Clemency Leonides (Amanda Abbington) paints her nails with a ruby red shade of Cutex Spillpruf nail polish.
Killing Eve S01E08 (God, I’m Tired)
Perfumes have a very important function in this tv show. The protagonist, the assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) often uses a perfume named after her, La Villanelle, as a taunting trick with her victims. But the fictional scent is not the only one she uses. As a matter of fact, other interesting (and real) scents can be seen on a vanity in her bedroom.
The screencap above is from the scene in which Eve Polastri trashes Villanelle’s apartment. Two perfume bottles and one box stand out among the beauty products cluttering the table. Both are by Kilian, a line of expensive and exclusive fragrances founded by Kilian Hennessy. He descends from the family who founded one of the most famous cognac houses in the world, part of the luxury brand conglomerate LVMH (Louis Vuitton • Moët-Hennessy) since 1987. Not a surprising choice: Villanelle loves luxury.
Reading the metal labels on the bottles is impossible, so let’s make some guesses. Three perfumes by Kilian have the clear bottle with gold label and stopper – Forbidden Games, Good Girl Gone Bad and Playing with the Devil. The three names are very evocative and all apply well to the protagonist.
When it comes to the black bottle with silver label and stopper, the possibilities are four – Intoxicated, Light My Fire, Smoke for the Soul and Vodka on the Rocks. Is wishing she wore Vodka on the Rocks too cheesy or stereotypical? Oksana Astonkova (Villanelle’s real name) is Russian, after all.
The two Kilian fragrances have an unexpected companion – Moschino Cheap & Chic, a floral perfume launched in 1995. Its playful black, red and white bottle is reminiscent of Olive Oyl, Popeye’s girlfriend.
I think there’s a continuity issue with this bottle: when Villanelle sits down, the bottle is standing (see the screencap above), but in the following shot it’s down (see the screencap below). Has it fallen down in the meantime? I have a feeling it hasn’t.
The white box with black diamond shape is by Kilian.
Thanks to Amy Green for the id.
Homeland S06E12 (America First)
Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) puts on a MAC blush (in a peachy pink shade) using a MAC #150 brush.
Her lipstick is a sheer red shade by Smashbox, probably from the Be Legendary collection.
Kylie Minogue’s Dressing Table
One of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen is Kylie Minogue’s dressing room displayed in Room 106 at the Victoria & Albert Museum. A glass room contains the exact replica of the vanity, mirrors, chairs and wardrobe that the Australian singer had for her 2007 Showgirl: The Homecoming tour.
Let’s see the products sitting on her table, starting from those in a white plastic container (from left to right).
There’s a tube of L’Oreal Professionel A-Head glue structurising fibre gel (old packaging), Tigi Bedhead Masterpiece massive shine hairspray, Johson’s baby powder, Fantasia liquid mousse pro-vitamin wrapping lotion and L’Oreal Elnett Satin hairspray.
The candle on the metal tray is by Jo Malone.
On the busy table there are, among the others, a MAC nail polish, a Chanel Le Vernis nail polish and two Rouge Allure lipsticks by the same brand.
There’s also a pot of Clinique Brush-On cream liner.
Lots and lots of MAC products, too: brushes, pigments, Mineralize Skinfinish Natural face powder, Lustreglass lipgloss and Face and Body foundation.
Next to the plastic container there’s a bottle of Kylie Minogue Darling perfume. Last but not least, there’s a Pucci make-up drawstring pouch.
I love the thank-you note handwritten by Kylie which introduces the display ♥
Cargo (2017)
What perfume would survive a zombie apocalypse? In case you were wondering, wonder no more: Guerlain Shalimar is the answer! At least that’s what happens in Cargo, a zombie survival film set in Australia, currently shown on Netflix. The Jade Jagger-designed bottle of eau de toilette [1] appears several times, and we soon learn why. The protagonist, Andy (Martin Freeman), first take it out of his backpack and sprays some fragrance in the air.
He smells his own hand.
And in one line explains why he’s carrying it in his survival kit. He tells his baby daughter Rosie that he “can smell Mommy.” Shalimar literally stands for someone who is no more.
Later, when Andy and Rosie meet Lorraine (Caren Pistorius), the bottle pops up again.
The perfume calms Rosie down: it’s her Linus’ security blanket.
Finally, the bottle can be seen in the hands of Thoomi (Simone Landers), the girl whom Andy and Rosie end up travelling with. She sprays some perfume while alone: she wants to smell the fragrance which seems to have such an importance for father and daughter.
We last see Shalimar again in the hands of Thoomi. This is a very beautiful and touching scene (no spoilers!): the sprays of perfume here are like a caress, a chance for closure, a sweet goodbye.
Now let’s see why Shalimar – and not another perfume – was given this function in the film. Yolanda Ramke, co-director of Cargo, when asked about it at a Q&A session on Reddit, explained:
It wasn’t scripted as being Shalimar but it was a member of our art department who wrangled out that arrangement, and the reason why it worked out was that the guy who ‘founded’ that perfume, his wife had passed away and he read our script and he realized that the story was about a man honouring his wife with this perfume – and so he allowed us to use it because of that component of the story.
Lots of interesting information here. The “founder” Ramke is referring to is Jean-Paul Guerlain, who worked as master perfumer until 2002; the script is very emotional, so I’m glad the last perfumer of the Guerlain dinasty appreciated the intensity of the family bonds depicted in it. Plus, it’s important to notice how Shalimar was created as a homage to another tragic love story [2]: it’s named after the Shalimar Gardens near Lahore, a symbol of the love between the emperor Shãh Jahãn and the favourite member of his harem, Mumtaz Mahal. When she died of childbirth, the emperor built the Taj Mahal in her memory.
[1] I think it’s the eau de toilette, because the eau de parfum is almost golden in colour, while this one looks definitely lighter in the bottle.
[2] You can read a thorough history of Shalimar on Monsieur Guerlain’s website.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
There are some make-up products in Randy’s locker. All of them are from Maxi by Max Factor, an affordable beauty line which was on the market from the late 1970s to the 1980s.
The white tube contains Quick & Clean, an eye make-up remover gel.
There are two bottles of nail polish, one red and one dusty rose.
The bottle with the white stopper contains the liquid foundation Maxi-Fresh, which promised to stay “fresh for 8 hours”.
Chéri (2009)
There’s a Guerlain flacon quadrilobe on Lea de Lonval’s dressing table. The front sticker is not visible, so it’s impossible to say what perfume it is.
Sonja Henie’s Dressing Table
This picture portrays the Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie at the dressing table in her Hollywood mansion, later sold to the singer/actress Connie Stevens. The mirrored surface is packed with perfumes and perfume bottles.
On the far left side of the table there’s Guerlain Vol de Nuit in the trademark flacon rayonnant by Baccarat that looks like an airplane propeller; as a matter of fact, the perfume, created by Jacques Guerlain in 1933, was named after Antoine Saint Exupery’s 1931 novel.
Right in front of Sonja there’s a box of Elsa Schiaparelli Salut perfume. The Ilse Bing advertising picture above, dated 1934, shows how the same box was used for other perfumes, too (Soucis and Schiap). The animalic lily fragrance was launched in 1934.
Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Emma (Katherine Waterston) is wearing L’Oreal Color Riche lipstick.
Closer (2004)
There are two Bath & Body Works Color Drops nail polish bottles on the mantelpiece in Alice’s bedroom. I’m pretty sure the dark shade is Raisin.
World Wide Aura 
