The French Line (1953)

Mame Carson (Jane Russell) is a millionairess with an oil empire and an unlucky love life. In the first part of the film she’s still engaged, though, and in the first musical act she’s getting ready to meet her fiancé. She likes wearing working clothes but her boudoir shows her love for furry rugs, velvet/satin furniture and perfumes! There’s an impressive display of bottles on her vanity.

The first bottle which appears in this scene is in the bathroom, where Mame’s maid, Clare (Theresa Harris) is spraying some fragrance.

On a marble counter behind Clare there’s a Guerlain flacon montre of Shalimar eau de cologne (see the orange red disk).

Mame takes a bubble bath, then gets changed behind the vanity mirror.

Starting from left bottom I’ve spotted a flacon quadrilobe by Guerlain, Lucien Lelong Sirocco and Bourjois Mais Oui.

On the second shelf there are Guerlain Shalimar in the flacon chauve souris and another Guerlain fragrance in the flacon bouchon coeur.

On the top shelf there are two unknown bottles, while the one in the middle is Guerlain Sous le Vent in the beautiful flacon tonnelet.

Last, there’s the unique pyramid-shape bottle of Lucien Lelong Opening Night on a shelf on the left.

Mannequin (1987)

mannequin_bornunicorn (4)mannequin_bornunicorn (5)Emmy (Kim Cattrall) and Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) live their love story at night, when the Prince & Company department store they work at is empty and they are free to wander through its halls.

giorgiobeverlyhills_bornunicorngiorgiobeverlyhillsformen_bornunicornIn the screencaps above, portraying the two protagonists dancing, quintessentially 1980s perfumes can be seen – Giorgio Beverly Hills Giorgio for Women and Giorgio for Men. A lot can be said about these two perfumes, but words can barely express the shock and awe you experienced when you smelled them. They were loud, bold, impressively persistent. The brand, founded by Fred and Gayle Hayman in 1961, reached the peak of success in the 1980s and the perfumes had a pivotal role. The women’s version was launched in 1981 and the men’s one three years later.

Cruising (1980)

I really like the arrangement in Nancy’s bathroom: it’s a small space, so the toiletries are displayed on a metal shelving unit facing a window.

oldspice_originalcologne_bornunicornThe first product I’ve noticed is on the second top shelf (just above Steve’s shoulder): it’s a bottle of the ever-present Old Spice after shave. On the same shelf there’s another interesting product, but more about it later.

riseshavingfoam_bornunicorn

pondspeachcoldcream_bornunicornOn the bottom shelf there are Rise shaving foam and a jar of Pond’s peach cold cream.

One of the last scenes of the film is set in the bathroom again, and we can get a better look at the product previously mentioned. It’s a black bottle of Après Soleil by Bain de Soleil, an after-tan lotion which can be seen in a 1977 advert featuring Rene Russo.

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