In the opening scene a Guerlain flacon goutte makes its appearance, Impossible to say what fragrance it contained: first launched in the 1920s, it has been used to house many eaux de toilette.
Caprice (1986)
Tag Archives: guerlain flacon goutte
La dea Fortuna (2019)
The bathroom that needs Alessandro’s intervention as plumber has a very peculiar decor: lots of Guerlain bottles lined up on the marble washbasin countertop. They have a decorative function, because they are filled with colourful liquid and not with perfume.
Most of the bottles are the teardrop-shaped flacons goutte, with shell-shaped stopper. First launched in 1923, it was created to hold the eau de toilette version of the most popular fragrances of the maison.
The taller bottles are flacons abeilles, still used for colognes and eaux de toilette. Originally designed to hold the Eau de Cologne Impériale, it’s decorated with bees, symbol of Napoleon.
L’etrangleur (1970)
There are many Guerlain perfumes on the vanity table of one of Émile’s victims. From left to right:
The classic flacon abeilles contains Eau de Cologne Impériale, a cologne created by Pierre François Pascal Guerlain for Empress Eugenie in 1853.
No way to know what the flacon goutte contains here. This bottle, first launched in the 1920s, has been used for many eaux de toilette.
There’s another flacon abeilles – sans golden bees – containing an eau. The front label is not shown, so it’s impossible to say what eau this is.
The sage green disk on a flacon montre indicates its content: Chypre 53 eau de cologne. The perfume was first released in 1909, but in 1948 it was re-issued as a cologne.
The last bottle is the perfumed deodorant of Chant d’Arômes, a 1962 creation by Jean-Paul Guerlain.
Vivien Leigh’s Dressing Table (1960)
The Canadian actor Jack Merivale took this picture in 1960. He was performing as Armand in the play Duel of Angels by Christopher Fry, along with Vivien Leigh. They were at the Huntington Hartford Hotel in Pasadena during the American tour of the play. They had been partners since 1958: Merivale stayed by Vivien Leigh’s side until her death, in 1967, and supported her during the difficult last years of her life.
The picture above is very interesting. In 1960 Leigh and her second husband Lawrence Olivier divorced, but the actress still kept his pictures on her dressing table. Beauty-wise, there are three perfume bottles worth talking about.
On the left, right next to the Olivier picture in the silver photoframe, there’s a Guerlain flacon goutte. First introduced in 1923, it was used for over 30 different fragrances, so there’s no way to tell exactly which one was sitting on Leigh’s table.
Beside the flower vase there’s a Dior amphore, designed by Fernand Guéry-Colas in 1947 for Miss Dior. Later, it was used for other Dior scents, like Diorissimo, Diorling, Diorama and Diorella. Again, there’s no way to know which perfume was on Vivien’s table.
Last but not least, the perfume we can identify without any doubt: Joy by Jean Patou, the actress’ signature scent [1], first given to her as a gift by Olivier.
[1] Elena Prokofieva wrote an interesting article about the perfumes Leigh used.
Charlotte Gainsbourg’s Lying with You (2017)
The latest music video by Charlotte Gainsbourg – Lying with You, from the album Rest – turns out to be an unexpected perfume lover mecca. Directed by Gainsbourg herself, it’s set in the apartment at 5 bis Rue de Verneuil (Paris) where her father, Serge Gainsbourg, lived. Soon to become a museum, it’s filled with objects that the French artist used and loved; among them, a massive amount of perfumes and toiletries.
In the screencap above, from left to right, there are two refillable atomisers by Guerlain – Chant d’Arômes in the white canister with leaf details and Shalimar with the blue arabesque pattern.
Next, there’s a bottle of Estee Lauder Aramis, created in 1966 by Bernard Chant.
The drop-shaped bottle is the flacon goutte by Guerlain. It was used for different perfumes, so it’s impossible to tell which one it contains.
There’s also a bottle of Lancôme Magie Noire, created by Gerard Goupy in 1978.
There are two body perfumes, too – the box and the shaker versions of Yves Saint Laurent Opium perfumed dusting powder.
The last bottle on the far right is the flacon abeilles by Guerlain.
There’s another Guerlain refillable atomiser, the one made of golden metal, launched in 1982. On the far right there’s a tall bottle of Murray & Lanman Florida Water cologne, first launched in 1808.
In the screencap above, there’s a bottle of Hermès Doblis, created by Guy Robert and launched in 1955. Next to it, a box of Santa Maria Novella soap: I do believe this is the vintage version of the almond soap.
Serge Gainsbourg’s signature perfume – Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme – is featured too. It was created in 1978 by Louis Monnet.
Another shot of the same perfume tray reveals the presence of more Guerlain products.
There’s the refillable atomiser of Eau Impériale.
Plus, four flacons quadrilobes and flacons bouchon coeur.
Lastly, there’s a vintage bottle of Garnier Birkin shampoo (or hair lotion). I wonder if Gainsbourg actually used it or just kept a bottle as a homage to his partner (and Charlotte’s mother) Jane Birkin.
Thanks to Vincent Legrudge for the Guerlain ids.
World Wide Aura 