Irene (Martina Pensa) puts on Ortigia Ambra Nera body lotion after swimming in the pool of the Sicilian hotel where she’s staying with Alessandro (Alessandro Gassman).
Una storia senza nome (2018)
The Women (1939)
Many real perfumes make their appearance throughout the film, but the most popular (the only one that literally moves the plot) is a fictional one – Summer Rain. Its bottle is first seen on a bedside table in Mary’s bedroom.
The bottle amplifies the name of the perfume: it’s topped by a naked glass figurine holding an umbrella to protect herself from a rain shower.
When Mary (Norma Shearer) meets her friend Peggy (Joan Fontaine), they end up talking about Summer Rain, which has already become more than just a perfume. For Mary it’s a symbol of marital love, since her husband gave it to her for her birthday.
When the first rumours about the infidelity of Mary’s husband begin to circulate, the dynamic duo of Sylvia (Rosalind Russell) and Edith (Phyllis Povah) decide to learn more by snooping around the perfume counter at Black’s Fifth Avenue: that’s the place where the alleged mistress (Crystal Allen, interpreted by Joan Crawford) works. Once at the shop, more bottles of Summer Rain welcome the two friends.
The perfume doesn’t exist in real life, but there’s an interesting story behind the bottle. As explained by Lanier Smith, the man who chose it was the film’s art director, Cedric Gibbons. He selected a bottle by the Czech designer Curt Schlevogt, who produced Art Deco perfume bottles with his father-in-law, the glass artist Heinrich Hoffmann. Lanier comments that Gibbons “added a plastic umbrella, a label and some festive ribbon work to the nude figure on the stopper and Summer Rain was born an M.G.M. star.”
#BlackAF S01E02 (Because of Slavery Too)
Mrs. Meyer’s geranium hand soap can be seen in the Barris’ kitchen. There’s also the matching dish soap.
Thanks to Emily for the screencap and id.
On the Rocks (2020)
Hable con ella (2002)
We’ve already seen what’s in Alicia’s hospital cabinet, but there’s more. When Benigno (Javier Cámara) opens the cabinet in another scene, there are different products.
The jar and the bottle in the foreground are by Shiseido: the jar contains the body cream from the Relaxing Fragrance line, while the bottle is Advanced Essential Energy lumizing body lotion.
In the background there are the Relaxing Fragrance body lotion and the Energizing Fragrance eau aromatique, already seen in a previous scene.
When Benigno takes the Shiseido luminizing body lotion, we can see there’s also a bottle of Chanel n°5 body lotion.
Hable con ella (2002)
Benigno Martín (Javier Cámara) is a personal nurse and caregiver: he looks after Alicia Roncero, a beautiful dancer he has been obsessed with even before she was in a coma. When he opens a cabinet in the girl’s hospital room to take a Pina Bausch’s autographed picture, we can see the products he uses on her.
Three of them are by Shiseido. The red drop-shaped bottle is Energizing Fragrance, a floral eau aromatique created by Claudette Belnavis and launched in 1999.
The tall bottles are from the Relaxing Fragrance line: the one on the left (with the shorter stopper) is the body lotion, while the one in the foreground is the fragrance. Hugely successful in the late 1990s (I used it myself for a while), it’s a floral green scent released in 1997.
There are some Chanel lipglosses on the left side of the cabinet, too.
And then a limited-edition bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier Classique, the powdery white floral masterpiece by Jacques Cavallier, first launched in 1993.
The Women (1939)
One of the sales assistants at the Black’s Fifth Avenue perfume counter holds a tall bottle of Lucien Lelong Indiscret eau de cologne. The eau de parfum version, created by Jean Carles, was launched in 1936.
The High Note (2020)
Maggie (Dakota Johnson) is holding Harry Josh Pro Tools Pro Dryer 2000.
In the cabinet there are some toiletries (from top left to bottom right)
Vaseline Men Extra Strenght body lotion
Degree Men Extreme DrySpray antiperspirant deodorant
Noxzema Ultimate Clear anti-blemish pads
Screencap and Degree deodorant id source.
Thanks to Emily for the other ids.
Suburra S01E07 (Ultimo Cliente)
Countess Sveva della Rocca Croce (Elisabetta De Palo) is sitting at her dressing table, getting ready for meeting Samurai at a luxury hotel in Rome. There are lots of products on it, but three bottles in particular have attracted my attention.
On the far left side of the table there’s L’Occitane Verveine Agrumes eau de toilette, launched in 2015.
The tall bottle with rounded silver stopper nearby is Estée Lauder Pleasures, created by Annie Buzantian and Alberto Morillas and launched in 1995.
Even if I appreciate both perfumes, I can’t really imagine the countess wearing them.
But there’s a bottle that saves the day, something the Countess could actually wear. The red round flacon with the clear flower-shaped stopper is Cartier Delices de Cartier, a floral fragrance with fruity (cherry!) notes created by Christine Nagel and launched in 2006.
Suburra S01E04 (Buon Appetito) and S01E05 (La lupa)
Spadino (Giacomo Ferrara) is a young member of a Sinti family which controls part of the illegal activities in Rome. Even if he’s homosexual (his mother knows but she’s not supportive), there’s an arranged wedding for him: he’s to marry Angelica, from another Sinti family.
His brother Manfredi (Adamo Dionisi) forces him to spend some time with his fiancé and he reluctantly accepts.
His bedroom is very flashy – arabesque wallpaper, animalier bed cover, a Thug Life poster, gold and purple furniture and a LED screen above the bed. The objects on his dresser, though, reveal a very different side of him.
There’s a brown box with yellow lettering from the Collezione Barbiere by Acqua di Parma. Such a choice contrasts with the image this character has created for himself.
But the real shock comes from the factice bottle with wicker decoration sitting on the same purple dresser.
This bottle is shown in another episode, just before the wedding ceremony. Spadino’s mother, Adelaide (Paola Sotgiu), is giving him a very important heirloom as gift – his late father’s switchblade.
I have no idea how a Revillon splash bottle ended up on that dresser, but I think it’s incredibly exciting. Unfortunately, the back of the bottle is shown, so I don’t know if the one in the TV show contains Detchema or Carnet de Bal (the wicker bottle was used for both).
Now the question is: is this a totally casual prop or was it specifically chosen for Spadino? Is he a lover of vintage perfumes? I hope I’ll see more in the second season (I’ve almost finished watching the first one).
World Wide Aura 