There are several toiletries in the barber shop where Detective Richard Willis (Chris Messina) is getting shaved.
There’s a bottle of Proraso after-shave lotion.
The white can with green cap is Rise Super Foam rich shave cream.
There are also two Pinaud Clubman products. The tall green bottle contains the classic talc, while the white bottle contains shave talc.
Ginny (Blanche Baker) is a bride-to-be who’s being totally focused on the preparations of her wedding day. She’s unsympathetic with her sister Samantha and is very rude to her. Under this behaviour there’s a lot of unhappiness, in my opinion [1]: she doesn’t really love her fiancé (he’s the only one who’d been in love with her for six months straight) but feels this is the only chance she has to get married.
Some interesting beauty items can be seen on her busy dresser.
The white bottle with blue cap next to the lamp is the suntan lotion QT Quick Tanning by Coppertone.
On the golden tray on the right there’s a bottle of Avon Timeless, a floral chypre perfume released in 1974.
The hot pink bottle is Tickle roll-on deodorant.
[1] Sixteen Candles has never been among my favourite 1980s films, but after recently re-watching it, I’ve realised it’s a deeply disturbing and problematic movie. Here 16 reasons that prove it.
There’s a pump bottle of Dr. Bronner’s organic sugar soap in Lemongrass Lime on the sink in Marlo’s kitchen.
In the screencaps above two products are described in detail. One is Cle de Peau intensive eye contour cream, a luxurious product containing gold silk essence and Japanese pearl. The other is the Italian toothpaste Marvis in Whitening Mint.
Arlen has got a NARS blush on her messy dressing table. This hot pink shade is definitely Desire.
It’s interesting to notice how the compact mirror has been modified: a space for a sponge applicator – not present in NARS blushes on the market – has been created.
Adora Crellin (Patricia Clarkson) gets bandaged by her husband Alan after cutting her hand with rose thorns while gardening. Interesting objects can be seen on her vanity.
The perfume bottle with red stopper is a Lalique creation – Clairefontaine. The stopper reproduces lily of the valley stalks.
The blue bottle and jar with silver caps sitting in the middle of the table are La Prairie skincare products.
There’s another Lalique bottle: it’s Les Anemones, featuring a frosted double-flower stopper and long dauber stem.
Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) checks her make-up in a Chanel compact.
There’s a MAC pressed powder compact on Eva’s dresser.
There’s a jar of Pond’s cold cream on the table where Alice (Ellen Burstyn) is tweezing her eyebrows.
Alice (Ellen Burstyn) is a widow who wants to move back to her home town, Monterrey, by the end of the summer. On the way home, she tries to find a job and to earn some money. She wants to make an impression on potential employers, so she gets her hair styled and buys a new dress. The beauty products she uses reinforce the idea of a woman who wants to make an impression.
On a table of the motel room where she’s staying with her son Tommy (Alfred Lutter III), we can see some luxury items.
The black and red round bottles with gold stoppers are perfumed talcs by Lanvin, respectively Arpege and My Sin.
The tall glass bottle is the trademark container of Lucien Lelong fragrances. This one, with the black label, is for Opening Night cologne.
I was wondering why the movie prop masters selected these items for the character. She’s struggling with her current life situation, with a “very weird” kid and with money; for these reasons, Lanvin talcs (two of them!) and the Lelong perfume are likely to be symbols of a wealthier past.
