There’s a jar of Pond’s cold cream on Mary Nolan’s dressing table.
The American actress started her career as a teenage model and Ziegfeld girl; unfortunately, she died in 1948 at 42, broke, depressed and almost forgotten.
Category Archives: stars’ vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life
What’s in Xtina’s Bags (2016)
Last March an interesting What’s In My Bag? video was posted on the YouTube channel of The Voice. The protagonist? The one and only Christina Aguilera, who opened her several bags and showed their content. The perfume she took out of her scent bag was Elizabeth Arden Untold, a fruity floral perfume created by Clement Gavarry and launched in 2013. I’m not surprised by her choice because we already knew she loves sweet/floral scents.
She took two products out of her go-to make-up bag. The first was Kevyn Aucoin Elegant lip gloss in Vizcaya, a peachy shade now discontinued.
The second was SeneGence LipSense, a long-lasting lip colour in a beautiful red shade.
Thanks to Kate for first telling me about the video and to Fragrantica users for identifying the perfume.
Gillian Anderson’s Dressing Room (2016)
Gillian Anderson posted this picture on her Twitter account on June 1st. It was taken in her dressing room at the St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, where she performed as Blanche DuBois in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, directed by Benedict Andrews. Originally performed at the Young Vic in London from July 23, 2014 to September 19, 2014, it starred Anderson, Ben Foster, Vanessa Kirby and Corey Johnson.
Spotting a bottle of Chanel n°5 didn’t surprise me: the former Southern belle Blanche may be broken and mentally unstable, but she still relies on her seduction skills. The iconic perfume, created by Ernest Beaux and launched on May 5th, 1921, surely put the British actress in the right mood to act in a such a complex role.
On her dressing table a packet of Red Cherry false eye-lashes can be seen, too.
Natalie Wood’s Dressing Table (1955)
There’s a box of Carven Ma Griffe in Natalie Wood’s dressing room. The picture was taken in 1955, just after the death of James Dean, who acted with Wood in Rebel Without a Cause by Nicholas Ray.
Catherine Deneuve and Hermès (1960s)
I have no idea what Catherine Deneuve was doing in a Hermès shop window in Paris, but I love this shot. Taken in the 1960s, it portrays the French actress barefoot, acting like a shop assistant who’s taking a bag from the window for a customer.
Among the objects displayed, a bottle of Calèche, one of the most famous perfumes by the leather good fashion house. Created in 1961 by Guy Robert, it’s a very feminine perfume, with woody and white floral notes. It takes its name from a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle, thus echoing its logo (a duc carriage with horse).
Frank Sinatra’s Bathroom Shelf (1965)
In this picture, taken in 1965 by John Dominis, the American singer was shaving. On his bathroom shelf there are a Barbicide jar, a tin bottle of Jaris talcum powder and a bottle of Vitalis hair tonic.
Shirley Manson at the Hairdresser’s (2016)
Garbage’s front-woman, Shirley Manson, recently posted this picture on her Facebook account. Her hair stylist Sammy cut her pink hair into a perfect bob. Lovely! One of the products he used on her was Joseph Martin Hair French Argan oil.
Lena Hall’s Dressing Room (2016)
The American actress and singer Lena Hall published this picture on her Instagram account. She was dressed as Yitzhak, one of the protagonists of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. She had this role in the musical’s revival on Broadway, thanks to which she won a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2014. In the picture she was holding a NARS lipstick and in the caption she mused: “Trying not to get caught by Hedwig!”. Now the point is: Schiap or Funny Face? What is the exact shade of that lipstick? It looks more the wonderfully fun fuchsia than the shocking matte pink inspired to Elsa Schiaparelli. What’s your guess?
Eartha Kitt’s Dressing Room (1953)
The singer and actress Eartha Kitt started her career in the early 1950s, when she performed in New Faces of 1952, a musical revue with songs and comedy skits at the Royale Theatre on Broadway, New York. In the picture above, taken on February 1953, Kitt was portrayed with her cat Jinx.
A stack of Ivory soap bars can be seen on the shelf by the mirror.
Marc Almond’s Dressing Room (2016)
Marc Almond posted this picture on his Instagram account. He was in France to appear in the tv show Les années bonheur and took a selfie in his dressing room.
On the table there are Simple Kind to Skin micellar cleansing wipes and two products by Paris Berlin, a brand of professional make-up. One is La Fluide liquid foundation (you can see the box in the transparent plastic bag); the other is – I think – the loose powder, judging from the shape of the box on the right and from the round pot in the bag.
World Wide Aura 