Category Archives: perfumes in tv shows

Endeavour S02E03 (Sway)

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endeavour_s02e03_bornunicorn (2)Joey Lisk is a shady wholesaler of luxury goods. A brand of stockings he sells (Le Minou Noir) is very important in the plot, but Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) notices something’s wrong from another detail. Lisk sells Acqua di Palma perfumes, a fake version of the historical Acqua di Parma. Morse knows the name of the product should be spelt with an R and not with an L.

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The whole episode is full of references to Italian culture and history. Morse is an opera fan, so he often listens to music composed by Italian artists, but here we also have an Italian character, Luisa Armstrong, Thursday’s former love interest. She brings back memories from World War II and from the Italian resistance movement. In such a context, the presence of an Italian fragrance adds consistency to the plot.

Acqua di Parma is a brand founded in 1916; Colonia, a light and fresh scent, became hugely successful in the 1930s/1950s. Even though the line now includes several new products, Colonia still has the trademark yellow packaging we can also see in the episode.

Deutschland 83 E01 (Quantum Jump)

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chanelno5_bornunicornLenora Rauch (Maria Schrader) gives her sister Ingrid (Carina N. Wiese) a bottle of Chanel no. 5 as a present for her birthday. The perfume is not visible but the white box with black trims is unmistakable. No wonder Ingrid is so happy: Chanel no. 5 is literally a piece of European culture she’s not allowed to buy, since it’s not available on the East-German market.

Deutschland 83 E05 (Cold Fire)

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In this episode there are two references to Mäurer & Wirtz 4711, the original Echt Kölnisch WasserThe scene above is set in Cologne central station: while Martin Rauch is taking a train to East Berlin, we can see huge neon letters spelling the name of the eau de cologne.

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In another scene, the iconic Molanus bottle can be seen in the desk drawer of Frau Netz (Michaela Caspar), General Edel’s secretary. When she opens the drawer, we can see the bottle and a copy of the magazine Der Spiegel (June 6th, 1983 issue). The cover title – Deadly Disease AIDS, the Mysterious Illness – is connected to the plot:  a member of the pacifist movement, Felix von Schwerin, is actually ill with AIDS; he may have infected Tobias Tischbier and, as a consequence, Alex Edel.

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Ursula Edel, the General’s wife, pays a visit to his office and gives Frau Netz a certificate of medical leave of absence for her son Alex. This is ironic: in that moment, Alex is not ill (he has temporarily left the army, trying to fight his father’s influence with a grand gesture which will end up tragically), but he may be, even if he doesn’t know it yet. Besides the fact that Frau Netz doesn’t shake Ursula’s hand, she reacts to the woman’s departure from the office by cleaning her hands with a handkerchief soaked in 4711 cologne. Known for its revitalising and relaxing effects, this cologne is commonly used as hand sanitizer, too.

Sex and the City S06E07 (Hop, Skip, and a Week)

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viviennewestwoodlibertine_bornunicornThere’s a bottle of Vivienne Westwood Libertine on the window sill in Carrie’s bedroom. This fragrance was created by Martin Gras and launched in 2000 as the lighter side of the British designer’s first fragrance, Boudoir. The bottles of the two perfumes are very similar, but Libertine‘s is taller.

Screencap source.

Mr Selfridge S01E03

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mrselfridge_s01e03_bornunicorn (4)The dressing table of Rose Selfridge (Frances O’Connor) is quite busy. She’s clearly a fan of Guerlain perfumes: two flacons montre [1] can be seen on the shelf in front of the window, but there’s more. She opens a Guerlain box, decorated with people and animals, and takes out a flacon bouchon coeur, the bottle with the heart-shaped stopper designed by Raymond Guerlain in collaboration with Baccarat. It would be easy to assume this is Après l’Ondée, created by Jacques Guerlain in 1906, but it’s not, because that perfume has never had that bottle. It would have been a historically accurate choice (this episode takes place in 1909), but prop masters opted for something different. The flacon bouchon coeur originally contained three perfumes, released between 1912 and 1919.

guerlain_vintagefolarome_bornunicornFol Arôme was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1912. Grace Hummel found a reference of this perfume being sold in 1896, so the 1912 version would be a reworked or relaunched perfume.

guerlain_vintagelheurebleue_bornunicornL’Heure Bleue was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1912. I don’t think this is the perfume seen on Rose’s dressing table because of the blue lettering on the central sticker.

guerlain_vintagemitsouko_bornunicornThe last possibility is Mitsouko, one of the most famous perfumes by the French brand. Another creation by Jacques Guerlain, it was launched in 1919, ten years after the time in which the tv show is set.

My guess is that the perfume seen in this episode is Fol Arôme, because the pale orange decorations on the sticker seem to match.

[1] The flacon montre was first released in 1936. The presence of these bottles in this episode is totally inaccurate, but no one can deny their decorative function.

Source.

This Is England ’90 E02

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There’s a satin glass bottle of Yardley Lace in Lol and Woody’s bedroom. I’ve always wondered what fragrance the former-skinbyrd-turned-lunchlady wears, and now we have an answer. According to Fragrantica, this fragrance, originally launched in 1964, is built on three notes – aldehydes as top notes, rose as heart notes and wood and oakmoss as base notes. It sounds like a very feminine and romantic scent, something which definitely appeals to Lol’s sentimental side. This specific bottle could be the 1982 formula, created by Dominique Ropion, or even a more recent version, since this perfume is still available in shops.

Thanks to Stephan Matthews and Jane Daly for the id.

Miami Vice S01E02 (Heart of Darkness)

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In the opening sequence of this episode we learn what the Miami undercover agents Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs smell like. They’re getting ready to go to work (at night, of course, on Sonny’s black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4) and both of them wear a fragrance. Sonny opts for a bold power scent – Jean Patou Pour Homme, a fougère fragrance launched in 1980 that includes notes of lavender, clary sage and basil (top), patchouli, geranium, vetiver and fir (middle) and leather, civet, vanilla and tonka bean (base).

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Rico opts a more traditional choice – Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene, a woody fragrance created by Andre Fromentin and launched in 1975. It includes notes of galbanum, neroli, petitgrain, bergamot and lemon (top), mimosa, iris, violet, sage, rose, geranium and narcissus (middle), tonka bean, almond, oakmoss, vetiver and cedar (base).

The song in the opening is Devo’s Going Under, from the album New Traditionalists (1981).

Source.