I have that acknowledges that I too have a purpose in life, like I am here to fulfill a very specific calling in my own unique beautiful way. Wear it well and bless this world with your unique beauty and your unique purpose too.

SHOCKING, in EDC concentration, takes off smelling boozily like an herbal liqueur, not far from the aromatic realm of Underberg digestive, or even Jägermeister. Touched with bergamot, dry rose and lime peel. Throughout the development, an herbal quality is most evident to me... yes, moreso than any floralcy or animalics; It must be the tarragon. It is bolstered by what I am quite sure are myrrh and opoponax, giving a resinous, "stony" quality to the mix. Dusky narcissus adds an unsweet, orris-y quality, with improbable hints of a painter's linseed oil. I'm convinced that a bitter/dusty turmeric is also part of the dance here. The honey, patchouly and civet emerge over time. A faint accord of what I am taking to be clove and thyme give a slight, pleasant "medicinal" quality to the fragrance. Despite SHOCKING's honeyed reputation, the fragrance never, ever becomes overtly sweet, IMO. Certainly not juicy/fruity, vanillic or gourmand in any way: the bitter herbal qualities always have the last word, and for me, define the character of the scent. In far drydown, there is a faint, intriguingly louche "stale cigarette tobacco" quality, which a number of classic pre-1960 numbers boasted, as we know. Perfumers knew where and when their scents would be worn, haha. A most intelligent aldehydic/floral/chypre, the scent increasingly smells masculine as it dries down. Not what you'd call "pretty" or "femme". I wouldn't even call it "sexy", per se... compelling, stimulating, sophisticated, yes, but not exactly suggestive, erotic or alluring. If I had to synaethestically bestow a "color" upon the smell, I'd say it was olive green or pea green.... ie., a muted yellow-green. Certainly not Schiaparelli "hot pink". I find SHOCKING to be most similar to Weil ZIBELINE and Revlon INTIMATE. INTIMATE's debt to SHOCKING is without question, though not, I would opine, made of ingredients as costly. People list TABU and BAL À VERSAILLES as being similar, yet I really don't get that... SHOCKING is nowhere near as sweet/syrupy/vanillic as BàV, and not as conspicuously "dark" and spicy as TABU. The nose behind SHOCKING is Jean Carles, who also famously authored the vintage MISS DIOR, Carven MA GRIFFE, Dana TABU and ELLE...ELLE for Lucien Lelong. [UPDATE--->] I just received a bottle of the eau-de-parfum. Likely dating to the 1980's, judging from the emballage. The smell is all the ideas of SHOCKING, but highly concentrated, more "opaque" and tightly interwoven, with a pronounced sweet floralcy... brimming with ylang-ylang, nostalgic violet ionone, hay-ey/vanillic tonka and old-fashioned iris; the patchouly, tarragon, civet and aldehydes greatly ratcheted down. Arguably more traditionally "feminine". In this concentration, the scent bears a striking resemblance to Guerlain APRÈS L'ONDÉE (1906). If you are heartbroken that Guerlain no longer makes APRÈS L'ONDÉE in an EDP concentration, you must obtain an 80's/90's bottle of SHOCKING in the EDP... It's almost a dupe of ALO, I'd say, and 10x as strong as the current EDT.

[1250] Elsa Schiaparelli was a true pioneer, a fashion designer known for her innovative approach to her craft, often encompassing the use of art techniques like surrealism and trompe l'œil. Shocking is the most famous perfume from her house, named for her signature colour, "shocking pink". In addition, Schiaparelli's provocative designs were sometimes considered - fittingly - shocking at the time of their release, like her tennis skirt that was a precursor to shorts. Shocking is a perfume whose bottle is more famed than the juice within. Shaped like a female torso, it was famously modelled on Mae West's measurements, whom Schiaparelli dressed for one of her films. An obvious inspiration for Gaultier Classique et al., Shocking's then-groundbreaking bottle is in keeping with Schiaparelli's artistry. I only have a tiny miniature in a plain bottle, and would love the real deal. I was glad to discover that the perfume itself is a thing of beauty, worthy of its iconic bottle. Shocking is a compelling, opulent perfume, old-world in style, richly beautiful and classically feminine. It opens with tart freshness, its bergamot note up top prominent and intact. The aldehydes are soapy, and there is some greenness. There is some bitterness here, perhaps due to age, but it only adds character. The floral heart unfurls after a little while, sweet, rich and full-bodied. It is very smooth, almost creamy, but becomes powdery as it settles. The yellow florals, an accord I'm partial to, are initially dominant. Narcissus leads, pollen-y and slightly grassy. Ylang ylang adds sweetness, but is much less cloying than in many modern scents. Bold, powdery rose follows, and some clean, powdery jasmine is in there too, if subtle. The honey adds rich sweetness to the florals. It marries beautifully with the musky amber base, which develops in the background alongside the florals, enhancing the bouquet to perfection. It becomes increasingly animalic and musky as it dries down, with the sweet florals remaining as it fades. Soft spices emerge here, enhancing it to perfection. A nice Mysore sandalwood note emerges in the base, Opium-style alongside the amber and spice. It fades to a sweetly musky skin scent. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. It is feminine-leaning in my opinion, very feminine by the standards of its era, but perhaps could be unisex today. It is an autumn/winter scent, best worn in the evening. It is masterfully-composed, its many components expertly balanced, making for a cohesive, even seamless scent. It is of the high quality than no longer exists in designer perfumes. Glamorous, opulent and utterly beautiful, Shocking is the olfactory equivalent of an elaborate opera coat. I'm not shocked - I'm in love. 5/5.

So I've had the opportunity to get acquainted with Shocking through 4 packages of nips for the vintage parfum by now, and I have really grown to love its fresh, smooth, honeyed jasmine a lot. Every bottle I have ever smelled has been off-smelling except for these nips. And today, I receive the much maligned reformulated version of the fragrance - the EDP, still sometimes available online for quite a bit of money. This is very much an honest attempt at reissuing the fragrance. It's completely different, ingredient-wise, but the scent is very, very close. The opening is a bit more synthetic but it captures every nuance of the original's lovely and very soft opening. The middle started to blow my mind - it is dead on. Perhaps again a little synthetic, but otherwise dead on. The beautiful, soft, almost liquid jasmine and amber honey accord that is exactly what Shocking is supposed to be. Then it changes from the old one - an updated classic. The patchouli is given a sharper, spicier edge and the soapy quality of the original seems to be toned down. The sandalwood is different, there is a different musk, and there is something like the cumin in Kenzo Jungle present here. It's beautiful, sure, but it is definitely a little modernized from the original (but not much). I can see why one would be upset about it, for it does ruin the illusion of the 1930s a little bit, a common issue with perfumes that have been in production since the first half of the century. I'm stuck, because it is a beautiful, high-quality rendering of the original fragrance. It is, however, different from the original. Since both versions are rare, discontinued, and expensive, it's hard for me to recommend this one over the original parfum. If you don't mind a little toying with the basenotes (and that's largely to aid in projection IMO), it is definitely one of the best perfumes money can buy. If you want the authentic 30s feel with the nitro musk and the extinct complex vintage bases or if you're simply a purist, you must go for the original. As for me, I don't think the original Shocking smells particularly vintage anyway and this new version is an example of one of the best reformulations of all time. I miss the deeper animalic base but it's still boiling over with sex. A marvel of perfumery resurrected (though briefly). I only hope that future iterations of this are as respectful to the formula.

pale petals torn asunder in sullied gardens. estromanic honeycomb perspirant. blushing rosebuds stained with lipstick. right off the bat, shocking lives up to its name: skank, skank, and more skank. civet dances in massive clouds of dirty musk, with aldehydes provocatively sparkling on top alongside a sweaty note of sour bergamot. the animalia begins to tame itself a smidge, but soon comes narcotic white florals to seize the baton: rich narcissus, sweet ylang-ylang, and indolic jasmine, soaked in pungent honey and dripping all over, making a sticky mess of the now-ravished flowerbeds. ivory flowers with the help of clove give a brief impression of carnation, bubblegummy and coated in rouge. in the end lies a saccharine sheen of dirtied blossoms, orange zest, flowing honey, and cozy musk. i wore shocking to bed and actually dreamt of exploring mountains, and while photographing my endeavors a civet appeared before the lens! blessed by the oneiric civet goddess, it's hard to imagine i would've dreamt that without wearing shocking to sleep. upon waking, the scent was even sweeter and softer than the night before.. honey, jasmine, tangerine, civet—shocking is a dream of its own! it's so fitting that out of all artists, leonor fini designed shocking's flacon. part-woman part-feline, fini was finely in tune with the jagged talons of eros as well as its soft side. her pink-hued paintings depicting violently sensual scenes from pauline reage's novel 'story of O' alone proves this, but so does her self-portrait portfolio filled with photographs featuring long legs spilling from tulle dresses with a cat mask shrouding her face—mew! fini understood the harmonious dualism of eroticism well, so it's no surprise that schiaparelli commissioned her to design the bottle for shocking: delicate amber curves and sharp shoulders hugged by ribbon and crowned in a laurel of flowers! "there goes my girlfriend, strutting like an alley cat.." songs for shocking: fallogentrismo by charles, lady shave by fad gadget, this dark desire by justine & juliette, she's my girl by ariel pink's haunted graffiti.

Review for a 90's formulation bottle. I finally got my hands on a bottle of this legendary perfume. Sampled it for the first time 2 years ago ago and loved it: it became a slightly spicy/powdery, but a very smooth honey/musk on me. It was great and I have been looking for a bottle ever since. I don't know if my bottle has another formulation compared to the sample, or if my chemistry has changed, but it's not a love anymore. A real shame, because I adore the bottle and the honey/musk combination. It opens with a lot of aldehydes on my skin, which transition into a -very floral- mid. I also suspect a fruit/peach note is in the opening, because it has a fruity tinge. It reminds me of Tresor at this moment which is not a great thing. The mid is almost too much for me, except it's balanced by the tarragon and the very lovely honey note. It smells very fleshy/indolic/full to me, along with a very powdery rose. Rose and jasmine are the ones I can smell the best (daffodil might also be an option but I haven't smelled a lot of Daffodil centred perfumes). However, the combination of rose/jasmine/aldehydes + honey + that fruity note makes it smell very 90's/old-school imo. The drydown works a bit better for me. The florals disappear and make place for civet/amber/musk/clove. The musk is very smooth and lovely, the best aspect of Shocking. I don't smell a lot of civet though and the amber gives it a nice 'warm' hue. I also get a slight menthol tinge, which is caused by the patchouli/clove I think. I'm left with a powdery rose honey musk, along with spicy/menthol facets coming from the basenotes. This combination is quite queasy and it smells like body odour + honey/rose potpourri on me. I can actually imagine that it simply works better on a female chemistry. Longevity is okay, about 7/8 hours and sillage is quite big in the beginning, but it dies down after 3 hours.

A few months back, after chatting about our love for vintage animalics, fellow Fragrantican Bokonon12 implored me to try Schiaparelli's Shocking. I turned to eBay, where I found a partial mini of the vintage extrait—cute little Mae West bottle, glass flowers adorning its neck, touche-oreille stopper, leather carrying case. Upon its arrival (gosh, the anticipation!), I dabbed just a wee bit to my wrist. Holy $#!+—what a revelation! So potent, so dense, so sexy. To my nose, Shocking is the richest honey and civet underpinned by light spice. There's an overt sex appeal. It's as though this juice's sex drive was suppressed within the bottle all those decades ago, and now the id has been freed to revel in all its wildest fantasies. VA-VA-VOOM! Needless to say, LOVE. I returned to eBay, where I found another vintage extrait. This time, the rectangular bottle, sealed within a box that mimics the look of a hardcover book, metallic with bright pink hearts. Again, love. This extrait, which I suspect was produced later than my Mae West bottle, is just as superb. Now I'm anxiously waiting the arrival of a vintage EDC. Be still, my heart! Recommended if you like vintage animalics; running your tongue suggestively over your lip; uncrossing, then crossing, your legs like a Basic Instinct Sharon Stone; making love on a bearskin rug; parking that big Mack truck right in this little garage. ETA: The vintage EDC is divine once it settles on skin. The top notes in my bottle have gone off, so it's a little jarring at first. After ten minutes, though, HELLO! I don't have breasts, but this stuff makes me feel as though my voluptuous, heaving bosom is in the throes of rapturous ecstasy. In contrast, the '90s EDP re-release is an ABOMINATION. I will never speak of it again.

If there is a perfume that deserves 5 out of 5, this is IT. What a masterpiece! A must have for any collector. I was lucky enough to be able to get the perfume version that comes in the exquiste torso bottle (which Jean Paul Gaultier copied). Well....for those who believe that scent can transport you to higher realms, this is Nirvana. A scent created by an actual human being, in his lab, an alchemist. Like all perfumes of yesteryear, it has a soul. I got a textbook on perfume making these days: by computer. Once a person chooses in the program what artificial components he/she wants to throw in, they click in the scent. Then they have all these volunteers (the type they are targeting for sales), they attach a bunch of electrodes on their heads and ask them to sniff different options. This is entirely true! I have photos of the person sitting in front of the computer and the volunteers with the electrodes, sniffing away. Ok. For a lot of people, this is perfectly fine. And I know you have the right to your opinion. As for mine, to compare a perfume made with mostly natural ingredients, made by a master perfumist, thinking to create something magical, and a frag meant for mega sales created by a computer....Again, to compare them, the computer creation would be the Frankenstein version of a perfume: a Frankenfrag. I am very happy that there are out there, still, small companies trying to make perfumes the old fashion way, as works of art. Again this is my opinion. Update: The 1930s version and the 1990's version are pretty different. The original, strong civet (besides the other wonderful notes), the newer version strong honey. I prefer the latest formula (not too crazy about civet).

This was my mother's signature fragrance and all of my memories of her are filled with this beautiful fragrance. I spent hours as a little girl opening the bottles to memorize every note. I can remember burying my head in all of the fur collars on her coats where the fragrance lingered. When I was no more than seven or eight years old, I remember going into the city all dressed up with gloves, just to buy her Shocking. As if it were yesterday, I remember the beautiful department store counter where it was sold and those beautiful bottles! Many years later, after it had been discontinued in the US, I moved to Italy with my Italian husband. Every time I went back to the US to visit my mother, I would make a trip to France to try to find it to take to her. Of course I could always find it in Paris at the Schiaparelli boutique in the Place Vendome, but sometimes I could find it along the Riviera in a dusty old perfume shop. She died several years ago and I have since returned to the US. I began searching for it a couple of years ago and finally ordered a bottle from Scent Direct. When I first sprayed it, I was at first disappointed because the reformulation is not the same. It is much sweeter with less civet. However, the character of the original fragrance is still there and it is still a knockout fragrance. Men love it and I always get so many compliments when I wear it. Most importantly, when I wear it I am comforted once again with my mother's love and I know she is near me, smiling.

The pungency of aromatic plants, at that time, must have opened up the territory of people's sense of smell, and it is precisely because of this that Shocking has the reason and qualification for its name. Shocking smells good. Shocking entered a deeper and deeper place in the soul, and for a while, I believed that all kinds of crazy design inspirations and fantasies of Schiaparelli were inspired by Shocking. A finely powdered, waxy oriental floral fragrance, it is a powerful rose. Ylang-ylang, narcissus, rose and jasmine... its honeyed floral aroma is bold and sweet. Shocking highlights the feminine charm, and the colors are bright and unrestrained. With amber, patchouli, and civet, it is warm and round, and the taste of tobacco is slowly brought out by the floral aroma. I dare say the civet is the point. It naturally blends in floral, resinous, and medicinal scents of cloves. There are smoky tones dirty and bleak at the front, and bright and bright floral aromas at the back, which are intertwined like drama. The liquid has almost nothing to age. Shocking always reminds me of Tabu, although the taste is different, but from the same person, I really want to find out if they have the same genetic code. Shocking is a traditional musk-floral fragrance. But it will never have any connection with negative descriptions such as conservative, rigid, boring, etc. Shocking has no shortcomings. Speaking of the animal part, in fact, it's just salty, not half of Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles.

I tested Shocking from a sealed nip from the 50's. I must say, this is one of the strongest perfumes I've ever had on my skin. I love big, strong, sillage-bombs - and Shocking was no exception - but it was SO strong that even *I* considered cracking a window to air out my bedroom. The opening is definitely a muggy, intensely animalic scent, which I adore. There was something in it, however, that reminded me of frankincense resin. A very subtle dryness hidden under all that humid civet and honey, a very subtle incense note. I loved it, and it worked with the listed notes so, so well. A glorious scent. After the initial fumigation opening, Shocking does indeed settle down enough to go out into the world, which I did. I was worried that the honey would be the dominant note, as I don't particularly care for smelling so sweet, but instead, I was enveloped in a sweet-but-not-too-sweet cloud of mature, sexy, animalism. In the dry phase, Shocking has a split personality - up close to my skin, she's sweet and warm and lightly musky, but her sillage smells strongly of another note that she supposedly doesn't have - vetiver. Overall, Shocking did not disappoint me in the least. She is a fascinating, magical perfume with many layers and tons of personality. I have a few more sealed nips to enjoy, and then I will be very sad. I'll save them for extremely special occasions.

Tonight I am indulging in the fabulous Shocking de Schiaparelli for the first time, via the most adorable vintage glass nip. What a joy this impeccable creation is; a rich and sultry scent which truly lives up to its name - it’s outrageous filth would shock most. Civet is what sings the loudest to me. It’s incredibly sharp and urinous, and almost stings the air around you as it opens. However it never becomes sour or rancid, for the inclusion of the most elegant white florals - honeyed jasmine and narcissus - alongside creamy woods and ylang is breathtakingly beautiful. Genuinely I’m struggling to find the words to describe it. I’m having a hard time comparing it to something else, it feels entirely new and yet somewhat familiar and comforting at the same time, as though a lifetime of erotic perfume speaks as one through this singular beauty. Perhaps the absurd amounts of civet is comparable to Bal à Versailles, but this lacks the dense resins, amber and spices, instead favouring gentle florals and aldehydes. Whilst it’s nowhere near aldehydic enough to be put alongside the likes of Chanel No. 5, it feels as though this could very easily be a particularly slutty distant cousin of it. I’m in heaven tonight, I cannot take my nose away from my wrist and I will not rest until I find myself a bottle.

Thanks to dear mpbrown I was able to try this legendary perfume Do not know where to start describing what I feel about Shocking. Its definitely one - of a kind. At least it's the only one perfume which literally transfers you into forgotten areas of your subconscious I got memories of things I didn't remember for a long time, my mum with her (young at those days sisters) my aunties, their silky dresses and stockings with suspender belts, hair in hot rollers...All that noise and laugh and jokes of women when they are "getting ready"...helping each other, getting nervous at wedding time, big birthday parties.. Shocking is a story-teller..It whispers into your ear, it shows you pictures as Ole-luk-oie, it makes you believe in your own power of feminity. I love every bit of it composition wise. Civet is so sexy in it covered by honey-rosy-musky coat, like someone put it on your shoulders so delicately, so sensually. Ylang-ylang is so softened by jasmine and narcissus, - and harmony of amber and tarragon at the end. There is no naiveness in this fragrance and there is no pushiness at the same time. Its sexuality paired with the wisdom, for open-minded women with big heart. Hauntingly beautiful and absolutely surreal. Something that I “must-have” now.

I like to collect old perfume bottles and cosmetics and bought what I thought was an empty bottle of Shocking pure perfume online (shocking pink box, square bottle). To my joy some thick, dark juice was still lingering on the bottom, enough of which to get a sense of this beast. Its gorgeous. Obviously this review is for the long standing base notes more than anything else but you get the sense of the roundedness, thickness, voluptuousness of this fragrance. Honeycomb with civet. I am also getting melon on this; not listed in the notes but its there. Someone mentioned similarity with Vivienne Westwoods Boudoir and its definitely there but Shocking is sweeter, thicker, rounder, more caramel, more natural smelling in some way. I am fond of civet as a note and its here in plentiful amounts. This is the kind of fragrance that really lives with you, lives with your skin, and continues developing. It almost has a life of its own. Just checked on eBay, a bottle for £400...sigh.

Review of vintage edp, pre-1962, as there is no zip code. Honeyed honey, spice, subtle herbal greens...a hit of funky civet. In the heart rose makes an appearance, warm narcissus, a touch of bergamot. Honey remains as a strong support for the floral notes, and spice is clearly present throughout. The dry down is primarily honey, rose, and spice on my skin. I consider this a ravishing summer evening scent, but the spice is present enough to make it suitable for evening in fall and winter as well. DD is a touch heavy, to my mind, for spring. Warm, a little badly behaved, playful, quite sweet. This is one for the collection. I do find that it is a scent for blowing off steam, dancing wildly, celebrating, rather than for the quiet candle lit dinner. HUGE scent envelope- apply lightly!

The deepest and most mysterious fragrance I've had the privilege to smell so far; it makes me think of the aroma of a rich and deep wine. Had to wear it for a number of days before I could wrap my head around it. After breathing this in, all the other perfumes on my counter smelled watered down. The top notes smell like old, herbal wine to me, and I don't really like it. After half an hour, it dissipates to unveil a warm, sensual honey, with a hint of powder and a cloud of ever present spice. This lasts on me for a couple hours before settling down to a pure, base musk. It's not exactly the nicest perfume I've ever smelled, and I don't think it agrees with everyone around me, but something about this is intoxicating, highly addictive and inspiring.

What makes "Shocking" shocking? Launched in the 1930's perhaps it was the torso shaped bottle. Bottles that looked like dismembered body parts were not as common then as they are now. Or maybe it was Schiaparelli's use of that aggressive hot pink color when pink was namby-pamby and associated with babies and brides. The fragrance is not shocking today. But it is divine: the classic oriental floral combination of citrus, flowers, and spices. A generous addition of honey makes "Shocking" standout and transcend the vanilla bombs that orientals often are. I haven't seen this on perfume counters for decades, it seems to be a forgotten fragrance. Unjustly so. It is classic and timeless and belongs in every perfume wardrobe.

TERRIBLY AMUSING! Narcissus civet at MAX with hints of honey, olibanum, aldehydes, galbanum, musk, cloves, lime, and ylang. This is a potion that turns back time! it is the shattered glass liquid that inflict beauty, & turns back time beyond horizons. Revive youth and revive shallow beauty. It's evil yet useful to regain your beauty. It's weird but true! I haven't witnessed something groundbreaking & astonishing like "Shocking" in a very long time! "Odor 93", "Salome". "La Nuit by Paco Rabanne", and "Kemi by Kemi Blending Magic", where the last potions and it's been a while. Edit (1st July 2018) Now i realized where did i smell this fragrance! It's similar to Penhaligon's "Hammam Bouquet! very huge similarity there.

How shocking dirty is it? I feel brought back 1 century. My imaginary world of perfumes from one century ago smells like this. Overwhelming pissy civet that peed on my wrist and then went off and back taking me some Jasmin, ylang ylang, dirty ones, covered with something “airy” (aldehydes??), and then, again, pissy stuff. I can wear this at home, by myself, for myself, closing my eyes and imaging to be at court, wearing ‘800 outfit, smelling my sweaty clothes, surrounded by flowers, dirty flowers, looking at the queen hiding her face behind a fan and her king, looking at her, lascivious and willing to possess her . It’s hot, it’s night, it’s paradise

Schiaparelli Shocking (1937, Discontinued) - Civet Narcissus - #jeancarles definitely has a knack for creating animalic perfumes from #tabu #missdior , as well as this perfume. I get a mixture of waxy Aldehydes, mixed with Florals (Narcissus, Rose, Jasmine) dripping in Honey. Though balanced and not sickly sweet, I got more of Honey’s floral and animalic aspects. It’s heart and base is a dirt, sweet, and truly shocking Civet musk accord balanced with spices, Sandalwood, and Resins. It’s journey will be that combination of hay-like Narcissus, Honey, and Civet. One of the best floral musks to get a hold off.

@scarlet5-try holding the cap under hot running water for a minute or two,the cap will"strech"a bit and you may be able to open it.but look that only the cap gets warm not perfume.i love shocking and have all versions of it:edc,edc intense,edt,edt intense,edp,and perfume extrait,body powder-but only the old version,the original is that i like and have.i bought once the edp100ml from new stock and except for trying it its still standing full-not near the original very watered down!the old edt i had put on me yesterday morning and today stil smell it!now,thats a perfume!!!

It depends on the bottle, I'm afraid. Generous perfume fairies have sprinkled me from two different sources. One was all aldehydes and white noise (to put it diplomatically), and definitely not for me. The other opens with a clear shining herbs+honey+narcissus trio that works together a lot better than it ought to. Later it warms up but continues to delight. I don't think I could buy it un-sniffed, which is a shame because the right bottle would make me so happy. Another unrequited perfume love.

What are you supposed to expect with a name like "Shocking"? I smell civet, honey, ylang-ylang, jasmine, aldehydes and cloves. To me its just not that shocking of a scent for a vintage perfume of its era. But wait....half an hour later this got interesting because it became smokey in a dark and sexy way and I now smell aldehydes, tarragon, patchouli, sandalwood, and civet, with honey and yang-ylang in the background. Was that the shocker? Wow, very sophisticated and sexy.

To all those who would refer to Shocking as a "grandma fragrance" - - your grandma is a whore. Please give me her number, I want her to be my wing woman. Honey dripping over everything: gardens, thighs, kitchen cabinets, up those damn stairs, all the way to boudoir. Why wear this in winter and hide it? In the summer heat it shines, corrupting all those around it as the sweetest air of ruin. (the older the vintage, the better - - ferment that skank!).

Just received my decant of the vintage version of this, from The Perfumed Court. 2.5 ml was really all I could afford. One small sniff took me right back to childhood when my mother used to wear the pure parfum of this when she went out for special occasions. Perfume and memory make a very, very strong partnership! I can recommend the perfumed court for buying small samples of original fragrances just to get an idea of how they used to smell.

Strong just the way I like it. I tested this from a vintage mini I obtained in a swap. Gorgeous right from the beginning. I believe it's the warm honey that is making me love this but it could also be the soft jasmine. I don't really smell spice but this fragrance is warm and floral, not fruity to my nose. I really wish I could get a full sized bottle of this. I really love this scent!

Love it! Probably my favorite old fashioned chypre/ oriental style perfume because of the honey. I don't like honey in some modern scents but it works wonderfully here. It's in the same vein as Tabu and Opium and even Paloma Picasso but more forward and, * hmm the lady smokes cigars?!" like Habanita. While I'm not sure many of my friends would love it I wear for me

This is a full on, classic beauty ! Not for the shy and reserved, more for the Femme Fatale. Certainly not for the meak and mild Fruity/Floral type. The fragrance on the market now is gorgeous, but if you enjoy it, then try and source some vintage juice...more Civet, more heady, and much more sexy.

My 70s bottle smells richly of honey, civet, and tarragon. 90s version is much lighter but still hits all the notes--it's heavy on ylang-ylang in a gorgeous way.

In the "notes according to your vote" the top notes are pretty much nonexistent. You know what's interesting about trying it from a sealed nip instead of a vintage bottle? I totally smell the bergamot. Civet and musk are front and center, lending a certain "muggy" feeling to the scent. However, it does not smell at all like my late ex-mother-in-law's smelly mink coat. It's not nearly as down and dirty as that thing. It's smooth, with an overlay of jasmine and bergamot. I'm sorry I don't smell the honey at all. Perhaps that's because I spent last week alternating between two honey bombs (Xerjoff Mamluk and By Kilian Back to Black) and there's no honey here by comparison. I'm not wildly in love with Shocking on ME, because I haven't gotten entirely past the aunties-and- grandmothers scent memories. But I haven't showered it off yet. I'm generally not very tolerant, so that says a lot.

I have a sample of the vintage EdT, which is amazingly strong and full-bodied, stronger than many EdPs. It starts out sweet, floral, and powdery, with a hint of aldehydes and a definite old-fashioned feel. It certainly isn’t the civet-bomb that I expected, although the civet is certainly there in the background, nor is there much in the way of spices. Instead, it’s the sort of scent that you expect to catch a whiff of still clinging to vintage clothing, abstract and perfume-y in the classic sense. As it dries down, the floral aspect intensifies, producing a powerful narcissus-like scent, then narcissus plus jasmine. There’s plenty of sillage, and the scent lasts for 6 hours or more on skin. It’s really not a perfume I’d want to wear except for curiosity, but I’m glad I tried it.

I have a miniature bottle that I found at a thrift store a while back. It was not stored well (the liquid is dark brown and the top notes are all quite faint) but WOW! This is an intense scent. Fresh from the bottle it is not necessarily a /good/ scent (probably related to age) but it is a fascinating one that has me sniffing my wrist nonetheless. The coziness of the amber and the musk is offset by the sharp animalic tang of the civet. This is far cry from the fresh and approachable fragrances that dominate the shelves of Sephora. The image this evokes for me is that of a cougar (the archetype, not the animal). She's sexy, she owns her power, she doesn't take any shit from anyone, and she's probably wearing a fur coat.

Vintage Bottle Review: I like it, but I am not in love. Maybe it was the big build up, maybe I am too partial to my Bal V, or maybe it's because I received it the same day I received my Zibeline, but I feel like it's just "ok". For me , I have an initial bitter smell, which leaves pretty quickly to allow the civet and honey to take over, BUT, it isn't overpowering and I don't mean that as a compliment. This is very soft and muted smelling on me. Someone would need to get up close and personal to smell this on me. I want other people to smell me coming and I want to be able to smell myself all day. This one, which I am wearing now 5 hours in, is just giving me an aromatic honey when my nose is pressed to my wrist.

I tested a very vintage version of Shocking. It is 16 hours later and I can still smell it - they sure don't make fragrances like they used to boy! Beyond it's massive longevity, this fragrance smelled to me of aldehyde's, white florals, and honey. On me the honey leaned towards the saliva side - not bad, just a little secretion funky which I like. I didn't get any clove or rose (specifically), or tarragon..... it's soft, powdery, has decent sillage but on me I wouldn't call it sultry or vavavoom. It's different, lushy, kind of sweet, very pleasant, very feminine. I am looking forward to sampling this one again.

(from a sample) Gorgeous floral aldehydes but not like No. 5. Different and special, a little more innocent smelling than the all-knowing, all-powerful No. 5. Really would love a bottle of this beauty. Bought myself a little decant of the EDC. Let's see how I fare with that before I go whole hog! Update: well I now see how much EDC vs edp vs edt can matter in vintage perfumes. The Shocking EDC is so different from the edp sample I have that I would never even say they're related. For the record, the EDC is not for me.

Read a previous review that said this perfume reminded her of something from her childhood. I suspect that is because it strangely reminds me of Mennen's Baby Magic Lotion!! That is not to say, that the pure vintage perfume that I am currently wearing is by any means powdery or soft. It's sharp, edgy, funky and complex. It's just that it smells like Baby Magic lotion...which I love.

I recently got a vintage bottle of Shocking and I couldn't wait to try it. It's old fashioned, reminds me of something my grandmother would wear but not in a bad way. At first smell, it came on really strong but as it started to dry down, I got a baby powderish scent which was really nice. My daughter remarked, mom you smell like baby powder. Not bad for $20 :-)

Got it! A privilege to try this scent. Very 30's, rather dry and dusty, as if it really had lay dormant for all those years. Sophisticted, best worn with designer clothes? ;-) Love it, but....for me parsonally a bit more sweetness would be perfect. Complex and looong staying. Classic. Honey-heavy.

I am waiting for a parcel from theperfumedcourt where, among others, this scent is. What fun!!! But folks, the BOTTLE!? Mustn't Jean Paul Gaultier been isnpired by this for his Le Classique et al?? Iäm sure of it. ;-)

Has anyone heard any more than rumors about whether this perfume is coming back?

There is a lot going on and it’s a bit overwhelming for me. This is powdery, sharp, floral, and intense. You give it some time and it starts to settle. First, you get this beautiful honey. I have never smelled anything like this mix of honey and florals. The honey is a pure sweet smell that isn’t cloying or generic. It is this beautiful sweet smell that reminds you of summer. It’s gorgeous and it mixes so well with the florals. You can smell the civet in the background which I think grounds the sweet florals. This is a nice fragrance but it’s a bit overwhelming for me. But I can see why people love it.

A big cloud of civet and honey. Maybe not a scent you use when you are sitting on a crowded bus. I think the drydown is quite nice, the scent is close to Joop Femme in my opinion, but it feels slightly more "animalistic" I use it very rarely because you have to wait out the smell so long before it has softened, and I cannot find many occasions I can use it, unfortunately. I like it in some inexplicable way, and it has my respect because it feels well made.

Ok, the time has come for an "informative" review:D I got a decant of this perfume from my lovely Friend here a few months ago. It was winter, so I only sprayed a tiny bit of it and I wanted to scream, run and hide!!!:-O I was right in my suspicions that these notes would kill me... and so they did, that evening! I thought that I should wait until June. Now it's a cool, June evening, jasmines are beginning to bloom, the air is fresh, the windows are open and my spirits are high - time for testing!:D The first seconds reminded me of an old, Bulgarian rose oil that my grandma once gave me - a tiny vial in a wooden container with rose ornaments. I still have it somewhere, it's gone totally rancid but Shocking smells exactly the same!!!!!:-O This rancid rose-oil note... Sentiments, oh, sentiments! Yes, aldehydes are quite loud here, but they're not overwhelming and they're not the bitter ones - rather the sweet ones - those that I dislike most... but here they're so well blended that it really makes sense! So does the Ylang and delicate cloves and honey. Musk isnt' overwhelming, civet makes it a little bitter - which is good in this case! My conclusion - this certainly is a monster, a very dangerous one but you may make friends with her - like the dragon from "Shrek", the mule's girlfriend:D She's likeable but you'd better not mess with her! From the nostalgic point of view - it's a treasure. For me it's a grandma's perfume or even great-grandma's - forever in the boudouir, passed on from generation to generation as a family treasure. Never to be used, unless on very special occasions, rather to be opened every now and then to be sniffed, cherished and put back in the closet until another big occasion. From the practical olfactory point of view - never to be used in small, crowded spaces - too headache-inducing, smelling rancid - ok, maybe in really tiny amounts. But perfect for a romantic walk in an old garden on a sunny June Saturday - why not?:) With a retro-style dress and preferably with a retro-style-gentleman:D I'll only wear it for fun, when I'm in this retro-romantic mood:) A gem, a joke, a monster, a memory, a tribute, love, puke, joy, rose garden, nostalgia - all in one bottle, depending on the mood, weather and momentary perception - that's what Shocking is to me (not that it smells like puke, no offense, but it can make you puke if you're not into this type of rich yellow-floral/aldehydic old-fashioned scents). Most precious experience to be able to smell it and to have a decant!:D Nowadays we have new releases such as Izia that try to mock this category - but they stay far behind the original! The 1930's was surely the time for such big, genuine productions - it's great that we can still have such perfumes around and enjoy them even if slightly reformulated. This is 10 times better than Izia - good, ole formulation and style!:D Art doesn't have to be easy in perception, it's just art! Oh, btw it goes really well with Riesling!;-)))))

Shocking I was not shocked. I was enchanted! The 1937 vintage bottle was one of my mother's perfumes which she wear very infrequently. Shocking is a rather traditional civet-musk fragrance in the vein of later fragrances like Bal A Versailles by Jean Desprez. However during it's time it had more in common with fragrances such as My Sin by Lanvin and Scandal by Lanvin. It's aldehydic, floral and musky. It's nocturnal and meant to be worn as an evening cologne with formal wear. It can also double as a Church perfume. The citrus swims in aldehydes and tarragon, herbal, citrusy and fresh. The aldehydes takes me back. It smells like so many old time aldehydes i.e. Chanel No. 5. The scent is long lasting, a sillage monster, with a lot of depth and spice, unisex, and elegant. The floral notes include deep rose, heady jasmine and ylang ylang. The flowers are not powdery nor soapy, nor are they sweet. They are more along the line of green floral scents. The flowers come and go before the dry down. A sweet and balsamic honey note is my favorite part of the scent. The cloves, musk and civet are strong but so is the amber and patchouli. There's also incense. All these notes are Oriental perfume notes and I like that. This is mostly musk to me so it's easier to wear in winter time when it gets cold in London. The honey note is also quite arm. This is a beautiful perfume and rather underrated because it's not Chanel No. 5 or even Joy by Patou. This scent is from the same era but it has not received enough praises that it deserves. As it is, it's not as sexy or as seductive as fragrances like My Sin, Scandal (Lanvin) Bal a Versailles (Desprez) or even Tabu by Dana (my favorite). However because it is in the same category as those other scents if you wear them you can feel just as sexy. I used to wear this to dinner dates when I was single and in between marriages. It was a spicy fragrance with tarragon and patchouli which smelled herbal, slightly flowery and deliciously honeyed. I saw it as more of a gourmand fragrance. Today you can find a reformulation which I have not yet tried and I can only speak on behalf of the vintage original. If you can find it, you will be floored and fascinated.

This one is hard to review, mainly because it walks a fine line between sophistication and outright skankiness. My first exposure to shocking was in the pages of Scent and Subversion, written by Barbara Herman, in which she says about the same thing about shocking; which intrigued me and I needed to know more. Shocking is not for the faint of heart, the honey and civet emphasize the animalistic tones and can be a bit much for everyday. The listed notes in shocking are as follows; Bergamont tarragon aldehydes Jasmine Narcissis ylang-ylang Rose honey musk sandalwood patchouli Amber cloves and civet. On initial application on my skin I don't get much of the bergamot except for a slight citrusy note that only whispers, it's blended very well with the herbal tones of the tarragon. Thankfully the aldehydes are pretty tame and don't bring any sort of screechy tones to the composition. The transition from the top notes to the heart notes is very fluid it's sort of creeps in the flowers grow very slowly up from the ground and I smell the honey more than anything else with the flowers taking a backseat. It's slightly sweet but the Rose seems to back up the honey more than any of the other flowers, which is surprising because usually on my skin Jasmine can get quite indeholic. I really enjoy the heart notes but the base is my favorite part of the fragrance the blend of the sandalwood the musk some of the honey notes that are left over and the cloves just make it very warm and comforting, the civet doesn't even seem to make it overly skanky, it's is sexed up but it's almost like laying in bed and reading the morning after an exciting evening in the bedroom. I will repeat one thing though that Barbara Herman inside and her book, it is absolutely imperative if you want to experience shocking the way that it really was that you either find it in a perfume nip or you find a completely sealed small bottle that has had no air exposure; because quite frankly of the things that you see in this post finding a pristine example is so very difficult and you can end up with some really screechy or skanky in a not nice way dud.

Disclaimer: this is a review of Shocking from a 1950’s-era perfume nip. This is a perfume in glorious, kaleidoscopic technicolor hues, shifting and morphing and changing faces as time passes. The back of my hand has been glued to my nose for the past few hours. Starts out with an intense opening: slightly bitter and juicy bergamot paired with the herbal, zingy green freshness of tarragon. Combined with the aldehydes (and also possibly age), I caught a fleeting vinegar accord - which I happened to really enjoy. Not something I've smelled before in a perfume but was fun to encounter... I wrote in my notes, "Wow!!! This makes my brain light up!" ...if that's any indicator to how dynamic the head of Shocking is. Not too long after, the sweet honey oozes in and replaces this astringency with a golden warmth. Coated in this sticky layer of honey is a traditional, standard, slightly spiced Bulgarian rose note. Other florals are present too, but they take somewhat of a backseat to the rose/honey combo; however, they don't go unnoticed. There's some jasmine and narcissus that provide some background plushness and fill in the gaps. Then, Shocking's civet starts to unfurl itself. It is a glorious vintage musk - but not overpowering or nose-biting like some other civet/musk notes I've smelled before. The civet, honey, and rose all come together to create this lush, beautiful golden floral warmth that's so alluring. Balmy & musky in the in drydown, with a hint of something incense-y... a lot of the kick has died down into this languorous, silky scent with just enough animalic funk to keep it interesting. This is one of the only (actually) vintage perfumes that I've smelled and can say is truly sexy, like the olfactory equivalent of Aphrodite's girdle. So lush and sensual and so, so good.

As a point of reference I have to declare I'm not adverse to a little skank in my fragrances, regularly wearing both Muscs Koublai Khan and Le Labo's Oud. So far I have tried three different formulations of this perfume. By far the worst is the seventies reincarnation with an initial civet blast which is rapidly drowned by sickening raspberry and sweet, heady florals. Not even the honey can break through this mess. This fragrance is linear and just yuk. I've tried it several times and it just doesn't get any better, with people around me noticeably wrinkling there noses. The 30's - 40's version is divine! Gorgeous civet weaving in and out of heavy, thick, rich, languid honey. Aldehydes sparkling to the left and right. Tarragon bursting through in bubbles and bergamot discreetly supporting. It is just glorious. My favourite fragrance in such a long time. As it wears it changes subtly, but noticeably, with other notes peeking through, but always that civet/honey bomb which increases in waxiness and animalia as it persists. This stuff is powerful, with incredible longevity and projection. I am in love! The 90's re formulation tries hard to capture the essence of the original, but the civet seems synthetic and bland and the honey is sweeter, never matching the depth of the original. However the aldehydes still play a strong, lush role and the tarragon is much more noticeable and curious, kind of disarming and a little incongruous. At a push it will do - but nothing will ever lure me like the original formulation. It's addictive! It's worth saving for this alone! Look out for the darkest versions - coffee or cola coloured. They're the best - if you can get hold of them.

Schiaparelli Shocking EDT has been discontinued for several years yet it has no shortage of mourners. I am quite partial to old-school animalics so I made it my mission to locate a sample of this long-lost scent. The 1997 formulation of Shocking is divine; a syrupy, warm honeyed scent with narcissus, aldehydes, amber, musk, civet and patchouli. The animalic component is not nearly as fecal as I had expected it to be, (supposedly the original 1930s version was much more potent). Shocking is surprisingly sweet on the skin with a dense honey accord and creamy narcissus. Although dated, Shocking is still very wearable and pleasant. It reminds me of Clandestine by Guy Laroche in many ways. In 1937, Shocking was considered to be a provocative, 'femme-fatale' perfume. Over several decades perfume has become increasingly more potent and sexualised, so whilst Shocking is no longer the epitome of sex in a bottle, it still has the 'wow factor'. Schiaparelli's Shocking EDT would make a wonderful evening fragrance as it exudes class and elegance. The EDT longevity is decent, lasting approximately six hours on warm skin. The projection, however, is quite soft with a subtle throw. I would assume that the EDP or older formulations would have had stronger sillage clouds as many reviewers mention that Shocking had a strong presence. Decants are still easy to locate, so I would suggest sampling before buying an expensive, rare bottle. It's the kind of fragrance one should cherish rather than buying for the sake of owning.

I recently came across a vintage sample of Shocking Schiaparelli by Elsa Schiaparelli, a fragrance developed in 1937. I have no idea what year my sample vial is from, but it is older. Here are my thoughts on Shocking. Initially, I believed this to be a beautiful perfume. After wearing it for hours, I still believe it would be considered beautiful by some, but others would have a problem with a fragrance such as this. Let me explain. It’s thick, rich and grand without a doubt. Civet comes to the forefront with a heavy dose of musk. Skanky? Yes. Shocking? Nah. Just in the sense of smelling of well, not necessarily sexy, but sexed. And there is a difference in those words. Some use the word “naughty” in their description, but that just sounds so tame to me. Shocking is an animalistic perfume that serves its purpose for certain occasions and those personalities that can pull it off. It’s strong, a little goes a long way. I can only imagine how too much would clear a room. This is a perfume that needs to only be dabbed. It’s not an office perfume. Shocking continues on a linear road for me, never really riding any waves or changing mid-course. I can see its’ appeal for vintage lovers and it’s a definite try for history perfume buffs. I’m happy for the opportunity to have sampled this perfume.

I had an excellent streak of luck on ebay-- finding vintage "unicorns" for affordable prices! I have an Eau de Cologne of Shocking, a 80% full 2 oz. Reading reviews and notes, I expected something along the lines of Avon Occur (which I LOVE) but... This is much different! With honey and civet in common, it's like Occur at first, but there is something darker, greener, and spicy here. At first I do get clean/aldehydes/green and slight sweetness/honey. It moves rather quickly to floral depth and then onto smoky, spicy, woody, civet perfection. Also a bit green chypre too. This isn't sweet, and I really don't find the honey past the first blast. It's got a retro clean sharpness like Irish Spring soap. It's pine-y- maybe that's the clove? Also reminds me of Intimate by Revlon. It's got this clean vibe. Fresh but in a vintage way. Dusty fresh? Musty clean? Haha! The honey is dirty here, rather than smooth-sweet in Occur. And something is vintage powdery. Huge sillage/potency so far. Absolutely amazing. Such quality and potency in vintage colognes. Do not dismiss them! My verdict after wearing for about 3 hours on skin. Smells very much like Intimate. I think I'll prep my Shocking with a pre-spritz of Avon Occur to sweeten things up next time.