The nurse (Lupe Barrado) who’s taking care of Pablo in the hospital retouches her red manicure with a Christian Dior nail polish.
La ley del deseo (1987)
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)
The retro-style opening credits of the film (designed by Juan Gatti) contain, quite surprisingly, a real advert of a real make-up item.
It’s the marbled lipstick Glissando, launched in 1964 by the American brand Du Barry.
Available in six shades (“from light-struck pinks to muted ambers to rich reds”), it was housed in an elegant silver and gold metal case.
It’s true the brand started its decline in the 1970s and eventually died [1], but I still wonder what happened here. Did the title designer get away with reproducing an advert of a defunct brand? Or did they just paid what was due to whatever multinational company owned the Du Barry name in the 1980s?
[1] This is not entirely accurate: the brand was relaunched in 2002. But I guess that was the end of it.
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)
Lucía (Julieta Serrano) is a woman with a troubled past: abandoned by her husband Iván with a child (Carlos, now grown-up and interpreted by Antonio Banderas), she’s spent a long time in a mental institution. Now she’s living with her parents, who try to support her and her extravagant looks.
In this scene, she’s applying her eyeliner. On her dresser there are many beauty products, among which the unmistakable golden spray can of L’Oreal Elnett Satin hairspray.
But there’s also another interesting product – a white jar with pink lid, which screams “Christian Dior skincare”.
It’s impossible to say exactly what product this was, but was for sure part of the Hydra-Dior collection.
It’s not a coincidence that later in the film we see several products from the same line on Pepa’s vanity. Pepa (Carmen Maura) is the former mistress of Iván. She’s another woman “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”, just like Lucía: they’re in love with the same man (who has dumped both of them for another lover) and happen to use the same skincare.
Matador (1986)
When María Cardenal (Assumpta Serna) re-applies her lipstick, we can see it falling on her lap.
It’s Stylo à Levres by Lancôme, a product launched in the late 1970s but still on the market in the following decade.
How to Get Away with Murder S06E13 (What If Sam Wasn’t the Bad Guy This Whole Time?)
There’s a Tocca perfume on Annalise’s vanity.
White Palace (1990)
Max Baron (James Spader) is getting ready for a friend’s bachelor party. On his bathroom counter there are two bottles of Ralph Lauren Polo, an aromatic fragrance created by Carlos Benaim and launched in 1978.
Deutschland 86 E04 (Green Book)
Brigitte Winkelmann is the BND officer who saves Martin Rauch from Libya by literally buying him. Now they are in Paris: she offers Martin to be a double agent, but he refuses. They’re also lovers and they fantasise about living together in East Germany.
In the bathroom of the Parisian flat they live in there are two interesting fragrances.
The first is the spicy-fruity Dolce Vita by Christian Dior, a creation by Pierre Bourdon and Maurice Roger. Too bad it was launched in 1994 (the show is set 8 years earlier!). I think the bottle was chosen simply as a decoration.
The other bottle is Safari by Ralph Lauren. Historically speaking, it’s another inaccuracy, because this fragrance, created by Dominique Ropion, was launched on the market in 1990. Too recent to be sitting in a Parisian bathroom in the mid 1980s.
Arabesque (1966)
There are two Guerlain perfumes in the bedroom Yasmin has in Beshraavi’s mansion.
One is the flacon chauve souris of Shalimar.
The other is a flacon bouchon coeur, but it’s hard to tell what perfume it contains, since the front sticker is not clearly visible.
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
While Cecile (Jean Seberg) is applying sunscreen on Elsa’s shoulders, Raymond (David Niven) is reading a magazine with an interesting back cover.
A few instants later the magazine is fully visible: it’s Elle.
The back cover advertises a very popular French perfume – Soir de Paris by Bourjois. Created by Ernest Beaux (Chanel No. 5’s “dad”), it was originally launched in 1928 on the American market as Evening in Paris. Thanks to the huge success it had in the U.S., it was finally launched in Europe with a French name. The blue bottle with silver accents was designed by the painter Jean Helleu.
Endeavour S02E04 (Neverland)
Benny Topling (Oliver Lansley) has got a tin jar of Vaseline white petroleum jelly on his table.
World Wide Aura 