Category Archives: stars’ vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

perfumes in movies, shaving products in movies, stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (2024)

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This documentary gives an interesting look at the stellar career of Liza Minnelli, an artist who has performed on stage basically all her life. The scene above is taken from backstage footage from the 1970s. Among several make-up items it’s impossible not to notice the tall striped bottle on the right side of her dressing table.

It’s the unmistakable aluminium canister of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, the floral aldehyde fragrance created by Michel Hy in 1971 and named after the left bank of the river Seine in Paris, where the first YSL boutique was located. This fragrance definitely appealed to Liza Minnelli’s independent and free spirit.

The round object on the right side of the table is Personna Flicker shaver.

Thanks to Amy in the comments for the Flicker razor id.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

MDNA SKIN (2014)

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In 2014 Madonna launched the skincare line MDNA SKIN in Japan, first as a limited-time exclusive store in Tokyo and later as a country-wide release. In March of the same year she released an introductory video, where a very interesting perfume find can be seen on a glass shelf. 

It’s a Caron splash bottle, used since the 1930s by the French brand to house several fragrances. There’s no front label on it, so there’s no way for us to know what it contains. Spotting such an historical design, in the presence of Madonna no less, is a treat, though.

The tall rectangular bottle next to it is another historical product – the revitalising essence Eudermine by Shiseido, first launched in 1897.

Thanks to Reveur_etc for submitting this post.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Enigma (2025)

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It’s so exciting to get a look at the fragrances worn by the protagonist of this documentary – the English model, author and LGBTQIA+ rights activist April Ashley.

One of them is First by Van Cleef & Arpels, a floral aldehyde fragrance created by Jean-Claude Ellena and launched in 1976.

The others are classic fragrances by Guerlain, housed in the contemporary spray version of the historical flacon bouchon coeur. Ashley wore L’Heure Bleue and Mitsouko, both created by Jacques Guerlain and launched in the 1910s (1912 and 1919 respectively).

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Brigitte Bardot’s Dressing Table (1958)

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Brigitte Bardot had this beautiful set of photos taken by Luc Fournol in her Paris apartment, 71 Avenue Paul Doumer, in 1958. Her dog Guapa kept her company by sitting under the vanity, where lots of interesting bottles can be seen,

The first bottle on the left is Hermès Eau de Doblis, which I guess was the lighter version of the 1955 chypre floral fragrance created by Guy Robert. The name of the fragrance comes from Veau Doblis, Hermès’ version of suede, first used in the 1930s.

Next to it, there’s a bottle of Lubin Gin Fizz, a fresh citrusy fragrance created by Henri Giboulet in 1955. The stopper on the bottle seen in the Bardot portrait seems to be made of plastic, but I couldn’t find any evidence online.

Moving to the right, we can see a splash bottle of Chanel No. 5, the legendary floral aldehyde eau de parfum created by Ernest Beaux and launched in 1921.

A photo taken from another angle reveals more bottles. All those housed in felt pouches are by Balmain.

Even though the photo was shot in black and white, we can assume that the pouches contained the most famous fragrances by the French maison. The green pouch housed Eau de Vent Vert, a lighter version of the green fragrance created by Germaine Cellier and launched in 1947.

The yellow pouch housed Eau de Verveine Citronelle, a 1951 verbena fragrance that would be later renamed as Monsieur Balmain.

Last, the beige pouch housed Jolie Madame eau de toilette, a white floral leathery creation by Germaine Cellier launched in 1953.

The very last bottle on the right is Rochas Moustache, an aromatic fougère fragrance created by Edmond Roudnitska and launched in 1949.

The bottle that the actress is holding is a Baccarat creation for Guerlain, first launched in the 1930s.

Thanks to PerfumeArtMuseum for the Lubin and Guerlain ids.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Alessandro Del Piero (1990s)

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This famous black and white portrait of Italian football player Alessandro Del Piero was taken in the late 1990s by photographer Gianni Giansanti. There’s an extensive selection of fragrances on the shelf of his bathroom – some of them are Italian products now discontinued but very popular when the photo was taken, others are still on the market.

Starting from the left, I can see Chopard Casmir – the body lotion and the eau de parfum. This vanilla fragrance was created by Michel Almairac and launched in 1992.

Next, there’s a huge factice bottle of Henry Cotton’s In Green eau de toilette, launched in 1989.

There’s also a bottle of Davidoff GoodLife, an aromatic fougère fragrance created by Pierre Bourdon and launched in 1998.

Les Copains L’Homme eau de toilette is another Italian fragrance. It was launched in 1998.

There’s also the iconic torso bottle of Jean-Paul Gaultier Le Male, created by Francis Kurkdjian and launched in 1995.

The round bottle with silver stopper is Bvlgari Black, a woody fragrance by Annick Menardo launched in 1998.

The second torso bottle is Jean-Paul Gaultier Le Male Tonique Cologne.

The bottle next to it is not a fragrance but a skincare product – Guerlain Issima Aquasérum.

On the far right end of the shelf there’s Calvin Klein Obsession For Men eau de toilette, a warm spicy fragrance by Robert Slattery launched in 1986.

Other two products can be seen by the washbasin.

One is Theramed toothpaste and mothwash.

The pump bottle contains Palmolive liquid soap.

Thanks to Nehir for submitting this post and to mr_poisonous for the Davidoff id.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Jane Birkin’s Bathroom (1987)

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This beautiful portrait was taken by Richard Melloul in the bathroom of Birkin’s house in rue de la Tour, in Paris. You may recognise it as the bathroom which appears in Kung Fu Master! (1988) by Agnès Varda. Some of the perfumes and toiletries in this picture can also be found in the film.

On the left side of the marble shelf above the washbasin there’s a jar of Gessy brilliantine, which I found no picture of.

Next there’s a bottle of Coty cologne. The front label cannot be read, but considering it has a white stopper, it could be Le Muguet.

A bottle that can be seen in Kung Fu Master! is Chanel 8°5 Lotion Fraiche.

There’s also Guerlain Vol de Nuit in the gorgeous flacon rayonnant. This is a 1933 fragrance by Jacques Guerlain.

On the far right side of the marble counter there are several round boxes, possibly containing face or body powders. Among them, there are Les Météorites pressed-powder pearls and Coty Airspun loose face powder, both seen in the Varda film.

On the right side of the marble counter there are several skincare products. Among them, I can see a white jar and a white tube by Clarins (impossible to know what they contained) and Guerlain body creme.

The last product I have been able to identify is a massive flacon goutte by Guerlain, sitting on a wooden counter above the bath tub. First introduced in 1923, it was used for over 30 different fragrances, so there’s no way to tell exactly what this bottle contained.

Thanks to Viola for submitting this post.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Sandra Milo’s Dressing Table (1963)

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This behind-the-scene photo was taken on the set of La Visita, a 1963 film by Antonio Pietrangeli starring Milo and François Périer.

Among the several products sitting on Sandra’s dressing table I can see a bottle of Acqua distillata alle rose by Roberts, a classic rose water that’s available everywhere in Italy.

There are also several sticks of Max Factor Pan Stik cream foundation, a worldwide staple for actresses.

Thanks to Rocco for submitting this post.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Marlene Dietrich’s Dressing Table (1930)

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This picture of Marlene Dietrich was taken on the set of Der blaue Engel, directed by Joseph Von Sternberg. The role of the provocative cabaret singer Lola-Lola would establish Dietrich as an international star: soon after the release of this film, she moved to Los Angeles, where she starred in six films directed by von Sternberg at Paramount [1].

Once in Hollywood, the reinvention of Dietrich’s look happened thanks to Max Factor, who created a very specific and dramatic look for her. When she filmed Der blaue Engel, the transformation was still to happen but Dietrich already used Max Factor products, as we can see from the round tin box sitting on her dressing table: it was Max Factor’s Supreme Face Powder.

[1] These films – Morocco (1930), Dishonored (1931), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934) and The Devil Is a Woman (1935) – created the image of the glamourous femme fatale that had so much importance in Dietrich’s career.

Thanks to Kailey for submitting this post.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Prince: A Private View (2017)

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This portrait of Prince in his dressing room was taken by Afshin Shahidi, his personal photographer. It is included in a book – Prince: A Private View – released in 2017, along with unpublished photos and stories about the long collaboration between the photographer and the artist.

Among the many products on the dressing table, we can see a bottle of Olay refreshing toner. It differs from the picture above, so I do believe it’s an earlier (or later) version of it.

Moving to the centre of the table, I can see a bottle of L’Oreal True Match liquid foundation.

The most interesting item sits on the back of the table, right in front of the mirror, and it’s Thierry Mugler Cologne, a citrus/white floral fragrance created by Alberto Morillas and launched in 2001. In case you were wondering what fragrance Prince wore, now you know.

Photo source.

Thanks to Mirjam for submitting this post.

stars' vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life

Lady Gaga’s Dressing Table (2023)

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Lady Gaga is currently busy with rehearsals for the upcoming jazz & piano concerts at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. She recently posted this picture on her Instagram account, thanks to which she showed what’s on her dressing table.

On the left there’s a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s hemp lavender pure-castile soap.

There’s also a pump bottle of Eucerin moisturising lotion.

The tall white bottle behind her tea cup is Kenzo Amour eau de parfum, an amber vanilla fragrance created by Daphné Bugey and Olivier Cresp and launched in 2006.

Thanks to lunanocta for submitting this post, and to Ale and Jane Daly for the Eucerin id.