Un homme hereux (2023)

There are several versions of the same fragrance on a shelf in Jean and Edith’s bathroom: it’s Habanita by Molinard, launched in 1921 with the intention of “scenting” cigarettes. As explained by Barbara Herman, it originally “came in scented sachets you could put into a pack of cigarettes or as a liquid you could apply to your cigarettes with a glass rod to ‘perfume the smoke with a delicious, lasting aroma.” Three years later “Molinard turned their scent into a perfume to be worn rather than smoked”.

The black bottle with gold stopper is the eau de toilette version.

The white bottle contains Habanita L’Esprit, launched in 2013.

The black bottle contains the eau de parfum, launched in 2012.

Thanks to Alessandra for submitting this post.

Ripley E03 (Sommerso)

One of the most distinctive symbols introduced in the 1999 adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, a 1955 novel by the American writer Patricia Highsmith, is the perfume by Santa Maria Novella that Dickie buys for his fiancée Marge. In the film only the packaging was shown, so I have always wondered what the mysterious perfume could be.

Now the series created and directed by Steven Zaillian finally gives us a solution to the mystery. A bottle of Acqua di Colonia G. Ugo Stefani by Santa Maria Novella is shown in all its golden foiled glory in the dramatic scene of Dickie’s murder.

This fragrance, now discontinued, was named after one of the heirs of the pharmacist Cesare Augusto Stefani, who first rented the historical Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella on February 5th, 1867, and passed it down to his descendants.

The bottle can be seen again when Tom collects Dickie’s belongings on the beach. This scene reminds me of a similar moment in Casino Royale (2006) by Martin Campbell, where James Bond finds a bottle of Acqua di Colonia al Melograno by the same brand among the belongings of Vesper Lynd.

Lola (2024)

Lola’s dressing table at the strip club where she works is full of make-up products and beauty tools.

Her lipstick is by MAC.

There’s also a shaker of Evyan White Shoulders talcum powder, which is a quite surprising choice. The perfume counterpart was in 1945: it includes notes of gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley, orange flower and tuberose.

Another surprising choice is Rayette Aqua Net unscented hairspray. This is the vintage version, so I wonder why it appears in a film that is clearly set nowadays.

A growing archive of beauty products and perfumes in movies and tv shows