There’s a tube of Aveeno daily moisturising lotion on the dressing table of Dominic West at the Donmar Warehouse in London, where he’s currently acting as the Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, adapted and directed by Christopher Hampton.
Les choses de la vie (1970)
There are two perfumes on the shelf of the bathroom where Pierre (Michel Piccoli) is shaving and Hélène (Romy Schneider) is putting mascara on. The white bottle with a floral pattern is the refillable atomizer of Guerlain Chant d’Arômes, created by Jean-Paul Guerlain and launched in 1962; the white and green striped box contains Carven Ma Griffe, a chypre floral perfume created by Jean Carles and launched in 1946.
Pushing Daisies S01E09 (Corpsicle)
The smell expert Oscar Vibenius (Paul Reubens) appears again in Chuck’s life: he’s genuinely intrigued by her peculiar smell. Ned’s dog, Digby, has the same smell. It’s not a coincidence: both of them were brought back from the dead by the Pie Maker.
Oscar asks Chuck if he can smell her hair, because “hair can be so telling about so many things.” There’s nothing sensual in this scene, but the act of smelling someone has a certain intimacy.
Oscar soon realizes what’s the secret of Chuck and Digby: the peculiar “smell of ozone” is the evidence he needs to understand what happened to them.
Carol (2015)
There are lots of make-up products on the coffee table in Carol Aird’s living room, most of which are vintage pieces.
The item that caught my attention is the oval red box with white lid. This is the Du Barry face powder, produced by Richard Hudnut, an American businessman who first achieved international success in cosmetics manufacturing. This face powder was named after Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry, the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. It’s unclear which version of the powder appears in the film – the lid is not clearly visible – but I think it’s the first.
Mr Selfridge S01E03
When Mr Selfridge decides to open a beauty counter in his store, we are treated with lots of eye candy! Fragrances and toiletries start to appear on the counters just before the entrance door.
In the screencap above, some bottles of Mäurer & Wirtz 4711 Original cologne can be seen, along with some round soaps by Roger & Gallet.
I’m not sure about the scents of the white and pink soaps, but they could be discontinued. As a matter of fact, their boxes and packaging could be coming from the 1980s, definitely not from the most recent collections. Contemporary Roger & Gallet soaps are wrapped in tissue paper, as usual, but they only have a round sticker – not a wrapping label.
Some flacons bouchon coeur by Guerlain can be seen on another counter. Most of them have no label, so it’s impossible to know what fragrances they contained. One thing is certain: their glass stoppers tell us they’re from before 1962, year in which plastic stoppers replaced the glass ones. As for the Mitsouko modern bottle, the pump atomizer is a nice way to give it a vintage feel.
Agnes Towler (Aisling Loftus) meets Henri Leclair (Grégory Fitoussi) in the beauty department. They have a short conversation about fragrances, from which we learn that Agnes is a classic British girl, who loves traditional creations like Yardley Lavender. The aromatic fougère, launched in 1919, is another historically inaccurate choice, but in this context it works.
Endeavour S02E03 (Sway)
Joey Lisk is a shady wholesaler of luxury goods. A brand of stockings he sells (Le Minou Noir) is very important in the plot, but Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) notices something’s wrong from another detail. Lisk sells Acqua di Palma perfumes, a fake version of the historical Acqua di Parma. Morse knows the name of the product should be spelt with an R and not with an L.
The whole episode is full of references to Italian culture and history. Morse is an opera fan, so he often listens to music composed by Italian artists, but here we also have an Italian character, Luisa Armstrong, Thursday’s former love interest. She brings back memories from World War II and from the Italian resistance movement. In such a context, the presence of an Italian fragrance adds consistency to the plot.
Acqua di Parma is a brand founded in 1916; Colonia, a light and fresh scent, became hugely successful in the 1930s/1950s. Even though the line now includes several new products, Colonia still has the trademark yellow packaging we can also see in the episode.
Pretty Little Liars S06E11 (Of Late I Think of Rosewood)
There are several make-up items in Emily’s bag: a Chanel lipstick (it could be the Rouge Coco or the Rouge Coco Shine, since the two products have the same tube), a purple nail polish by OPI, L’Oreal Colour Riche Caresse lip colour and a Claire’s lipstick (with a slightly different packaging).
There’s also a tube of Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick.
Deutschland 83 E01 (Quantum Jump)
Lenora Rauch (Maria Schrader) gives her sister Ingrid (Carina N. Wiese) a bottle of Chanel no. 5 as a present for her birthday. The perfume is not visible but the white box with black trims is unmistakable. No wonder Ingrid is so happy: Chanel no. 5 is literally a piece of European culture she’s not allowed to buy, since it’s not available on the East-German market.
Ich Seh, Ich Seh (2014)
There’s a white bottle of Givenchy Amarige in the protagonist’s bathroom.
It’s unclear whether it contains the Perfumed Dew refreshing body lotion or the Silk Body Veil. Both are quite rare products. The Givenchy perfume was created by Dominique Ropion and launched in 1991: it’s an opulent white floral scent with notes of fresh fruit and a warm woody base.
Thanks to my Instagram friend Mustapha for posting this picture on his account and for the screencap.
Ex Machina (2015)
Caleb uses Barbasol shaving cream.
World Wide Aura 