There are several make-up items in Emily’s bag: a Chanel lipstick (it could be the Rouge Coco or the Rouge Coco Shine, since the two products have the same tube), a purple nail polish by OPI, L’Oreal Colour Riche Caresse lip colour and a Claire’s lipstick (with a slightly different packaging).
There’s also a tube of Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick.
Lenora Rauch (Maria Schrader) gives her sister Ingrid (Carina N. Wiese) a bottle of Chanel no. 5 as a present for her birthday. The perfume is not visible but the white box with black trims is unmistakable. No wonder Ingrid is so happy: Chanel no. 5 is literally a piece of European culture she’s not allowed to buy, since it’s not available on the East-German market.
There’s a white bottle of Givenchy Amarige in the protagonist’s bathroom.
It’s unclear whether it contains the Perfumed Dew refreshing body lotion or the Silk Body Veil. Both are quite rare products. The Givenchy perfume was created by Dominique Ropion and launched in 1991: it’s an opulent white floral scent with notes of fresh fruit and a warm woody base.
Thanks to my Instagram friend Mustapha for posting this picture on his account and for the screencap.
Caleb uses Barbasol shaving cream.
When Rodrigo (Gael García Bernal) is thrown out of his apartment, he stays at Gloria’s. While she’s taking a shower, he goes through the beauty products sitting on her dressing table. Most of them are face creams and lotions. The small purple jar on the right is the intensive 3-in-1 eye cream by Patricia Wexler M.D.
He takes one cream jar and puts some on his face. It’s another Wexler product: it could be the universal anti-aging moisturizer or the skin-brightening daily moisturizer.
On the dressing table there’s also a tube of Hada Labo Tokyo hydrating facial cleanser and four C.O. Bigelow products: Mentha smoothing body buffer in the green tube on the left, Lemon Leaf ultra-soft body butter in the jar with black lid, Lemon hand treatment and Lemon body lotion in the pump bottle on the right.
Thanks to a reader for the Hada Labo Tokyo id and to my friend Jennifer for the C.O. Bigelow ids.
Martin Rauch is an East German soldier who is recruited to become a spy in West Germany. His mentor, Professor Tobias Tischbier, introduces him to the different lifestyle, products and vocabulary on the other side of the Wall. His “lessons” include beauty products. Florena was an East German beauty brand; among its products, the hairspray Action and the deodorant Lidos. On the other hand, Schwarzkopf 3 Wetter Taft was extremely popular on the Western market.
In this episode there are two references to Mäurer & Wirtz 4711, the original Echt Kölnisch Wasser. The scene above is set in Cologne central station: while Martin Rauch is taking a train to East Berlin, we can see huge neon letters spelling the name of the eau de cologne.
In another scene, the iconic Molanus bottle can be seen in the desk drawer of Frau Netz (Michaela Caspar), General Edel’s secretary. When she opens the drawer, we can see the bottle and a copy of the magazine Der Spiegel (June 6th, 1983 issue). The cover title – Deadly Disease AIDS, the Mysterious Illness – is connected to the plot: a member of the pacifist movement, Felix von Schwerin, is actually ill with AIDS; he may have infected Tobias Tischbier and, as a consequence, Alex Edel.
Ursula Edel, the General’s wife, pays a visit to his office and gives Frau Netz a certificate of medical leave of absence for her son Alex. This is ironic: in that moment, Alex is not ill (he has temporarily left the army, trying to fight his father’s influence with a grand gesture which will end up tragically), but he may be, even if he doesn’t know it yet. Besides the fact that Frau Netz doesn’t shake Ursula’s hand, she reacts to the woman’s departure from the office by cleaning her hands with a handkerchief soaked in 4711 cologne. Known for its revitalising and relaxing effects, this cologne is commonly used as hand sanitizer, too.
A bottle of CK Be, vitamin E face mist and a cushion pin large hairbrush by The Body Shop, Kryolan cake make-up and The Body Shop coconut oil hair shine can be seen on the dressing table of Edward Petherbridge.
The picture was taken by Dora Petherbridge (Edward’s daughter) at the Duchess Theatre in London in July 2010, when the actor was appearing in The Fantasticks.
Thanks to my friend Jennifer for the face mist id.
There’s a box of Avon Angel Fish soaps on a shelf of Pat White’s bedside table.
Cassandra and Rose Mortmain go to a luxury department store in London to get two fur coats their aunt Millicent left them as inheritance. Before getting to the right floor, Rose wanders in the perfume and fashion accessory department. Some Guerlain perfumes are displayed in a glass case: they are Shalimar and Véga.
The selection is historically accurate: the film is set in the 1930s, a decade during which both perfumes had been released. Shalimar was launched in 1925 and Véga in 1926.
World Wide Aura 