Romy Schneider’s Dressing Room (1961)

In March 1961 Luchino Visconti directed a French version of the revenge play ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore by the English playwright John Ford. Staged at the Théâtre de Paris, Dommage qu’elle soit une p… starred Romy Schneider as the protagonist Annabella and her fiancé Alain Delon as Giovanni.

In these beautiful backstage pictures by Maurice Jarnoux we can take a look at what beauty products the Austrian actress used. In the shot above she was applying Pan Stik compact foundation by Max Factor.

On her dressing table there were many make-up and skincare products, among which a bottle of baby lotion by the French brand Mustela.

When it comes to the perfumes, the first I’ve noticed is a huge houndstooth bottle by Christian Dior, used for several eaux de toilette and eaux de cologne by the French maison, so it’s impossible to tell what fragrance this specific bottle contained. Furthermore, it’s quite surprising to see a Dior fragrance on her dressing table: the perfumes she usually wore were Chanel No. 5, Guerlain L’Heure Bleue [1] and – as explained by Elena ProkofevaTubereuse by Jean-Francois Laporte.

The second bottle is a French classic – Roger & Gallet Jean Marie Farina eau de cologne, first launched in 1806.

The third perfume sighting is not a bottle but a white box with black details. It’s a coffret set by Chanel, usually containing a selection of four parfum extraits.

[1] Several Guerlain bottles appeared in the famous portraits of Romy Schneider taken by photographer Helga Kneidl in 1973 in Paris.

Picture source.

One thought on “Romy Schneider’s Dressing Room (1961)”

  1. I have only used a Mustela product years ago and can’t remember what it was.
    Power of suggestion, I got the Baby lotion on a whim and it is heavenly.
    The scent is lovely. I am sure it isn’t original ingredients as it has no mineral oil.
    I would kill for a vintage bottle!

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