The lipstick that Morse finds in Margeaux’s bag is not from 1972 (year in which the story is set): it’s Matte Revolution by Charlotte Tilbury.
I know this is a historically inaccurate choice, but the beautiful fluted case of this lipstick has a certain vintage vibe that fits the episode.
Benny Topling (Oliver Lansley) has got a tin jar of Vaseline white petroleum jelly on his table.
Hazel Radowicz is a hairdresser. Some interesting products can be seen in her shop.
In the screencap above, there are two jars: the one on top is Silvikrin hair cream; the other is Elizabeth Arden Ardena Velva cream.
There are also many cans of Supersoft hairspray in different holds.
Vespertine is the name of the latest perfume created by Sebastian Fenix. It’s a fictional perfume, but there’s more to it. The yellow flower on the label is reminiscent of the datura flower in bloom. Not coincidentally, datura is a vespertine flower, meaning that it blooms in the evening. Furthermore, it’s a poisonous flowering plant, a nod to the shady perfumer who created the aforementioned fragrance.
Guilia Gallo is reading an issue of Movies Monthly, which has a Max Factor advert as back cover. Lucille Ball stars in it, introducing new shades of lipstick. While I appreciate the effort, there’s a problem here: the episode is set in the late 1960s, while the advert is from the 1940s. The actress on the magazine cover is Veronique Carlton (Betty Denville), who appears in the episode; from this we know that the magazine is recent and not from 20 years earlier.
Margaret Bell (Fiona Ryan) uses an Estee Lauder pale pink lipstick, with the trademark gold ribbed case.
Roy Adamson (Lex Shrapnel) keeps a perfume bottle in his desk drawer. It’s a fictional perfume, Amour Propre, which he puts on when he goes out on a date with Evelyn Balfour, a married woman. The name means “self-love,” a concept introduced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, according to which esteem depends upon the opinion of others.
There’s a jar of Pond’s cold cream on the bedside table in the bedroom of Pamela Walters (Sophie Stuckey). There’s also a round tin box of Vaseline pure petroleum jelly.
There are several beauty products and perfume bottles on the dressing table of Georgina Mortmaigne (Stefanie Martini).
The first bottle on the left is Yardley Old English Lavender, an aromatic fougère fragrance launched in 1913.
The ribbed octagonal crystal bottle with an octagonal black bakelite stopper is a spectacular edition of Eau de Lanvin Arpège 85°. The perfume by Andre Fraysse and Paul Vacher was created in 1927, the name chosen by Marguerite Lanvin.
The ivory and pink round box contains Coty L’Aimant dusting powder. The perfume with the same name was launched in 1927.
There’s a box of Colgate Halo shampoo on the shelf of the barber shop where Denis Bradley (Alan Morrissey) gets a haircut.
World Wide Aura 