Category Archives: perfumes in movies

Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)

someonetowatchoverme_bornunicorn-1Claire Gregory (Mimi Rogers) and Mike Keegan go shopping at a luxury department store. She’s an habitual customer, so she greets the sales assistant sitting at the perfume counter.

chanelno5_dabberbottle_bornunicornjeandesprez_balaversaillescologne_bornunicornAmong the several bottles on the counter, I’ve spotted a Chanel perfume in three sizes, a giant bottle of Jean Desprez Bal à Versailles eau de cologne and a giant Caron bottle. I can only assume the Chanel perfume is no.5, but the same bottle has been used for other fragrances.

someonetowatchoverme_bornunicorn-2

profumi_jean-patou_joy_3216499

profumi_jean-patou_1000_46919649One bottle of Ungaro Diva makes its appearance, too. In the background, on the right, a giant bottle of a Jean Patou perfume can be seen. It’s unclear whether it’s Joy or 1000, because the two perfumes have the same bottle.

Jackie (2016)

jackie_bornunicorn-2

ninaricci_lairdutemps_bornunicorn

ninaricci_coeurjoie_bornunicornThere are two Nina Ricci perfumes on Jackie Kennedy’s dressing table in her bedroom at the White House. On the left there’s L’air du temps, created by Francis Fabron and launched after the WWII, in 1948. On the right there’s Coeur Joie, a white floral perfume, created by Germaine Cellier and launched in 1946; the cut-out heart-shaped bottle was designed by Marc Lalique.

Thanks to PaleBlueMoon for the L’air du temps id.

Jackie (2016)

jackie_bornunicornThere are four Guerlain perfumes in Jackie Kennedy’s bathroom at the White House.

guerlain_mitsoukospray_bornunicorn

voldenuit_vintage_guerlain_bornunicorn

guerlain_flaconabeille_bornunicorn

SHALIMAR08010 BASEAFrom left to right: the flacon bouchon coeur of Mitsouko, the flacon rayonnant of Vol de Nuit, a flacon abeille and the flacon chauve souris for Shalimar.

jeandesprez_balaversailles_bornunicornNext to them, a bottle of Bal à Versailles by Jean Desprez can be seen.

I’m sorry to say that the choice of the bottles is lazy and inaccurate. Take Mitsouko, for example: the spray version of this bottle came out in 1995, not in the 1960s. The same can be said for the flacon abeille, a spray version of which was launched in 1992. Why didn’t the prop master use original bottles? Such a disappointment for an Oscar-nominated film!

Thanks to my Instagram friend Mustapha for the id.

Jackie (2016)

jackie_bornunicorn-1

marvistoothpaste_bornunicornWhile Jacqueline and John Kennedy are flying to Dallas on the Air Force One, the First Lady puts her lipstick on. In this scene, a tube of Marvis toothpaste in Classic Strong Mint can be seen in a glass by the washbasin.

jackie_bornunicorn-2

guerlainvetiver_bornunicorn

On the way back to Washington D. C., another scene is set in the presidential plane’s restroom: Jackie is washing her husband’s blood off her face. In this case, a bottle of Guerlain Vetiver can be seen on the countertop on the right. This perfume, created by Jean-Paul Guerlain and launched in 1959, is here shown in the “travel bottle” with silver metal cap and black rim.

Thanks to my Instagram friend Mustapha for the id.

Pal Joey (1957)

paljoey_bornunicorn (2)Vera Prentice-Simpson (Rita Hayworth) sings Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, a popular song from the 1940 musical the film is inspired to.

paljoey_bornunicorn (3)

lanvinarpege_tallbottle_bornunicornThere are two big Lanvin bottles on her dressing table, possibly of Arpege, one of Hayworth’s favourite perfumes.

paljoey_bornunicorn (1)

lanvinvintagearpege_ritahayworth_bornunicornThe black boule bottle of Arpege can be seen on the bottom shelf in her bathroom. The iconic perfume was created by Andre Fraysse and launched in 1927.

Yield to the Night (1956)

yieldtothenight_bornunicorn (1)Mary Price Hilton (Diana Dors) works as a sales assistant at a perfume shop. There she meets Jim Lancaster (Michael Craig), the man she’ll desperately fall in love with. When they first meet, he’s looking for a fragrance, but asks Mary what she is wearing.

SHALIMAR08010 BASEAThere are several bottles on the glass counter, among which Shalimar by Guerlain.

yieldtothenight_bornunicorn (4)The spectacular giant chauve souris bottle gets a beautiful shot in the same scene.

yieldtothenight_bornunicorn (6)

lucienlelong_miniatures_bornunicorn

lucienlelong_gardenia_bornunicornOn the bottom shelf of the counter there’s a set of Lucien Lelong mini bottles (see the ball-shaped stoppers) and what looks like Gardénia by the same brand. The bottle – designed by René Lalique and called Sea Star – was actually used for other perfumes by Lelong (Lilac, for example), but the white box trimmed in a contrasting colour could confirm it was Gardenia.

yieldtothenight_bornunicorn (7)

guerlain_vintagemitsouko_bornunicorn

vintage-guerlain-shalimar-eau-de-cologne-splash-1-7-oz-new-rope-sealed-7cc19a1fb031c4c8f019950e9bc5749a (1)Another shot shows a flacon bouchon coeur and a flacon montre by Guerlain. Reading the labels is impossible, so I can’t tell what they contained. The same can be said for the trademark tall bottle by Lucien Lelong, which was used for different fragrances.

Source.

Poltergeist (1982)

poltergeist_bornunicorn
lauren_ralphlauren_bornunicorn
esteelauder_youthdew_bornunicorn

Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams) is about to take a bath. On a shelf in her bathroom, bottles of Ralph Lauren Lauren and of Estee Lauder Youth-Dew are visible. The floral woody scent by Ralph Lauren was launched in 1978; the oriental spicy fragrance was created by Josephine Catapano and launched in 1953.

The pink bottle on the second shelf is Tickle roll-on deodorant.

Thanks to my friend Jennifer for the Ralph Lauren id and to Sandra for the Tickle id.