Some months ago Conchita posted this mirror selfie on her Instagram account. On the dressing table I’ve spotted the singer’s favourite perfume – Balenciaga Florabotanica – and matching body lotion.
Category Archives: stars’ vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life
Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain for Sassy Magazine (1992)
Some days ago I came across the picture above, taken by Dora Handel in 1992. Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain were portrayed in New York for Sassy Magazine; Christina Kelly interviewed them at the peak of their love story. They weren’t married, the Nirvana mania had just exploded and tragedy hadn’t struck their family yet. I had seen pictures from that photoshoot lots of times, but for the first time I noticed the compact Courtney was holding in her hand. A Christian Dior blue and gold striped compact containing Teint Poudre dual powder foundation.
As for the pencil she was holding, something (the gold writing on it) tells me it was by Chanel, but it’s just a guess.
It’s nice to see that some things never really change: even as the poster child for the kinderwhore aesthetic Courtney had an expensive taste. After all, she’s always wanted to be the “girl with the most cake”, hasn’t she?
Thanks to Heather Martin in the comments for the compact id.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Dressing Table (2015)
Some days ago Sarah Jessica Parker posted an interesting picture on her Instagram account, along with the comment: “The necessary tools. It’s work, I swear. X sj PS I am not her without you @sergenormant”. I think it’s clear the third Sex and the City movie is on its way, right? Am I the only one who thinks “her” refers to Carrie Bradshaw? Or was she only speaking about her public persona? Mandy Lyons was the hair-stylist of the actress in the show and in the movies, but Normant is the hair guru behind Parker‘s trademark tousled hair; he’s given his name to a haircare line, some products of which can be seen in the picture above.
I’ve spotted Dream Big instant volumizing spray (the blue can), Meta Revive dry shampoo with cedar bark and and Meta Sheer dry oil finishing spray. There’s also a Kérastase product, Chroma Termique, a thermo-radiance protecting milk for colour-treated hair. SJP (and probably Normant too) has been a Kérastase fan since Sex and the City: in an episode from the 6th season you can see a bottle of Nutri-Sculpt serum in Carrie’s bathroom. As a matter of fact, the American actress often asked Sex and the City prop masters to make her favourite beauty products appear in the show… But more about this in an upcoming post 😉
Behind the Scenes of the 87th Academy Awards: Julianne Moore
The 87th Academy Awards have surely been a feast for the eyes of fashion lovers all around the world. During the red carpet and the ceremony, Internet was flooded with pictures and comments published in real time, but most of the times what happened behind the scenes was more interesting than what everybody got to see on tv. Thank God for Instagram, where stylists, manicurists, make-up artists and hair-stylists posted pictures of the routine celebrities went through before wowing the world with their fantastic looks.
I was particularly intrigued by the account of Elaine Offers, who did the make-up of Julianne Moore. The American actress (who wore a Chanel Haute Couture custom-made dress) won the Oscar as Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Still Alice by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. She looked gorgeous, but who knew Offers did her make-up using L’Oreal Paris products only? Yay for budget beauty!
On her dressing table I spotted Infallible Pro-Matte liquid foundation and powder, Visible Lift Blur blush and Color Lift blush, Colour Riche balm and Infallible Le Rouge lipstick, Revitalift Moisture Blur anti-aging moisturizer, Age Perfect Cell Renewal advanced restoring golden serum and Color Riche Dual Effects eyeshadow palette in Rose Nude. Julianne is one of the ambassadors and testimonial of L’Oreal Paris, but she could use make-up and skincare of any high-end brand, so it’s nice to see she actually wears the products she advertises.
Here is a beautiful shot of Elaine putting some mascara on Julianne. I guess this happened moments before she left for the Dolby Theatre. Exciting, isn’t it?
Wendy Whelan’s Dressing Table (2014)
This photograph was taken by Henry Leutwyler on October 18th, 2014, in New York City Ballet principal dancer Wendy Whelan‘s dressing room, after her farewell performance at Lincoln Center.
On her dressing table you can see a jar of Ben Nye translucent face powder in Fair, a roll-on bottle of It Stays! body adhesive, a Mason Pearson Junior nylon and bristle hair brush, Neutrogena make-up remover cleansing towelettes, Sebastian Shaper Plus hairspray and a box of original mints by Dean & DeLuca.
The whole day was documented by the photographer, as seen in the November 3rd, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.
Romy Schneider’s Dressing Table (1973)
I’ve recently come across an extraordinary set of Romy Schneider’s pictures taken by photographer Helga Kneidl in 1973 in Paris. The Austrian actress was portrayed while sitting at her dressing table. Who knew she was a Guerlain fan? I shouldn’t be surprised: I’ve realized the fragrances of the French maison have always been incredibly popular among celebrities and prop masters (just think of all the Guerlain perfume sightings you can find on this site).
The first bottle I’ve spotted is the iconic Flacon Bouchon Coeur, designed by Raymond Guerlain and Baccarat and first released in 1912. It’s hard to tell what exact perfume was on the actress’ table, because this bottle has been used for Mitsouko, L’Heure Bleue, Fol Arome and a special edition of Shalimar.
There are also two Travel Flacons, first launched in 1955 to contain Ode and later used for several colognes. The bottles on Romy’s table have the white rim, so they surely contained feminine colognes.
Last but not least, on the right you can see a Flacon Montre with gold screw-cap stopper, first used in 1936 with Cachet Jaune. It contained all the standard feminine colognes, each of which was characterised by the colour of the central disk (red for Shalimar, navy blue for Vol de Nuit, burgundy for Jicky, light aqua for Chamade and so on). Unfortunately, the pictures I’ve found are black and white, so it’s impossible to tell which cologne Romy wore.
All the information of these bottles come from the invaluable Guerlain Perfumes, From Past to Present blog.
Angela Lansbury’s Dressing Table (2007)
L’Oreal Visible Lift liquid foundation, MAC Gentle Off eye and lip make-up remover, Sebastian Originals Shaper hair-spray and Condition 3-in-1 moisturizing mousse can be seen on the dressing table of Angela Lansbury.
The mosaic-looking blush is Physicians Formula powder palette multi-coloured blush.
The white pot behind the lash curler is William Tuttle cover foundation.
This portrait was taken by Rivka S. Katvan behind the scenes of Deuce, the Terrence McNally play which ran on Broadway in 2007.
Thanks to my readers Sara for the hair-spray id and Jessica for the blush, Tuttle and mousse ids.
Tavi Gevinson’s Dressing Table (2015)
Yesterday Tavi Gevinson posted this selfie on her Instagram account. I think she took it on January 4th, 2015, the night of her last performance as Jessica in Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth. Judging from her dressing table, she’s a Clinique fan.
I spotted two bottles of Even Better foundation, a Chubby Stick lip colour in a red shade (Two Ton Tomato or Heftiest Hibiscus?), two mascaras (Lash Power in the black tube; High Impact Waterproof, High Impact Curling or Lash Doubling in the silver grey tube), two red tubes of BeneFit BeneBalm lip balm and Givenchy Gelée d’Interdit lipgloss.
Thanks to my reader Jessica for the Givenchy gloss id.
Jane Birkin’s Dressing Table (1964)
Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg were among the most glamourous, unconventional and sexy couples of the last century. Their scandalous love story filled the tabloids during more than a decade; snapshots of the couple are still admired for their scruffy glamorous style. They met in 1968 on the set of the movie Slogan by Pierre Grimblat: she was a young British actress, while he already was an important figure in French culture. In 1969 they recorded Je t’aime… moi non plus, the song he had previously recorded with Brigitte Bardot, whom he had dated for a while: the “ultimate love song” was destined to become an everlasting symbol of their relationship.
Their affair is well documented but the film-maker Andrew Birkin, Jane’s brother, has been documenting his sister’s life well before 1969. For example, the picture above was taken in 1964, when Jane’s acting career was about to start. The shot, that now would be considered a mirror selfie, includes a dressing table, on which some toiletries can be seen.
The white box with dark trims contained Lanvin Extrait de Parfum – Arpege, My Sin or even Scandal. Right behind it you can see a grey perfume box. That’s unmistakably a Dior perfume, with the beautiful oval label topped by a bow. It’s impossible to read the label but we can dig Dior perfume archives a bit. That was the box of three perfumes launched before 1964.
Diorling, created by Paul Vacher and launched in 1963, was a smooth chypre scent with floral accents of rose, jasmine and lily of the valley.
The classic Miss Dior, created by Jean Carles and Paul Vacher and released in 1947, was a clean leathery scent with aldehydes, gardenia and bergamot in the top notes, giving way to carnation, iris, orris root, jasmine, lily of the valley, rose and narcissus in the middle notes.
Diorissimo, created by Edmond Roudnitska in 1956, was the revolutionary ode to lily of the valley, a symbolical flower in European culture (see the legend of Saint Leonard of Noblac, the dragon slayer).
I can totally see young Birkin wearing Diorissimo. What are your guesses?
Thanks to Elena Vosnaki for identifying the Lanvin Extrait de Parfum box.
Jemima Kirke’s Bathroom Shelf (2014)
Photographer Kristina Loggia documented one day in the life of Jemima Kirke. As a fan of the Girls actress, I really wanted to see exactly what was on her bathroom shelf, but I was able to id some items only – Cetaphil cleanser, Malin+Goetz detox face mask (or facial cleansing oil by the same brand) and Marvis Cinnamon Mint toothpaste.
The complete set of pictures appeared in the March 10, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.
World Wide Aura 
