Some days ago I came across the picture above, taken by Dora Handel in 1992. Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain were portrayed in New York for Sassy Magazine; Christina Kelly interviewed them at the peak of their love story. They weren’t married, the Nirvana mania had just exploded and tragedy hadn’t struck their family yet. I had seen pictures from that photoshoot lots of times, but for the first time I noticed the compact Courtney was holding in her hand. A Christian Dior blue and gold striped compact containing Teint Poudre dual powder foundation.
As for the pencil she was holding, something (the gold writing on it) tells me it was by Chanel, but it’s just a guess.
It’s nice to see that some things never really change: even as the poster child for the kinderwhore aesthetic Courtney had an expensive taste. After all, she’s always wanted to be the “girl with the most cake”, hasn’t she?
Thanks to Heather Martin in the comments for the compact id.
World Wide Aura 
Yes it’s Christian Dior Dual powder foundation I have it
Thank you for letting me know 😊
No problem sweetie 😘
There was a wonderful interview with Courtney Love around the time of this Sassy article that was solely about her love of fragrances – everything from Fracas (which she said she always found a way to get, even when she was poor) to daphne flowers in WA, breast milk, and her husband. She talked about the funk of her band mates on the road combined with strong hippie oils (I remember her saying it gets “really complex”), and something like “beware of a woman wearing patchouli – she’s about to steal your boyfriend.”
It was essentially a half page Courtney Love perfume monologue within a larger, rather generic perfume article in some woman’s magazine – maybe Mademoiselle? It was entitled something about how Courtney Love had “a lot to say” about perfume – and she really did. It was moving and interesting.
During my last move, USPS lost the box containing my binder of all my favorite old perfume articles. I haven’t been able to find this one anywhere, or even remember which magazine it was in. Have you ever come across it by any chance?
This article sounds great. Unfortunately I’ve never come across it, but now I’ve got one mission: hunting it down. I want to read it!