Reviews of Shocking (1937)
by Elsa Schiaparelli

YIKES! Shocking is a good name for this gastly juice, because let me tell ya, it will shock your socks off! I echo every word that Jemimagold wrote in her review, especially the spinster Aunt description, because that was exactly what my mind thought of when I tried out this dreadful scent. Beware!

The only thing "shocking" about this is how shockingly awful it is. It has dusty musty notes of rose and incense, overlaid by a cloying scent of dark honey which gets to the back of my throat and just sticks there. Another way to understand Shocking is that it smells like the closet of a spinster great aunt where she saved every rose corsage and honey jar that came her way. After 10 minutes of wearing Shocking, it is clear that this is a scrubber (and gargler) par excellence. Ugh!

I own the vintage and new editions of this perfume...the original is mysterious interesting, moody, exotic and very sexy it must have been so avant garde in the day, I can imagine Mercedes de Acosta [sic] a notorious lesbian in the 1930's and 40's and good friend of Greta Garbo wearing it....it has that adroginous feel silage is great you can use the EDP sparingly in the morning and still smell vestiges of it at night, it is one of those scents that gets you noticed in a room it's very sophisticated. Those buying vintage should be picky though as I have had bottles that are completely off or sour.
The new edition in my opinion bears no resemblance to the original at all !! it is completely different and smells like a cheap drug store juvenile perfume cloying sweet and musky I want to wash it off immediately it's like Jovan musk mixed with Revlon Charlie or Chloe no offense intended to those perfumes I realise lots of people love them but I don't, Shocking new is truly "stinky" and can not be compared to the original.

Very sexy. In a hedonistic, 1930s way. Im not saying its too old or anything, I have enough good taste and class to see that sexy 1930s hedonism is fantastic.

Its very voluptuous, a deep, woody and heady spice, blooming into oily puffs of equally heady incense, blown gently across the room by as zephyr of honey and creamy blossoms...with aldehydes, oakmoss and syrupy sweet narcissus packing a timely but somewhat unfortunately persistant puch...

I like it, no, I love it, but it does give me a headache, to be bluntly honest...but a simple headache is bearable when my beloved Xiao Mei (half chinese gf) accompanies me wearing this voluptous heavy silk gown of powerhouse hedonism...Shocking is indeed a powerhouse perfume...

Some will find it unsettling, pervasive and sometimes "shockingly" rude...But I love. Especially on my Xiao Mei.

I have tried the vintage and new versions of Shocking, and while the vintage is all powdery oakmoss, the new is all powdery, soapy roses. Yup. I much prefer the old one, but it has some citrus topnotes that have turned plasticky with age and I'm a bit disappointed it's not more "shocking" - as in animalic.

Heavy on the spices, drying down to intense, wonderful incense. Too bad about the civet. I have a moral objection to anything that tortues an animal so I can smell nice. I live in hope that Schiaparelli will answer my email by telling me that they have achieved this exact same wonderful perfume with a comparable synthetic...(yes, I know that's unlikely, but one can hope.)

I ladle this on, I love it so much. I've never smelled anything so rich and heavenly. It's currently my favourite perfume in my entire collection.

I have a secret stash of the original Shocking. It came in the familiar bottle shaped like a woman's body but with a cut crystal stopper/dauber. This perfume is dark and oily. And the smell for me is to die for. The honey rose narcissus heart flows perfectly and seamlessly from the aldehyde tarragon top notes. And the clove civet and oakmoss base is perfection. This is a sexy skin scent, perfect, perfect, prefect- even better when worn in the sizzling heat so all the notes really cook off of the skin and into the air. It is expensive but you can sometimes find it on eBay.

I found Shocking (Schiaparelli) to be an outstanding perfume,lasts well and
trails beautifully without giving anyone a headache. Don't really care if
anyone else likes it, I do!
Jacqui

I got this when i was about 16 and was going through a phase for POWER scents, the sort of SEXY scents that could knock people out at 40 paces...and make me feel grown up. I can't wear it now. It would be great updated and slightly lighter but i find the honey a bit cloying...reminds me of Vivienne Westwood. Makes me feel Ditzy. I think a lot of people will love the sex kitten aspect though.