Milla’s walk-in closet is an elegant room where she creates her public persona of devoted wife and mother with the help of luxurious clothes, jewellery and accessories.
The selection of fragrances on her vanity probably doesn’t say much about her as a person, but is absolutely in line with the image she’s projecting and with her family’s expectations. That’s why Chanel No. 5 is an almost mandatory choice: the legendary floral aldehyde eau de parfum originally created by Ernest Beaux and launched in 1921, symbolises class and refinement.
Half-hidden in the back of the vanity, there’s also a bottle of Jo Malone cologne.
Another mainstream fragrance that Milla uses is Dior J’Adore, a white floral fragrance by Calice Becker launched in 1999.
Brigitte Bardot had this beautiful set of photos taken by Luc Fournol in her Paris apartment, 71 Avenue Paul Doumer, in 1958. Her dog Guapa kept her company by sitting under the vanity, where lots of interesting bottles can be seen,
The first bottle on the left is Hermès Eau de Doblis, which I guess was the lighter version of the 1955 chypre floral fragrance created by Guy Robert. The name of the fragrance comes from Veau Doblis, Hermès’ version of suede, first used in the 1930s.
Next to it, there’s a bottle of Lubin Gin Fizz, a fresh citrusy fragrance created by Henri Giboulet in 1955. The stopper on the bottle seen in the Bardot portrait seems to be made of plastic, but I couldn’t find any evidence online.
Moving to the right, we can see a splash bottle of Chanel No. 5, the legendary floral aldehyde eau de parfum created by Ernest Beaux and launched in 1921.
A photo taken from another angle reveals more bottles. All those housed in felt pouches are by Balmain.
Even though the photo was shot in black and white, we can assume that the pouches contained the most famous fragrances by the French maison. The green pouch housed Eau de Vent Vert, a lighter version of the green fragrance created by Germaine Cellier and launched in 1947.
Henry (Noah Jupe) is brushing his teeth. Some toiletries and fragrances can be seen in the elegant marble bathroom where he’s standing.
By the washbasin there’s a bottle by Officina profumo-farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. It contains a toner but it’s impossible to be more precise because the front label is unreadable.
The pale pink and white bottle is Gucci Bloom eau de parfum, a white floral fragrance by Alberto Morillas launched in 2017.
Moving to the bath tub area opposite the boy, we can see several bottles on a round table. On the left side of the table there’s a bottle of Giorgio Armani Sì, a chypre fragrance by Christine Nagel launched in 2013.
There’s also Chanel N°5, originally created by Ernest Beaux and launched in 1921.
Last, there’s a bottle of Jean-Paul Gaultier Classique eau de parfum. This floral fragrance, heavy on vanilla, is one of the masterpieces by Jacques Cavallier, launched in 1992.
The first two products Priscilla takes from her beauty case are a jar of Noxzema skin cream and a bottle of Cutex nail polish in an orange/coral shade.
Next, there’s a bottle of Chanel No. 5, the legendary floral aldehyde eau de parfum created by Ernest Beaux and launched in 1921.
She also takes a compact containing pressed face powder and a marbled jar containing a cold cream (this is what is written on its lid). I can’t identify the compact but I am sure the cold-cream jar is just a prop.
The last items are two lipsticks – one in a dark green case, the other in a gold case.
Chanel No. 5 is introduced when Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) first visits Elvis at Graceland, but it is mentioned and appears in two more scenes.
In 1964, deep into his spiritural phase, Elvis (Jacob Elordi) is shown lecturing some fans in Los Angeles. The singer is intrigued by the fragrance a blonde girl is wearing: it’s No. 5, which he should have identified right away because Priscilla wears it, too.
It’s not clear whether Priscilla starts wearing No. 5 because her over-controlling partner wants her to, but we know that later in the film (in the 1970s) the fragrance makes another appearance, this time in a refillable canister. This means that it’s somehow become her signature scent.
Many years ago a reader of this blog left a comment on this post mentioning an article from the 1990s where Courtney Love spoke about her love for fragrances. Since then, many people have told me about it, always in elusive terms, as if the article existed but they were not quite sure about that.
Thanks to the endless mine of vintage material that is Instagram [1] and thanks to Edward who sent it to me, now we can finally read the aforementioned article! It was published on Mademoiselle Magazine in May 1993. As Lydia explained in her comment, it’s truly a monologue about the complex and very personal connection between memories and perfumes.
This is the first time I write a post about an article, instead of analysing a picture, but the subject is so intriguing that I hope you will appreciate the change. Let’s see the fragrances Courtney mentioned.
1_ “Hippie oils” from Body Scent in Seattle [2]: she wore them on stage because they mixed “well with sweat”.
2_ Chanel No. 5: she said all boys loved it because it reminded them of their mothers.
3_ Fracas by Robert Piguet. Courtney’s love for this tuberose triumph, created by Germaine Cellier and launched in 1948, is well-known and well-documented. In the article she defined it her “number-one perfume”, a fragrance she always managed to wear even when she was poor and on food stamps.
4_ Christian Dior Diorissimo and Tuvaché Jungle Gardenia are mentioned along with Fracas. Courtney said Diorissimo was “great to wear in L. A.” because “it’s jarring and pink and very feminine, but also wintry”. On the other hand, she established a parallel between Jungle Gardenia and Fracas: “it’s loud and insane but really rare – no one wears it.”
In conclusion she said Fracas is “genius no matter where you go”, a perfume Joan Crawford or 1920s singer Libby Holman could have worn.
5_ According to Courtney, Kat Bjelland, the frontwoman of Babes in Toyland, wore hippie oil almost exclusively. On the other hand, Jennifer Finch, the bassist of L7, sometimes wore Cacharel Anaïs Anaïs, “the ultimate femme smell”, after Courtney had given it to her for Christmas. This Cacharel white floral fragrance was created by Roger Pellegrino, Robert Gonnon, Paul Leger and Raymond Chaillan, and launched in 1978.
7_ The article ends with another long list of great smells: Courtney mentions some places (gas stations, thrift stores, the Seattle Public Library and Portland’s rose garden), human smells (“female milk vapor”), drinks (“cappuccino on a slushy day”) and many beauty products/toiletries.
The “Spanish baby cologne” she mentions is too vague to identify.
The “baby bee talc” that follows was possibly Burt’s Bees dusting powder. I am not 100% sure this specific item was already on the market in 1993, but at the time the brand had already been established, so it could be a good guess.
Weleda iris soap is mentioned, too.
Dana Love’s Baby Soft bath gel is a product that comes with a nostalgic aura [3]. The original musky rose perfume was created by Ron Winnegrad and launched in 1974.
In the 1980s and 1990s make-up items had very distinctive smells. Courtney mentions Chanel make-up, Dana Tabu lipstick (it reminded her of Ireland, where she briefly lived in the 1980s) and Cover Girl make-up.
Johnson’s Baby shampoo and powder have very distinctive smells, too. I think you noticed that Courtney often mentioned baby products, which is understandable: she had given birth to her daughter Frances Bean in August 1992, so when the article was published Frances was only nine months old. Living with a newborn baby affects your sense of smell and introduces new smells into your life, not only from toiletries but also from the baby’s and your own bodies.
The last product is Carmex lip balm, with its peculiar menthol smell.
[2] According to my research, this shop doesn’t exist anymore.
[3] Another fan of Love’s Baby Soft is Sarah Jessica Parker. The Dana fragrance inspired SJP’s first eau de toilette, Lovely, created by Clement Gavarry and Laurent Le Guernec and launched in 2005.
The tall bottle with golden stopper is Ysatis, a Givenchy classic from the 1980s: this chypre floral fragrances was created by Dominique Ropion and launched in 1984.
After much pondering and analysing, now we know the identity of the other tall bottle, which is Chanel No. 5 in the built-in sprayer version (see the gold details in the screencap above).
Béatrice (Catherine Deneuve) has a very interesting selection of fragrances and beauty products on her bathroom glass shelf.
On the far left there’s a bottle of Chanel No. 5 without stopper. This doesn’t come as a surprise: the French actress was the testimonial of the iconic fragrance in the 1970s.
Moving to the right, we can see a bottle of Chanel red nail polish.
There’s also a Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick in its beautiful glossy black case with golden details.
Chanel No. 5 appears in its eau de cologne vintage version, too.
The purple spray bottle contains Sothys Elixir Nourissant Corps nourishing body elixir in Fleur de cerisier et Lotus.
Béatrice doesn’t use Chanel make-up and fragrances only: the white jar with black cap is from the Précision skincare line.
The tall bottle with glossy cap is Dior Diorskin liquid foundation.
Last but not least, on the far right we find Sothys Lotion Vitalité cleansing lotion for normal to combination skin.
I’ve always loved bathrooms and I’ve seen many beautiful ones in my life, but very few of them can equal the poetic atmosphere in Kate Moss’ bathroom in her London house. The bespoke wallpaper with anemone pattern by de Gournay is its strongest point, but charming additions are the vintage crystal chandelier from James Worrall, a Drummonds claw-foot tub and framed black-and-white photographs.
On the marble washbasin there are several products – two bath oils, one fragrance and a skincare item.
The bottles with colourful ribbons are Penhaligon’s bath oils. The one on the left is Victorian Posy, a chypre floral fragrance launched in 1979 and now sadly discontinued; the one on the right is Vanities, another discontinued fragrance.
The white jar is Cosme Decorté AQ Meliority repair cleansing cream.
The bottle with ball-shaped stopper is Balenciaga L’Essence eau de parfum, a green floral fragrance created by Olivier Polge and launched in 2011.
There are lots of bottles in the mirrored cabinets above the washbasin.
On the top shelf on the left there’s a factice bottle of Prada Infusion d’Iris eau de toilette, created by Daniela Andrier and launched in 2010.
On the middle shelf on the left there’s Fracas by Robert Piguet, created by Germaine Cellier and launched in 1948.
The bottle with peach pink ribbon is Penhaligon’s Ellenisia, a discontinued floral eau de parfum launched in 2005.
The massive green bottle in the mid shelf in the central section is Sommerso, a beautiful Murano glass creation by Michele Onesto.
On the bottom shelf in the central section there’s Christian Dior Dune, an amber woody fragrance created by Jean-Louis Sieuzac, Nejla Barbir and Dominique Ropion and launched in 1991.
On the same shelf there are a flacon bouchon coeur by Guerlain and two bottles of Chanel No. 5 eau de parfum.
On the middle shelf on the right there are some Etro bottles, possibly Heliotrope eau de cologne (old packaging), and two fragrances by Byredo.
A film about Marilyn Monroe would be incomplete without a reference (either verbal or visual) to the perfume she declared she wore to bed. The famous quote about Chanel No. 5 was first published on April 7th, 1952, when the actress appeared on the cover of Life Magazine, and that marked the birth of a legendary connection. No surprises then in seeing a bottle of the French perfume sitting on Marilyn’s dresser.
World Wide Aura 
