House of Cards S01E06

hocs01e06-0396

houseofcards_s01e06_bornunicorn

The dressing table of Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) is pretty busy. We can find several interesting fragrances and make-up items on it.

toccabianca_bornunicorn
chloeperfume_karllagerfeld_bornunicorn
penhaligonscornubia_bornunicorn


The ones I have identified are Tocca Bianca (a sparkling scent with bottom notes of musk and sugar), Chloé Chloé (created by Betty Busse and launched in 1975) and Penhaligon’s Cornubia (a vampy white floral scent created by Nathalie Lawson in 1991).

mac150brush_bornunicorn

The make-up items include a MAC 150 blush brush and Studio Fix powder foundation.

narsglosses_bornunicorn

There are two NARS lipglosses, too. I’m pretty sure one is Albatross (old packaging), while the other could be Guyane or Vent Salé (new packaging).

The Women (2008)

thewomen_narcisorodriguez_bornunicorn

thewomen_narcisorodriguezperfumes_bornunicorn (2)narcisorodriguez_forheredp_bornunicornThere is a Narciso Rodriguez For Her display at Saks: both the black (eau de toilette) and the pale pink (eau de parfum) bottles are shown. The two fragrances, created by Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian, were launched in 2004 and in 2006.

Later in the film, another bottle of Narciso Rodriguez For Her perfume appears in Mary Haines’s bedroom.

thewomen_narcisorodriguezperfume_bornunicorn

thewomen_narcisorodriguezperfumes_bornunicorn (1)It’s not clear if it’s the pink bottle or the limited-edition white bottle of the eau de toilette.

 

My Mad Fat Diary S01E06 (It’s a Wonderful Rae Part 2)

mymadfatdiary_s01e06_bornunicorn

chanelcocomademoiselle_bornunicornThere’s a bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle on Rae’s mom’s dressing table. This is historically inaccurate: the tv show is set in the 1990s, while the Chanel perfume was launched in 2001/2002. Unfortunately, this is not the only mistake done by the show’s prop master: you may remember Britney Spears Fantasy and Tom Ford For Men perfumes appeared on Chloe’s desk in an episode of the second season.

yvesrocherpivoine_bornunicornA reader of this blog (Cpt. Librarian: thanks!) spotted another perfume for me, the one with the white bottle and the pink flower-shaped stopper. It’s Pivoine by Yves Rocher, a scent which was launched in the 1990s. This is historically accurate, after all.

How to Get Away with Murder S01E06 (Freakin’ Whack-a-Mole)

howtogetawaywithmurder_s01e06_bornunicorn

eaudecartierconcentree_bornunicornCartier Eau de Cartier Concentrée, a citrus aromatic perfume created by Christine Nagel and launched in 2002, can be seen on Annalise Keating’s dressing table.

When I first spotted it, I thought it wasn’t the right choice for her. I expected her to wear something bold, more in-your-face, but then I realized I was wrong: the fresh note of yuzu combined with lavender, cedar, coriander, white amber and patchouli seems just perfect for her, as it’s fresh, clean and unfussy, a quiet detail in her hectic life.

Romy Schneider’s Dressing Table (1973)

20463I’ve recently come across an extraordinary set of Romy Schneider’s pictures taken by photographer Helga Kneidl in 1973 in Paris. The Austrian actress was portrayed while sitting at her dressing table. Who knew she was a Guerlain fan? I shouldn’t be surprised: I’ve realized the fragrances of the French maison have always been incredibly popular among celebrities and prop masters (just think of all the Guerlain perfume sightings you can find on this site).

c8f205a2b2bda38b53eaeb0b9e4cdb43

guerlainflaconbouchoncoeurThe first bottle I’ve spotted is the iconic Flacon Bouchon Coeur, designed by Raymond Guerlain and Baccarat and first released in 1912. It’s hard to tell what exact perfume was on the actress’ table, because this bottle has been used for Mitsouko, L’Heure Bleue, Fol Arome and a special edition of Shalimar.

800-1422467442

RL-30731.2LThere are also two Travel Flacons, first launched in 1955 to contain Ode and later used for several colognes. The bottles on Romy’s table have the white rim, so they surely contained feminine colognes.

helga kneidl paris 1973

montre-bottlesLast but not least, on the right you can see a Flacon Montre with gold screw-cap stopper, first used in 1936 with Cachet Jaune. It contained all the standard feminine colognes, each of which was characterised by the colour of the central disk (red for Shalimar, navy blue for Vol de Nuit, burgundy for Jicky, light aqua for Chamade and so on). Unfortunately, the pictures I’ve found are black and white, so it’s impossible to tell which cologne Romy wore.

All the information of these bottles come from the invaluable Guerlain Perfumes, From Past to Present blog.

Picture source [1] [2].