The illustration Patricia is working on is very interesting. It advertises a fictional fragrance, Senso. A fragrance with the same name already exists, though.
Created by Jacques Polge and launched in 1987, Senso by Emanuel Ungaro is an amber floral fragrance. It was originally housed in a fluted bottle decorated by a cord with tassels. Nastassja Kinski was the testimonial.
The bottle the woman in Patricia’s illustration is holding exists in real life, too. It’s a flacon montre by Guerlain. Considering the front disk is black, the fragrance it is supposed to contain is Liu eau de cologne, a floral green creation by Jacques Guerlain launched in 1929.
Even if I understand the creative effort behind the illustration, I wonder why they mixed elements belonging to real fragrances, instead of creating a completely new (and properly fictional) one.
The two Homecoming episodes have an uncharacteristic protagonist: a perfume. Giorgio Beverly Hills appears in another scene (set in Liz Schaffer’s bedroom) and is mentioned in two conversations. In this case, Robert (Homer Gere) gives it to Susan (Kaia Gerber) as a gift.
He gives her the extraordinary spray cologne version, which I cannot date with precision, but the packaging is historically accurate, at least judging by the front logo.
Susan is overjoyed: she probably sees this fragrance like everybody else did in the early/mid 1980s — a synonym for luxury and exclusivity. A box of it was spotted in her own house, but clearly she’s never had a bottle for herself.
When she sprays the perfume on her wrist, we can notice a minor mistake: the stopper is faceted, which means that this specific bottle is not the 1981 one.
This is the original bottle: you can see the stopper is smooth.
This is the bottle currently on the market: you can see that the stopper is faceted. The prop masters mixed things up here: they selected the original box and paired it to a contemporary bottle. Weird choice.
Robert has been flirting with Susan since he first met her, so it’s not surprising that he rubs her wrist on the side of his neck: he wants to smell like her. This is not just a tactic of seduction, though, because there might be something else at play.
A possible explanation is revealed during the Homecoming ceremony, when Susan wins the title of queen, but gives it to Rhonda (Ivy Wolk). The girl smells Giorgio Beverly Hills on Susan’s wrist and finally things become clear: she sensed the same fragrance during her captivity. That’s why she accuses Susan of being her kidnapper. The truth might be darker and point towards other characters.
Liz is not the driving force behind Rhonda’s makeover, but when she decides to step in, things improve. Her speech to the future homecoming queen is an ode to confidence and self-awareness.
We have already seen several cosmetics and beauty tools on Liz’s vanity; among them, there’s also a spray can of Silkience hairspray.
Bold, loud and impossible to hide: this white floral bomb was created by Francis Camail and launched in 1981.
In the same drawer there’s a Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick, definitely not a 1980s cosmetic.
Debbie (Hayes Warner) doesn’t hide her dislike for Giorgio Beverly Hills, but thankfully Liz ignores her.
She’s happy because the fragrance is exciting, is new, and is a gift from her husband.
When Rhonda (Ivy Wolk) smells the perfume, she has a moment of realisation and recognises it as the “girlie smell” she must have sensed during her captivity.
A very popular trope in teen movies is the makeover, the physical transformation of the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. In this episode, Susan and Debbie take Rhonda under their wing, and convince her she can be the next homecoming queen. Their beauty intervention happens in the sancta sanctorum of the Schaffer’s mansion — Liz’s bedroom.
Fans of time travels, this is for you: there’s a Westman Atelier mirrored compact (containing Vital pressed skincare face powder) on Liz’s vanity. A product launched in 2022 makes its appearance in 1981 — a magic trick that is possible only in the fictional worlds created by Ryan Murphy.
Liz (Evan Rachel Wood) has a rare moment of closeness with her husband Terry (Wes Bentley), who appreciates how she handled the meeting with the headmaster of Debbie’s school. The woman drops a question that sounds awkward to our ears, but it made sense in the early 1980s: is Terry wearing a fragrance created for and marketed to women? The question digs deeper, though, because it inevitably refers to the man’s sexual orientation.
Giorgio Beverly Hills was launched exactly in 1981: it’s a fragrance that conjured an exclusive and luxurious imagery. It was not intentionally unisex (Terry tries to find a way out by saying it is), but he admits he’s wearing it. Strange that Liz doesn’t realise it without asking, considering that a box of the same fragrance was spotted on her own dressing table.
Created by Francis Camail, Giorgio Beverly Hills was (in its original formulation) a white floral fragrance with top notes of orange blossom, apricot, peach and bergamot; middle notes of tuberose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmine, orchid and rose; base notes of chamomile, vanilla, oakmoss, musk, amber, sandalwood, cedar and patchouli. In case you were wondering, it was really super intense, and very unique.
Debbie (Hayes Warner) once again serves as the younger version of her mother, but she’s way less respectful and self-aware than Liz. There’s contempt and sarcasm in her question to Steven (Jordan Roth).
His answer is loud, clear, and unapologetic: he’s wearing Giorgio.
Debbie’s comment on the fragrance and on Steven is ignorant and derogatory, which is not surprising: strict categorisation of people and things makes her feel in control, while facts tell a different story. Despite her efforts and her father’s money, she’s a sad and lost girl, who thinks she deserves everything by birth right, but gets proven wrong again and again.
It’s interesting that her reply seems to refer to two very contemporary topics: the “old lady perfume” discussion, and the broader topic of fragrance and gender.
Dolly (Jean Harlow) is travelling on a steamer, the Kin Lung, shuttling between Singapore and Hong Kong. She’s trying to win back her former partner, Alan Gaskell, the captain of the ship. Her travelling companion is Isabel (Hattie McDaniel), her maid. In the scene above, Isabel expresses her interest in one of Dolly’s ornate dresses, which she eventually gets after asking for it many times.
On Dolly’s vanity there’s an interesting object.
It’s a bee-lid jar by Yardley, usually housing face cream or loose face powder.
Brett (Igby Rigney) is checking his hairstyle during a break from Dance Off!, the dancing competition he’s taking part in.
Right in front of him there’s a spray can of Aquanet unscented super-hold hairspray.
Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), Debbie’s father, is acting like a helicopter parent: he’s doing everything he can in his power to make his daughter win the competition. In this specific scene, he’s talking about Brett’s Less Than Zero script, and arranges a meeting with the boy at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
On the far right side of the dressing table we can see a bottle of Rave unscented ultra-hold hairspray.
More products can be seen when he sits down.
There’s a jar of Vaseline pure petroleum jelly (Terry applies it on his lips).
The Mondrian-inspired can is from the Studio Line hair styling collection by L’Oreal, one of my most vivid memories from the 1980s (I loved the mousse and the gel).
The white bottle is Aquanet unscented super-hold hairspray.
There are some interesting beauty products on the dressing table of Tony Cruz, the host of Dance Off!,a dancing competition for teenagers televised nationwide.
There’s also a plastic bottle of Vitalis hair tonic.
The beautiful bottle with brown stopper sitting at the centre of the table is a bit of a mystery. It houses a fragrance by Prince Matchabelli, although being more precise is impossible: the same bottle was used to contain at least three different fragrances. The one above is Cachet, a chypre floral fragrance launched in 1970.
Wind Song is a warm spicy fragrance launched in 1953.
Last but not least, Aviance, a green floral fragrance launched in 1975.
The atomiser with black and white paisley pattern is Avon Patterns, a fragrance launched in 1969.
One of the most horrific moments of the film gives us an insight into the physical and emotional punishments that Joan Crawford inflicted on her adoptive daughter Christina, the author of the 1978 memoir the film is based on.
The infamous “no wire hangers, ever!” fit of rage is followed by Crawford forcing young Christina to scrub the tiled floor of her bathroom with Old Dutch abrasive powder.
This scene gives us the chance to spot what is probably the only nice touch in a very sad context. There’s a box of Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass perfume on the tiled washbasin counter in Christina’s bathroom. This floral green fragrance, created by Georges Fuchs, was launched in 1936. The blue horse decorated by a pink flower garland is a lovely symbol of beauty and freedom, a direct reference to Maine Chance Farm, Arden’s thoroughbred horse racing stable and horse farm in Lexington, Kentucky.
The opening scene of the episode features Ryan (Daniel Dale) taking the audience through his morning beauty routine. It’s impossible not to notice a parallel with the most famous beauty routine scene in cinema, although comparing the two would be unkind, given the differences between Ryan (a high-school student living in Los Angeles) and Patrick Bateman (a murderous businessman living in New York). In any case, Bret Easton Ellis’ obsession with mentioning brands and listing actions in chronological order emerges again and is given a visual form.
Yves Saint Laurent Kouros is the only product that is mentioned. This aromatic fougère, created by Pierre Bourdon and launched in 1981, is first introduced in the third episode.
Ryan’s comment about Kouros is always the same (“It’s for men”): the fact that it’s a fragrance created and marketed for men, seems to give him validation.
Ryan’s bathroom cabinet speaks about his economic status, too: his family used to be wealthy, but it’s not anymore, due to wrong financial investments. It seems Kouros is the most expensive beauty item he owns.
On the left side of the mirrored cabinet we can see a drugstore after shave: it’s Louis Philippe Patrichs Pour Homme, a woody fragrance launched in 1976.
Another after shave (boxed) is on the opposite side of the cabinet: it’s English Leather Spiced, launched in 1949.
Ryan is a resourceful boy, though, so we learn about his side “hustle”: he works as a porn actor for the production company Erotica Pictures, located in San Fernando Valley, the epicentre of the burgeoning adult entertainment industry. In that working environment he gets to meet the mother of a schoolmate, none other than Liz Schaffer! We don’t know exactly what brought Liz to Erotica Pictures, but she’s set to become a new sensation with the pseudonym Cami Soul.
The Schaffers’ are a dysfunctional family, but they have something in common: an interest in fragrances. Liz commenting on the perfume Ryan is wearing parallels Debbie’s similar comment in the third episode.
Unlike Debbie, Liz knows her fragrances, though: she immediately identifies what Ryan is wearing.
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