There’s a bottle of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche perfume on the dressing table of the pornstar Marilyn Chambers. This picture was taken at the Raymond Revuebar (Soho district in London) in 1979.
Category Archives: stars’ vanities/make-up cases/cabinets in real life
Shirley Manson’s Dressing Room (2017)
I love dressing room portraits so much, especially when their protagonists are people I admire. This is certainly the case of Shirley Manson, frontwoman of Garbage. She took this selfie before performing at the Kaaboo Festival in San Diego last Semptember. Let’s see what’s on the table (from left to right).
There are several MAC products, the first of which is the palette Conceal and Correct.
Next, a Mitchum Clean Control deodorant stick.
On the left bottom corner there’s a MAC compact, possibly Mineralize Skinfinish powder.
The silver tube is Jao Goe Oil, a semisolid all-over body oil.
There are two pots of eyeshadow: the cobalt blue one is by MAC, the other is Tom Ford Cream and Powder eye colour in Midnight Sea.
All the brushes are by MAC.
The bullet lipstick is clearly a red shade by MAC. Lady Bug and Lady Danger are among her favourite shades.
The clear tube could be another MAC product – Brow Set brush-on gel.
There’s a Maybelline mascara, too – The Falsies Push Up Drama.
Last but not least, a Dior liquid foundation.
Maila Nurmi’s Dressing Room (1950s)
The Finnish-born Maila Nurmi became famous in the United States as Vampira, the first horror tv host. Protagonist of the Vampira Show in 1954/1955, she also starred in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) by Ed Wood.
The idea for her character was born in 1953 when she attended the Bal Caribe Masquerade in a costume inspired by Morticia Addams. Her characterization was also influenced by the Dragon Lady from the comic strip Terry and the Pirates and the evil queen from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
In the picture above, shot in her dressing room, Nurmi was applying a foundation stick, the now iconic Pan Stik by Max Factor. Her trademark bat sunglasses can be seen, too.
Leni Riefenstahl (1988)
The German-born photographer took this picture in 1988 for Vanity Fair. Leni Riefenstahl was a German photographer and film director who had a strategic role during Nazism: she directed Triumph des Willens and Olympia in the 1930s, extremely effective and innovative propaganda films. Said to be part of Hitler’s inner circle, she was never charged nor associated with war crimes.
In this portrait, taken when she was 86 years old, she was holding a beautiful metal compact by Guerlain.
It’s a vintage piece, probably a limited edition from the 1970s. It’s made of metal and has the trademark double Gs decorating the front. It’s quite thick and rounded, in comparison to today’s compacts, which tend to be very thin.
Divine on Harpers and Queen (1980)
Divine having a bubble bath in a St. John’s Wood bathroom is such an entrancing view! The artist from Baltimore, protagonist of many iconoclastic films by John Waters, posed for Peter Warner for Divine Bathrooms, Lovely Loos, a photoshoot published on the British magazine Harpers and Queen (September 1980 issue).
There are some perfume bottles on the mahogany-panelled window by the tub. The first on the left is the amphora-like bottle of L’air du temps by Nina Ricci, created by Francis Fabron and launched in 1948.
Next to it, Empreinte by Courreges, a fragrance created by Robert Gonnon and launched in 1970.
I haven’t been able to identify the bottle with the white stopper next to it, but the small bottle on the right is definitely Hermès Calèche, composed by Guy Robert in 1961.
Not only perfumes, but body lotions, too. The white bottle is Yves Saint Laurent Opium perfumed body veil.
The glass containers look like Avon vanity jars.
Do you want to channel your inner Divine? You need a ball dress by Zandra Rhodes to abandon on the floor, a box of Charbonnel et Walker chocolates, a shell ring by Andrew Logan and a platinum blonde curly hairdo. No results guaranteed but worth trying ♥
Stevie Nicks’ Dressing Room
I’ve always imagined Stevie Nicks wearing an intoxicating, sexy and witchy scent like Fracas (supposedly one of her favourite perfumes), so seeing a Nina Ricci perfume on her dressing table came as a surprise. I don’t know exactly when the picture above was taken (late 1970s? Early 1980s?), but it portrays Stevie with Herbert Worthington III, her official photographer.
It’s unclear what exact perfume is shown, because Nina Ricci used the same refillable spray bottle for several perfumes. It could be L’air du temps, the timeless warm spicy fragrance created by Francis Fabron and launched just after WWII, in 1948.
It could also be Farouche, a floral aldehyde fragrance launched in 1973.
Or even Capricci, another woody/spicy creation by Fabron, launched in 1960.
Jayne Mansfield’s Bathroom
The Pink Palace perfectly symbolised the unique aesthetics of Jayne Mansfield: bought by the actress in 1957, it was completely renovated and customised so as to become a “pink landmark” on Sunset Boulevard. Mansfield had it painted pink and decorated with cupids, furs, hearts, marble and golden details.
In the picture above, Jayne was talking on the phone while taking a bubble bath. Her image is mirrored on the opposite wall; thanks to this technical trick we get to see the bathroom, which featured pink carpet pretty much everywhere, golden faucets and hearts. There’s a white bottle among the toiletries: it’s the eau de cologne version of Rochas Femme, one of her favourite fragrances. Created by Edmond Roudnitska, it was launched in 1944.
Lady Gaga’s Dressing Room (2013)
This picture of Lady Gaga backstage was taken by Terry Richardson on January 21st, 2013.
On the small table next to the Versace-clad huge sofa there’s a Diptyque candle, Figuier.
Toby Schmitz’s Perfume Choice (2017)
I love when actors share pictures of the fragrances they wear. Their choices are often unusual, especially when they select a fragrance for a specific role they’re playing. It’s the case of Toby Schmitz, who performed as Nikolai Triletsky in The Present, an adaptation of the play Platonov by Anton Čechov. Learning that he wore Oud Immortel by Byredo for this role came as a surprise: the 2010 eau de parfum has *prominent* notes of oud, pure wood, something appropriate for the pirate Jack Rackham, role Schmitz played on Black Sails. The actor pointed out that he wore another Byredo perfume in that case: the smoky and leathery Baudelaire.
Behind the Scenes of the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party: Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon didn’t walk the Oscars red carpet this year, but was among the guests of the Vanity Fair Oscar party, which took place at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. The actress, who wore a lovely Michael Kors Collection dress, posted a picture of her dressing table on her Instagram stories. Let’s see what was on it.
On the back of the table there’s Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow face primer.
Right in front of it there are two Natura Bissé products from the C+C Vitamin line – the serum and the cream – and a can of Evian water spray.
The silver eyeshadow in the black compact is Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch in #97 Infini.
In front and next to it there are two NARS eyeshadow. The duo is probably Bellissima, while the single is the Dual Intensity in Sycorax. There’s a NARSissist eyeshadow palette, too.
There’s a jar of Chantecaille Future Skin foundation next to the NARS palette.
The last eyeshadow palette is 5 Couleurs by Christian Dior in #506 Parisian Sky.
Next to the Chanel eyeshadow, on the left, there’s a Make Up For Ever metal palette.
The colourful tubes are a brand-new cheek colour by Glossier, which debuted yesterday on some celebrities. Molly R. Stern, Reese’s make-up artist, used the shade Dusk.
Last but not least, two NARS blushes in neutral colours.
World Wide Aura 
