Succes Fou by Schiaparelli c1953

Succes Fou by Schiaparelli: launched in 1953. The name means "Raving Success" or "Smash Hit" in French. Only launched in USA in 1953.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It was a spicy, floral chypre fragrance for women. It begins with sharp, green citrus and galbanum top notes accented with sparkling aldehydes, followed by an opulent floral heart of rose, carnation and jasmine, sprinkled with exotic dry, spices bringing a touch of warmth, resting on a soft chypre base reminiscent of oakmoss covered woods found deep in a forest.

• Top notes: tea leaves, citrus, Calabrian bergamot, galbanum, aldehydes
• Middle notes: carnation, carnation, jasmine, rose, violet, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, clove
• Base notes: thuja wood, vetiver, cedar, Mysore sandalwood, Yugoslavian oakmoss, Singapore patchouli, ambergris, labdanum, musk, tonka bean, macassar wood, coumarin

Combat, 1953:

"Succes Fou by Schiaparelli - on a woody background - thuja, macassar, tea leaves and violets - emerges a peppery bouquet of carnations and jasmine, spiced with cloves, coumarin and nutmeg. Does she imagine, the smell of this wood near Athens or, during "A Midsummer Night's Dream" fairies, sylphs and goblins draw love quiproquos for Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena? Imaginary barks, fantastic mosses, invented flowers mix their scents with the one that Puck brought back from the East, to make hearts capsize."

Harper's Bazaar, 1953:

"Schiaparelli's new "Succes Fou ": woods, spice and flowers in an ivy-leaf bottle."

The New Yorker, 1954:

"While Succes Fou will never replace Schiaparelli's Shocking great, it is a nice flowers-and-forest combination. A two-ounce bottle of cologne with a spray top is $3.30."

Women's Guide to Europe, 1954:

"Schiaparelli , 21 Place Vendome. "Succes Fou"- indeed a mad success,"Salut"- for young girls," Snuff '-tweedy, male, "Sleeping" - wistful."

Woman's Home Companion, 1954:

" Schiaparelli's Succes Fou Cologne. Concentrated in a new mist spray atomizer bottle. $3.45"

Graphis, 1954:

"Schiaparelli's Succes Fou Perfume. made and packaged in France. . . $12.50, $23.50 and $40.00."

Harper's Bazaar, 1956:

"A trio of party snappers by Schiaparelli . Their surprise: a dram of EACH "Shocking," "'Sleeping" and " Succes Fou "Eau de Parfum. $ 4.50."

Bottles:

Leaf Bottles for Parfum:

Parfum was presented in a ‘leaf’ bottle designed by Michel de Brunhoff; the artist Peynet designed the advertisement. The leaf bottle was also fitted with an atomizer top. It stands 5.75" tall (including atomizer top), the entire white glass bottle was enameled in green and gold, bottom molded "Schiaparelli France". 

Town & Country, 1953:

"Schiaparelli's new romance perfume , Succes Fou. $ 23.50 an ounce."

The leaf bottle came in four sizes:

• 2 oz bottle originally retailed for $40.00 in 1953.
• 1 oz bottle originally retailed for $23.50 in 1953.
• 1/2 oz bottle originally retailed for $12.50 in 1953.
• 1/4 oz bottle originally retailed for $5.00 in 1953.

  

Scent Bottle Jabot Brooch:

Succes Fou was also contained inside of a gilded brass scent bottle jabot brooch, reminiscent of the Victorian era. The front of the clear glass scent bottle is adorned with a large gilded brass ivy leaf, it has a gilded screwcap topped with a rhinestone. The bottle is suspended by a pair of chains and attached to a brooch, fitted with a smaller ivy leaf. The brooch was presented in a heart shaped box, its outer surface covered in green paper, its interior lined with shocking pink satin. 

The New Yorker, 1953:

"At Lord & Taylor, Schiaparelli's Succès Fou is bottled in a tiny flacon ornamented with a gold-metal leaf and suspended from a tiny chain, so that it can be worn as a lapel pin; $ 8.25."

Also produced was a pair of "vinaigrette” ear clips made up of gilded brass. A special fragrance compartment and diffuser was fitted on the back side. As with the brooch, this set was also presented in a heart shaped box, its outer surface covered in green paper, its interior lined with shocking pink satin. 

Both the brooch and the earring set are considered extremely rare, even more so when found complete with presentation box. Both could be found in the wonderful book Secrets of Aromatic Jewelry by Annette Green & Linda Dyette.

Ivy Leaf Shaped Purse Bottles:

The miniature clear glass ivy leaf bottle was used as a purse flacon and housed about a dram (1/8 oz) of parfum. It had a brass screwcap and could be found with either a green paper leaf label or a gold foiled paper leaf label. The bottles measured only 1.5" tall. 

Other Bottles:

Other bottles were used for parfum such as the cube stoppered crystal bottle, this bottle measures 3" tall by 1 1/2" wide, and is marked "Schiaparelli French Bottle" on the base. First presented in 1938 and used throughout the 1940s, this clear glass bottle was created to hold the pure parfum, and served as a standard bottle for several other Schiaparelli perfumes such as So Sweet, Sleeping, Shocking, Le Roy Soleil, Zut, etc. I believe that this sober bottle style was used in response to World War II restrictions on importations, especially glass bottles and supplies from Czechoslovakia and Italy.

This bottle is a domestic French product, Baccarat model #788, manufactured for Schiaparelli only. It is a tall, upright rectangular shape and features a faceted glass cube as the stopper. The smallest size features a stopper that has an attached dauber. The base of the bottle is usually molded with "Schiaparelli" and "French Bottle". It was housed in a shocking pink box with a green ivy leaf label.

Also used for parfum were two small purse bottles, the flaconnettes de sac. The quarter ounce bottle was of clear glass, cylindrical shape with gilded cap, it retailed for $5.00 in 1953, it also came with a funnel for decanting. The other was a single dram size (1/8 oz) of gilded metal and retailed for $3.00 in 1953.

The Eau de Cologne Concentree was introduced in autumn of 1954. It was 86% proof and was a concentrated, double strength cologne version of the Succes Fou perfume. The splash was contained in a modified dressmaker bottle holding 4 oz and was fitted with a metallic green screw cap, this retailed for $6.00 in 1954. The Eau de Cologne could also be had in an easy grip 2 oz leakproof bottle fitted with a push button spray, covered with a metallic green cap, this retailed for $3.00 in 1954. Both were housed in a shocking pink box with a green ivy leaf label.

Fate of the Fragrance:

In 1956, a newspaper ad reported that the Sucess Fou "gift-gala" ackaging was discontinued, so remaining stock was being sold at half price. I believe this is when the 'leaf bottle" ceased to be used.

1969 was the last date I could find Succes Fou advertised in a newspaper. It must have been discontinued around that time period.

 

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