All posts by Born Unicorn

Pedantic archivist of beauty products in films and tv shows

Tall Girl (2019)

tallgirl_bornunicorn (1)When Jodi (Ava Michelle) decides to get a make-over to impress the exchange student Stig, she asks her beauty pageant-winning sister Harper (Sabrina Carpenter) to help her. Much to her dismay, her mother Helaine (Angela Kinsey) is part of the glam squad. The first place they go to is a MAC counter, where Helaine comes up with very specific requests.

macladydanger_bornunicorn-1.jpgWhen asked for a lipstick, the sales assistant (Candi Brooks) suggests Lady Danger, a classic vivid bright coral red.

tallgirl_bornunicorn (2)But Helaine thinks it’s too vampy.

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On the other side of the spectrum there’s Crème Cup, a light blue pink shade, but Helaine thinks it’s not vampy enough.

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macspeaklouder_bornunicornFinally, the sales assistant recommends Speak Louder, dark pink with a pearl finish, but Helaine doesn’t get it’s the name of a lipstick shade 🙂

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mac187brush_bornunicornAnother MAC product shown in this scene is the 187 synthetic duo fibre face brush.

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maclipglass_bornunicorn.jpgFinally, when they go to a hairdresser, we can see Jodi holding two lipgloss tubes and wondering what’s the difference between a regular gloss and a lipglass, another MAC product which has a glass-like finish (hence the name). Obvious difference for any beauty lover, incomprehensible for someone who doesn’t care about make-up.

Raffaella Carrà’s Dressing Room (1983)

In 1983 the popularity of the Italian showgirl Raffaella Carrà was about to peak: in that year she would start hosting Pronto, Raffaella?, one of the most successful tv programmes of the decade. Angelo Deligio took these wonderful pictures of Raffaella in her dressing room, surrounded by beauty products, personal items (see the Louis Vuitton Monogram Canvas box above) and design objects [1].

lancome_vintagetoniquedouceur_bornunicornThe first beauty products that have captured my attention are by Lancôme. Raffaella used the classic toner/cleansing milk duo: the toner is Tonique Douceur, while the cleansing milk is Galatéis Douceur.

maxfactor_panstikvintage_bornunicornBy the mirror there’s also Max Factor Pan Stik, along with a tiny bottle of Imidazyl eye drops and a box of Chicco cotton buds.

This picture was taken on the opposite side of the room. The Lancôme duo is still visible, but next to Raffaella there’s another intriguing bottle.

jeannegatineauvintage_bornunicornHere it is again. It’s a Jeanne Gatineau product, probably a make-up remover in oil form. The trademark pink packaging can be found in the first picture, too, where a pink box sits by the mirror.

evianspraywater_bornunicornIf we move to the opposite side of the room, next to Raffaella, there are other two products – Schwarzkopf Taft hairspray and Evian spray mineral water.

[1] In the pictures there are Ericsson Ericofon phone and Philips wired broadcast receiver.

Joker (2019)

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macrubywoolipstick_bornunicornThere’s a MAC red lipstick in the dressing room where Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix) sits while waiting to perform at the Live! With Murray Franklin. I guess he used the same lipstick to write “Put on a happy face” on the mirror.

Seeing this lipstick here is not a surprise, because MAC was the brand of choice of the movie’s make-up artist, Nicki Ledermann, who used Chromacakes to create the protagonist’s clown looks.