When Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) first spots his creation, the mannequin Emmy, in the window of the department store Prince and Co., she’s surrounded by factice bottles of perfumes. Among them, there are Guerlain Shalimar, Vanderbilt by Gloria Vanderbilt and Jean-Charles Brosseau Ombre Rose.
Mame Carson (Jane Russell) is a millionairess with an oil empire and an unlucky love life. In the first part of the film she’s still engaged, though, and in the first musical act she’s getting ready to meet her fiancé. She likes wearing working clothes but her boudoir shows her love for furry rugs, velvet/satin furniture and perfumes! There’s an impressive display of bottles on her vanity.
The first bottle which appears in this scene is in the bathroom, where Mame’s maid, Clare (Theresa Harris) is spraying some fragrance.
On a marble counter behind Clare there’s a Guerlain flacon montre of Shalimar eau de cologne (see the orange red disk).
Mame takes a bubble bath, then gets changed behind the vanity mirror.
Starting from left bottom I’ve spotted a flacon quadrilobe by Guerlain, Lucien Lelong Sirocco and Bourjois Mais Oui.
On the second shelf there are Guerlain Shalimar in the flacon chauve souris and another Guerlain fragrance in the flacon bouchon coeur.
On the top shelf there are two unknown bottles, while the one in the middle is Guerlain Sous le Vent in the beautiful flacon tonnelet.
Last, there’s the unique pyramid-shape bottle of Lucien Lelong Opening Night on a shelf on the left.
There are an Old Spice deodorant (red can) and a wicker bottle of St. Johns Bay Rum after shave in David Whiteman’s bathroom.
Emmy (Kim Cattrall) and Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) live their love story at night, when the Prince & Company department store they work at is empty and they are free to wander through its halls.
In the screencaps above, portraying the two protagonists dancing, quintessentially 1980s perfumes can be seen – Giorgio Beverly Hills Giorgio for Women and Giorgio for Men. A lot can be said about these two perfumes, but words can barely express the shock and awe you experienced when you smelled them. They were loud, bold, impressively persistent. The brand, founded by Fred and Gayle Hayman in 1961, reached the peak of success in the 1980s and the perfumes had a pivotal role. The women’s version was launched in 1981 and the men’s one three years later.
I really like the arrangement in Nancy’s bathroom: it’s a small space, so the toiletries are displayed on a metal shelving unit facing a window.
The first product I’ve noticed is on the second top shelf (just above Steve’s shoulder): it’s a bottle of the ever-present Old Spice after shave. On the same shelf there’s another interesting product, but more about it later.
On the bottom shelf there are Rise shaving foam and a jar of Pond’s peach cold cream.
One of the last scenes of the film is set in the bathroom again, and we can get a better look at the product previously mentioned. It’s a black bottle of Après Soleil by Bain de Soleil, an after-tan lotion which can be seen in a 1977 advert featuring Rene Russo.
Ellen’s vanity is pretty busy, but there’s a bottle that stands out: it’s the beautiful fluted flacon of Lanvin Eau Arpège, a flanker of the famous fragrance created by Paul Vacher and André Fraysse and launched in 1927.
Thanks to Ramón from La Liz blog for the screencap.
There’s a Nina Ricci refillable atomiser on Elton John’s dressing table. Impossible to tell what fragrance it contains: the same atomiser has been used for different fragrances (Capricci, Farouche, L’air du temps).
This sighting comes as a surprise, because the list of Elton John’s favourite perfumes have never included one by Nina Ricci (he’s known for loving Creed Royal Water). In any case, since the Ricci atomiser is so beautiful, I guess it was chosen simply for decorative purposes.
The black and white jar on Lori’s dressing table is the perfumed pressed body powder by Paloma Picasso. Now discontinued, this product was part of the line launched with the perfume in 1984.
On the other side of the table there’s a white bottle of Halston Classic perfume, created by Bernard Chant and launched in 1975. This all-white version was never available on the market, but Elsa Peretti designed it in pendant form, so I guess this was a bigger, decorative version of it.
There’s a bottle of Oscar by Oscar de la Renta in Celeste’s house. This white floral fragrance, created by Jean-Louis Sieuzac and launched in 1977, was housed in a romantic bottle designed by Serge Mansau.
There’s Guerlain Shalimar in the beautiful flacon chauve souris in Connie’s bedroom. Unusual choice for a 15-year-old girl, but I can see the fascination the whole Shalimar concept can have on a teenager.
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