All posts by Born Unicorn

Pedantic archivist of beauty products in films and tv shows

Deutschland 86 E06 (Tjello)

deutschland86_e06_bornunicornTina Fischer receives a package from West Berlin: her brother, Thomas Posimski, is sending food, candy and toiletries.

fa_soapbar_bornunicornOn the left there’s a box containing Fa bar soap, produced in Germany by Henkel.

hattricclassicaftershave_bornunicornThen there’s the after shave Hâttric Classic, first launched in 1963, characterised by fresh notes of lemon, lime and bergamot.

niveacreme_bornunicornLast but not least, the iconic blue tin of Nivea Creme, one of the most famous German beauty products. Created in Hamburg in 1911 by Oscar Troplowitz, the chemist who co-founded Beiersdorf, it’s a multi-use snow-white cream which has been a staple in the beauty kits of many generations.

La vérité (2019)

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masonpearson_woodenbrush_bornunicornLumir (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter Charlotte (Clémentine Grenier) are visiting Fabienne on the set of her latest film. While Charlotte is sitting at her grandmother’s vanity, we can see a Mason Pearson box by the mirror. Later in the film, Lumir is holding a brush: it’s a wooden brush with boar bristle and nylon tufts by the British brand.

Kika (1993)

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Juana (Rossy de Palma) is Kika’s maid: she doesn’t really take care of her look, so Kika (who’s a make-up artist) decides to give her a makeover.

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The compact face powder she uses is by Cacharel.

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cacharellips_bornunicornThe scarlet red lipstick she puts on Juana is another product by Cacharel. The lipsticks of this short-lived line were contained in beautiful matte metal cases, the tops of which were lip-shaped.

The Girl on the Train (2016)

thegirlonthetrain_bornunicornThere are several body cleansers in Megan’s shower.

jomalone_bodyandhandwashgel_bornunicornThe first from the left is a body and hand wash by Jo Malone.

thegirlonthetrain_bornunicorn (2)When she gets near the window (from where she can see the train to New York passing through), the other three products are clearer.

cobigeloweucalyptusbodycleanser_bornunicornThe first is Eucalyptus body cleanser by C. O. Bigelow.

rogergallet_roseshowergel_bornunicornThe second is Roger & Gallet Rose gentle shower cream.

cobigelow_elixirwhitehairandbodywash_bornunicornAnd the last tube is Elixir White hair & body wash, another C. O. Bigelow product.

Thanks to Jay for the submission and for telling me about this film: I had never watched it before and I enjoyed it a lot.

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)

womenonthevergeofanervousbreakdownThe retro-style opening credits of the film (designed by Juan Gatti) contain, quite surprisingly, a real advert of a real make-up item.

dubarryglissandolipstick_bornunicornIt’s the marbled lipstick Glissando, launched in 1964 by the American brand Du Barry.

dubarryglissandolipsticks_bornunicornAvailable in six shades (“from light-struck pinks to muted ambers to rich reds”), it was housed in an elegant silver and gold metal case.

It’s true the brand started its decline in the 1970s and eventually died [1], but I still wonder what happened here. Did the title designer get away with reproducing an advert of a defunct brand? Or did they just paid what was due to whatever multinational company owned the Du Barry name in the 1980s?

[1] This is not entirely accurate: the brand was relaunched in 2002. But I guess that was the end of it.

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)

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Lucía (Julieta Serrano) is a woman with a troubled past: abandoned by her husband Iván with a child (Carlos, now grown-up and interpreted by Antonio Banderas), she’s spent a long time in a mental institution. Now she’s living with her parents, who try to support her and her extravagant looks.

In this scene, she’s applying her eyeliner. On her dresser there are many beauty products, among which the unmistakable golden spray can of L’Oreal Elnett Satin hairspray.

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But there’s also another interesting product – a white jar with pink lid, which screams “Christian Dior skincare”.

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It’s impossible to say exactly what product this was, but was for sure part of the Hydra-Dior collection.

womenonthevergeofanervousbreakdown_bornunicorn (1)It’s not a coincidence that later in the film we see several products from the same line on Pepa’s vanity. Pepa (Carmen Maura) is the former mistress of Iván. She’s another woman “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”, just like Lucía: they’re in love with the same man (who has dumped both of them for another lover) and happen to use the same skincare.