Tag Archives: Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios

cosmetics in movies, vintage beauty products

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)

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womenonthevergeofanervousbreakdownThe retro-style opening credits of the film (designed by Juan Gatti) contain, quite surprisingly, a real advert of a real make-up item.

dubarryglissandolipstick_bornunicornIt’s the marbled lipstick Glissando, launched in 1964 by the American brand Du Barry.

dubarryglissandolipsticks_bornunicornAvailable 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.

haircare in movies, skincare in movies

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)

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womenonthevergeofanervousbreakdown_bornunicorn (3)

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.

womenonthevergeofanervousbreakdown_bornunicorn (2)

But there’s also another interesting product – a white jar with pink lid, which screams “Christian Dior skincare”.

christiandior_hydradiorvintage_bornunicorn

It’s impossible to say exactly what product this was, but was for sure part of the Hydra-Dior collection.

womenonthevergeofanervousbreakdown_bornunicorn (1)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.