Schiaparelli, Soucis, 'Worries', 40 ml. or 1.4 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1934, Paris, France ..

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who lived between 1890 and 1973. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by surrealists like her collaborators Salvador Dalí, Giacometti and Jean Cocteau. Her clients included the heiress Daisy Fellowes and actress Mae West.

Schiaparelli’s perfumes for women and men .. almost all of which have names beginning with “S” .. were as interesting and inventive as her clothes. She was unstoppable!

From a petit mansion in Bois-Colombes, just northwest of Paris, a team of 40 workers spent the postwar era mixing oak moss and amber oils and wrapping fine crystal flacons in calf leather and Vertès scribbles. Their glamorous and unlikely mission was at the bidding of Elsa Schiaparelli, the grand Parisian couturier best remembered for her avant-garde sartorial creations .. bold shocking pink coats, the Dalí Lobster dress .. but whose witty take on perfume was equally iconic. She finally set up shop at 19 Place Vendome, in Paris.

A Surrealist at heart, Schiaparelli approached fragrance with the same cheeky and original eye that she used to design a suede smoking glove with a striking board on its wrist or, say, a pair of sunglasses sporting their own feathery three-dimensional fringe. But Schiaparelli Parfums were more innovative than absurdist. That’s why, in honor of Elsa Schiaparelli’s 125th birthday, we should look back at five of her most innovative, irreverent, and enduring contributions to the world of fragrance.

In 1934, Schiaparelli launched the first collection of perfumes released in unison .. three glass bottles called Salut, Schiap et Soucis, that were designed to be worn morning, noon, and night. It was an executive’s dream .. why buy one, when you can buy three. Slowly, her fragrances invaded each part of a woman’s life. In 1943, Shocking Radiance debuted as a set of four fragrant oils for the body, face, lips, and lids, to slick on for a quick scented sheen. Gold and crystal purse-size flaconettes meant a spritz of Shocking or Sleeping was never far from reach, and there were even torso-shaped pendants to wear around your neck. “She was marketing before marketing existed, in a way,” Edon says, “always thinking forward.”

She had previously launched a perfume named 'Sans Souci' which means 'No Worries', followed by 'Souci', which clearly means 'Worries'!!!

Top notes are Verbena, Tarragon, Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Carnation, and Neroli
Heart notes are Gardenia, Honey, Spices, Ylang Ylang, Heliotrope, Jasmine, and Rose
Base notes are Sandalwood, Leather, Oak Moss, and Cedar

Offered here is a gorgeous flacon of this mischievous perfume, still sealed and with its baudruche or onion skin in tact. Wonderful carved faceted bouchon. A fun and spicy scent with lovely leathery overtones. Hard to find any more .. Comes with its original presentation box.