There are two glass shelves in Janis’ bathroom, and both of them are packed with beauty products. It’s interesting to see how most of these products somehow have a personal value for Penélope Cruz, who stars as one of the protagonists.
On the first shelf on the left, for example, there’s a bottle Chanel No. 5. This shouldn’t surprise, since the collaboration between Pedro Almodóvar and the French brand has been well documented since the late 1980s. Moreover, Penélope Cruz has been a Chanel ambassador since 2018.
Another brand which feels personal to Cruz is Charlotte Tilbury, created by the famous British make-up artist who has often worked with Penélope and has named one of her famous lipsticks after her.
On the same shelf there are two Lancôme products – Rénergie Multi-Lift Ultra anti-wrinkle cream in the purple jar and Génifique youth-activating cream in the grey jar. Again, this is personal: Penélope Cruz has been a testimonial for the brand since 2010.
On the second shelf we can see a bottle of Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless liquid foundation.
There are also two products by the Spanish brand Natura Bissé – C+C Vitamin scrub and C+C Vitamin SPF 30 dry oil.
Next, there’s a travel-size bottle of Lancôme Tonique Confort hydrating toner.
The compact is Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish powder.
The small pot with copper lid is another Charlotte Tilbury product, the sparkle cream eyeshadow Charlotte’s Jewel Pot.
Last but not least, two bottles of Lancôme Advanced Génefique youth-activating concentrate.
Lena (Penélope Cruz) is a broken woman: trapped in an unhappy marriage, she desperately longs for freedom and real love. She lives in a luscious house, she’s always dressed elegantly, she’s surrounded by expensive objects, but all this rarely gives her joy.
Perfumes and beauty products follow her in many scenes, as if they were heavy trappings of a fake identity. The triangle-shaped bottle of Lancôme Trésor body lotion makes its appearance for the third time, so now I guess it’s safe to say that this is her signature scent. It’s an unusual choice, because I would see Lena wearing something more peculiar, with more personality, so I guess this is another way to force her into a role she doesn’t feel comfortable with.
In her bathroom there is also Givenchy Ysatis, a floral chypre fragrance created by Dominique Ropion in 1984.
Last, there’s L’Occitane Eau d’Iparie, an oriental woody fragrance launched in 2005.
The scarlet red lipstick she puts on Juana is another product by Cacharel. The lipsticks of this short-lived line were contained in beautiful matte metal cases, the tops of which were lip-shaped.
The nurse (Lupe Barrado) who’s taking care of Pablo in the hospital retouches her red manicure with a Christian Dior nail polish.
The retro-style 
It’s the marbled lipstick Glissando, launched in 1964 by the American brand Du Barry.
Available 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 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.