Category Archives: perfumes in movies

Martha (1974)

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The iconic Christian Dior houndstooth perfume bottle appears on Martha’s hotel bathroom shelf while she’s in Rome with her father. The front label is not visible, so it’s impossible to tell what fragrance she wore.

diorellahoundstooth_bornunicornWe should add Diorella to my list of “suspects”, since the floral-chypre perfume created by Edmond Roudnitska was launched in 1970.

The pink stick on the left is Max Factor Pan Stik foundation.

Thanks to Amy in the comments for the Max Factor id.

The Bitch (1979)

thebitch_bornunicornThe “bitch” of the movie title is Fontaine Khaled (Joan Collins), the fierce owner of a trendy disco. She loves living surrounded by luxury, so no surprise to see expensive perfumes in her bathroom.

hermes_calechevintage_bornunicornThe 400 ml bottle on the left is Hermès Calèche, a woody floral fragrance created by Guy Robert in 1961.

hermes_calechevintagead_bornunicornThe refillable spray in the middle is Calèche again.

hermes_amazonevintage_bornunicornThe glass bottle with the dark red stopper is Amazone, another classic Hèrmes perfume, created by Maurice Maurin in 1974.

hermes_calecheaerosprayvintage_bornunicornNext to Amazone there’s another bottle of Calèche, the aérospray version. Amazone was marketed in aérospray version, too: the bottle is the same, but the metal details are silver, not gold.

Endless gratitude to The Scentimentalist, who pointed this beautiful perfume sighting out to me.

What Women Want (2000)

whatwomenwant_bornunicorn (4)The scene set in the make-up and perfume department at Marshall Fields is filled with eye candy.

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At the Lancôme counter, a customer is trying one of the brand’s most famous fragrances, Trésor. Created by Sophia Grojsman and launched in 1990, it’s a warm floral-oriental perfume. Several bottles of body lotion and a jar of body cream are on display.

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chanellipstick_bornunicornAt the Chanel counter, there’s a display of the Rouge Hydrabase lipsticks.

whatwomenwant_bornunicorn (6)At the Estee Lauder counter there are some nail polishes on display.

Austenland (2013)

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loreal_elnettveryvolume_bornunicornmadamerochas_bornunicornMiss Elizabeth Charming (Jennifer Coolidge) has got a very busy dressing table. I’ve spotted L’Oreal Elnett Very Volume hairspray and Rochas Madame Rochas perfume on it. The perfume, first launched in 1960, was created by Guy Robert: it’s a woody/floral scent and includes notes of bergamot, iris, jasmine, tuberose, sandalwood, oakmoss and tonka beans.

Screencap source.

Maps to the Stars (2014)


mapstothestars_bornunicorn (2)Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore) has got quite a perfume collection: the marble top of her dressing table is pretty busy.

isseymiyake_leaudissey_bornunicornOn the left, there’s a bottle of Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey, the perfume “as clear as water spring” created by Jacques Cavallier in 1992.

jeanpaulgaultier_femme_bornunicornThere’s another perfume by Cavallier, the iconic corset-shaped bottle of Jean-Paul Gaultier Classique, a sweet powdery scent launched in 1993.

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Two Prada bottles can be seen, too. One is Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger, launched in 2009, and the other is Candy, created by Daniela Andrier and launched in 2011.

guccibygucci_bornunicornThere’s a bottle of Gucci by Gucci, a fruity fragrance created by Ilias Ermenidis in 2008.

viviennewestwood_boudoir_bornunicornVivienne Westwood’s trademark globe encircled by a ring is the stopper of Boudoir, a chypre floral perfume created by Martin Gras and launched in 1998.

chanelcocomademoiselle_bornunicornchanel_cocomademoiselleatomiser_bornunicornLast but not least, there are two versions of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, the oriental woody fragrance created by Jacques Polge and launched in 2001 – the classic bottle and the twist-and-spray white and gold atomiser.

mapstothestars_bornunicorn (1)When the same dressing table appears in another scene, there are other two bottles on it.

boucheronfemme_bornunicornOne is the ring-shaped bottle of Boucheron Pour Femme, a white floral perfume created by Francis Deleamont and Jean-Pierre Bethouart in 1989.

The other one is the hot pink bottle of Creed Spring Flower, a fresh fruity and floral fragrance created for Audrey Hepburn by Olivier Creed (6th generation) and launched in 2006.

Les diaboliques (1955)

lesdiaboliques_bornunicornNicole Horner (Simone Signoret) is a teacher at a private school, where she gets involved into a dangerous love triangle. She’s a cool plotter and an elegant lady: she navigates the stormy waters of the plot wearing trench coats, pencil skirt-shirt-cardigan combos, belted dresses and chic sunglasses. She’s a pragmatic woman, so it’s not a surprise that she uses eau de cologne as rubbing alcohol. In the scene above, she is about to give a sedative shot to poor Christina Delassalle and takes some liquid from a bottle sitting on a dresser.

The bottle in question happens to be a Coty one, with the trademark fluted details. We can’t identify the exact perfume from the front label or from the colour of the stopper (since the film was shot in black and white), but we can make some assumptions.

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coty_cordonvert_bornunicornJudging from the shape of the label, it could be the cologne Cordon Rouge or Cordon Vert, originally launched in the early 1900s. In the 1930s/1940s most of Coty colognes had this bottle, so this one could also contain L’aimant