A film about Marilyn Monroe would be incomplete without a reference (either verbal or visual) to the perfume she declared she wore to bed. The famous quote about Chanel No. 5 was first published on April 7th, 1952, when the actress appeared on the cover of Life Magazine, and that marked the birth of a legendary connection. No surprises then in seeing a bottle of the French perfume sitting on Marilyn’s dresser.
Drea (Camila Mendes) working on her sewing machine is a good occasion to let us take a look at her dressing table, which is full of interesting products.
There are some perfume bottles on the left, one of which is quite surprising.
The tall fluted bottle with gold stopper is a Bernard Chant creation from 1965 – the chypre woody Imprevu by Coty. It’s such an unusual sighting that I would really love to know how it was picked by the prop masters. Did they want to give a vintage feel to the dressing table?
Richard Madoc tries to convince the muse Calliope to help him with his writer’s block by giving her gifts. Among them there’s a bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal, a floral chypre fragrance created by Daphné Bugey, Fabrice Pellegrin and Christophe Raynaud and launched in 2017.
Lisa (Shelley Winters) and her friend Maria Grazia (Paulette Goddard) are spending some time together while relaxing: they discuss about the upcoming social events they want to go to.
On a small table behind Lisa there’s a splash bottle of Guerlain Eau de Cologne Impériale, created by Pierre François Pascal Guerlain for Empress Eugenie in 1853.
On a table between the two friends there’s a bottle of Acqua distillata alle rose by Roberts, a classic rose water that’s available everywhere in Italy.
There are two interesting perfumes on Lyta’s dressing table. And they are very much so because this scene has an unusual setting: this table is in the house that Lyta’s deceased husband Hector has built for them in the Dreaming.
They are probably perfumes that the woman already wears on the ordinary plan of reality or maybe they have been selected to be worn in a different dimension.
The first fragrance (boxed) is Chanel Coco eau de toilette. It’s an amber spicy creation by Jacques Polge, first launched in 1984.
The second, in the gold bottle, is the extrait de parfum of Yves Saint Laurent Cinéma, an amber floral fragrance created by Jacques Cavallier and launched in 2004.
In 1988, one year after Andy Warhol’s death, his business manager, Fred Hughes, commissioned photographer David Gamble to take pictures of the artist’s New York home. The picture of Warhol’s bathroom cabinet is probably the most famous result of that photoshoot: it was sold for $25,000 at an auction and in 2012 it was displayed at the exhibition Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A print of it is in the collection of The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
No need for me to explain why I have decided to analyse in detail the contents of this cabinet. I have scrutinised fictional and real-life bathroom cabinets and dressing tables for more than 10 years, so I couldn’t miss the opportunity to write about this iconic cabinet.
Before starting, let me say that medicines and several beauty products haven’t been included: I never write about medicines and the aforementioned products, now discontinued, haven’t been identified yet. The description of other products, although identified, is not completed by pictures because I haven’t found any online.
Let’s start with the top shelf.
The aqua green jar is Clinique 7-Day scrub cream: this product is still on the market, but the packaging has been changed (now it’s available in tube form).
The glass bottle with white stopper on the far right is Janet Sartin sun lotion. This brand and their beauty salon in New York still exist.
On the second shelf, starting from the far left, we can see a glass bottle of Guerlain Extrait de Pot-Pourri aux Plantes Marines, a home fragrance.
Seeing a Chanel no. 5 ancillary product (an after-bath spray) is not surprising: Andy Warhol included the iconic bottle of the French perfume in his Ads series.
Next, another Guerlain product – Vétiver talc. Unfortunately I haven’t found a picture of the product in the packaging shown in Warhol’s cabinet, but the pagoda-like bottle is so charming, isn’t it?
The silver tube contains Framesi Gelly’s color enhancing styling gel. This Italian haircare brand, still on the market, was founded in 1945.
Last, the glass bottle on the far right is another Janet Sartin product.
On the third shelf there’s a small-sized bottle of Vidal Sassoon shampoo.
In the back of the shelf there’s another Janet Sartin product, housed in a white jar.
Another Alo Sun product – the After Tan lotion – sits on the same shelf.
The white jar with taupe cap is Revlon European Collagen Complex exceptional beauty cream.
On the fourth shelf there’s a Sally Hansen product: I haven’t found any picture of it online, but the bottle reads that it’s a desensitized skin conditioning lotion.
Next to it there’s a jar of Interface herbal rub scrub. This is another product which I haven’t found any evidence of online. The brand doesn’t exist anymore.
One of the most interesting products is Halston 1-12 shaving foam. The fragrance was launched in 1976 and is still available on the market. Warhol using a Halston beauty product makes so much sense that I would have been surprised if I hadn’t found any in this cabinet.
The jar with blue cap contains Noxzema Antiseptic Skin cleanser pads.
Just under the Noxzema pad jar there’s Clinique Sub-Skin firming cream.
Among the lip products I can see a Lip Smacker Bonne Bell lip balm (cherry or strawberry-scented) and a tube of Vaseline Lip Therapy balm.
On the fifth (bottom) shelf there’s a bottle of Cetaphil lotion.
Next, a bottle of Vitabath Spring Green body wash.
On a jar of Vaseline pure petroleum jelly there’s a bottle of Lubriderm Lubath body wash.
Next, there’s a bottle of Neet cocoa butter lotion hair remover.
Toiletries and medicine bottles cover the two dressing tables seen in the film. On both occasions three products stand out, all of them by Old Spice.
The two white bottles are an Old Spice travel set: the bottle with white cap contains after-shave talcum, while the one with red cap contains after-shave lotion.
The green bottle with white cap is from the Lime collection, introduced in 1966. From an 1973 catalogue we can see that this introductory-size bottle could contain the after-shave lotion or the cologne.
Deena (Kiara Madeira) is ready for the final battle against her archenemy, Sheriff Nick Goode. While hiding in a bathroom at the Shadyside Mall, she chooses Calvin Klein CK One to cover up her scent.
No surprises here: what other mainstream fragrance could a teenager choose for such a purpose in 1994? The citrus aromatic creation by Alberto Morillas and Harry Fremont was launched in that year: housed in a minimalistic flask, it took the fragrance world and the collective imagination by storm.
When Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) hugs Deena, his comment on how she smells like will go down in history as the most accurate description of CK One. I have never felt like an “androgynous baby” when I wear it, but it really makes sense.
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