bodycare in movies, perfumes in movies, skincare in movies

Verity (2026)

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A staple in sexy thrillers is the vanity scene. The vanity in question usually belongs to the target of the obsession of the killer or the villain. This film makes no exception: while living at the Crawfords’, Lowen (Dakota Johnson) goes through the beauty products of Verity, in a literal attempt at capturing her essence in order to take her place.

The white jar is a Valmont skincare product from the Prime line.

Right in front of the jar there’s a tube of Aesop Resurrection Aromatique hand balm.

The climax of the scene is Lowen smelling Verity’s fragrance of choice, which happens to be by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle.

Upon a closer inspection, the bottle the protagonist is holding is Portrait of a Lady, a floral fragrance with spicy notes created by Dominique Ropion, launched in 2010 and named after the 1881 novel by Henry James.

perfumes in movies

It (1990)

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Ben (John Ritter) gets a scarf from Beverly’s hotel room because she’s cold. He sees a white atomiser on her dressing table, picks it up and smells it. It’s a Nina Ricci refillable atomiser, although the fragrance it contains is unclear.

A white refillable atomiser embossed with a floral pattern was created for Nina, a powdery aromatic fragrance by Christian Vacchiano launched in 1987.

A very similar atomiser was also made for L’air du temps, the Francis Fabron classic warm spicy fragrance launched in 1948. It’s embossed with a pattern featuring daisies and flying doves.

skincare in movies

Boccaccio ’70: Il lavoro (1962)

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Pupe (Romy Schneider) owns an enviable skincare collection which occupies two dressing tables.

There’s a set of Elizabeth Arden products on the mirrored table.

The pale pink ceramic vase sitting on the other table is another Elizabeth Arden product — Crème Extraordinaire.

Thanks to Daniel Roldán for submitting this post.

bodycare in movies, cosmetics in movies

Malice (1993)

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There are several beauty items on a dresser in Tracy and Andy’s bedroom.

On the left we can see a small bottle of Lubriderm lotion and a tube of L’Oreal lipstick.

The camera moves and reveals more products, this time on the floor.

In the screencap above, L’Oreal Voluminous mascara is visible.

There’s also a cardboard talc shaker by Johnson and Johnson, but I haven’t been able to find any picture of it online.

perfumes in movies

Body Heat (1981)

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When Ned (William Hurt) visits Matty at home for the first time, he can’t help but open her husband’s bathroom cabinet. The bottle he removes from it is interesting.

Halston Z-14 sounds like an unusual choice for a shady businessman like Edmund Walker. This leathery fragrance was created by Vincent Marcello and Max Gavarry, and launched in 1974.

The camera moves and reveals another bottle: it’s Old Spice Original cologne, created by Albert Hauck and launched in 1938.

perfume quotes in movies

Ordinary People (1980)

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The play Beth (Mary Taylor Moore) and Calvin (Donald Sutherland) go to see at the theatre is Same Time, Next Year, a 1975 romantic comedy by Bernard Slade. The protagonists are a man (George) and a woman (Doris) who accidentally meet, have sex, and decide to meet every year at the same hotel for one weekend together. This goes on for 26 years.

During a conversation, they discuss Doris’ signature scent: it’s Lanvin My Sin [1].

This powdery musky fragrance was created by Madame Zed and launched in 1924.

[1] The Bernard Slade play was adapted into a film in 1978: it was directed by Robert Mulligan and starred Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn. Here is my post about the same conversation in the film. 

deodorants in tv shows, haircare in tv shows, perfumes in tv shows, skincare in tv shows

The Shards S01E09 (Stairway to Heaven)

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We return to Bret’s bathroom. Most of the products in it were spotted in the first two episodes.

The spray can with yellow and orange disc on the front is Dial long-lasting deodorant.

At this point it’s clear Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir is his signature scent. Unfortunately this fragrance hasn’t been given any space in the narration. It’s a choice that makes sense, though: Bret is an internal narrator, but he’s not particularly reliable, and he tends to hold back specific personal details, especially those regarding his parents. He observes and notices everything about the people around him, but he is rarely the object of someone’s observation, besides Robert’s.

The half-hidden spray can with yellow cap is Gillette The Dry Look hairspray.

The half-visible jar on the right is Noxzema medicated skin cream.

bodycare in tv shows, skincare in tv shows

The Shards S01E09 (Stairway to Heaven)

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Debbie (Hayes Warner) is getting the most out of the blackmailing scheme she’s forced her father to accept. Her requests include a pool boy who applies tanning oil on her. Her product of choice is very specific – Bain de Soleil, a brand originally created in the 1920s in France [1]. It became popular in the U.S.A. for its low-SPF products.

The imagery of Bain de Soleil is so in line with the luxury and the hedonism which characterise the whole TV show, so one tends to think the mention of the brand is followed by an appearance of the actual product, right?

What did we get instead? A generic plastic bottle! I think I need a word with the prop masters of the show…

[1] Here you can read an extensive history of the brand.

A growing archive of beauty products and perfumes in movies and tv shows