Category Archives: perfumes in photography

perfumes in photography

Noora’s Room (2020)

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Farah Al Qasimi is an artist and musician from the United Arab Emirates living in New York who documents through photography, video and performance gender, colonialism and taste.

In 2020 she took this portrait of Noora, a woman sitting in her bedroom, in front of a mirrored vanity, surrounded by her belongings – mostly skincare products, fragrances and dolls. Her mother (or a relative) affectionately looks at her while lying on her bed.

Here are the products I have identified.

On the left side of the upper counter of the vanity there’s a pump bottle of Wine & Roses anti-aging body serum by the Thai brand Erb.

Next, a bottle of Gucci Flora, a floral fragrance launched in 2009.

The blue bottle with golden details is Versace Dylan Blue, a floral fruity fragrance by Calice Becker and Natalie Gracia-Cetto, launched in 2017.

The bottle with gold metal details is Noora perfume oil by Swiss Arabian. I wonder if the woman in the portrait bought it because it has the same name as her.

There’s also a bottle of Guerlain Mon Guerlain eau de parfum, a 2017 floral woody fragrance by Thierry Wasser and Delphine Jelk.

On the far right side of the table there’s Dove Powder Soft deodorant.

Moving on to the left side of the main counter of the vanity, I can see a tube of Pantene Pro-V conditioner (old packaging) and a container of Vaseline petroleum jelly. Last, the black bottle with pink label is another Erb product – Fleurfume d’intérieur room spray in Spellbound Rose.

Thanks to Samuel for submitting this post.

perfumes in photography

Self-Portrait Reflection in the Window of the Guerlain Boutique (1930)

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This self portrait was taken by the American photographer Lee Miller around 1930 in Paris. The surface reflecting her image was the window of the Guerlain boutique.

The two bottles are flacons bouchon coeur, designed by Raymond Guerlain in the early 1910s to house three fragrances in their extrait version (L’Heure Bleue, Mitsouko and Fol Arôme). The front labels are not readable, so it’s impossible to know exactly what perfumes they contained. We can make some assumptions, though: all the three fragrances I’ve mentioned above are good candidates, because they were released well before the 1930s (L’Heure Bleue and Fol Arôme in 1912, Mitsouko in 1919). One may also include Shalimar as a possible candidate: launched in 1925 in the famous flacon chauve souris, somehow it was available in the flacon bouchon coeur, too, although it’s an anomaly, as beautifully explained by Dimitri Dimitriadis.

Another question that arises is about the location of the shop. Where was this picture taken? The French perfume house was founded in 1828 and had its first shop at 42, rue de Rivoli in Paris. In 1840 the flagship store was opened at 15, rue de la Paix. When Miller took this picture, the flagship store was at  68, Champs-Elysées, the same location it has today. That is where the beautiful picture above was taken and that is where Miller’s picture was taken as well.

Miller took other pictures outside the Guerlain store, and from them we can see the location was indeed the Champs-Elysées (see the characteristic arched windows).

Special mention to the shot Exploding Hand, which shows the scratches left by thousands of rings, worn by Guerlain customers, on the glass entrance door.

Picture source and source.

Thanks to my friend Rocco for sharing this photo with me.

perfumes in photography

Belles Filles (1977)

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Belles Filles is a photoshoot by Guy Bourdin released in 1977. Some distinctive elements of the French photographer’s style are present in the picture above – the dreamy atmosphere, satin clothes, high heels – along with a beautiful set of famous perfumes.

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The first of the perfumes on the washbasin is Chanel No. 5, originally created by Ernest Beaux in 1921.

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Next is Revillon Detchema, released in 1953.

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Givenchy III, created by Jean François Latty and Raymond Chaillan, was released in 1970.

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The last one is Caron Infini, in the beautiful bottle by Serge Mansau. This perfume was created in 1912 by Ernest Daltroff, but this one is the 1970 reformulation by Gerard Lefortis.

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There are three bottles on the floor, too. The first is Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps, created by Francis Fabron in 1948.

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The tall bottle with gold stopper is Rochas Madame Rochas, created by Guy Robert in 1960.

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Last but not least, the leaf-shaped bottle of Guerlain Chamade, a 1969 creation by Jean-Paul Guerlain.

perfumes in photography

Joey in My Vanity Mirror, NYC (1999)

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This beautiful portrait by Nan Goldin was taken in 1999 in New York: Joey – a recurring subject in the photos by the American artist – was sitting at Goldin’s dressing table, her image reflected in a large round mirror.

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Two are the perfume bottles sitting on the table: the one with the white stopper is Clarins Eau Dynamisante, the sublime citrusy fragrance created by Jacques Courtin-Clarins in 1987; the one with the black stopper is by Diptyque, in the tall splash bottle which contained fragrances like Vinaigre de Toilette. Unfortunately, the label in the photo is blurry, so I don’t know exactly what perfume this was. But the layout allows me to make some guesses. This could be L’Eau (the first Diptyque perfume, launched in 1968 and created by Desmond Knox-Leet) or L’Autre (launched in 1973 and created by Serge Kalouguine), two classic spicy scents by the French brand.