Tag Archives: revlon nail polish

To Catch a Thief (1955)

tocatchathief_bornunicorn (1)When John Robie (Cary Grant) visits the hotel suite where Frances and her mother Jessie live, some beauty products can be seen on different dressing tables.

In the picture above, for example, there are a Revlon nail polish (see the elongated cap) and two perfumes by Lucien Lelong – Gardenia and Balalaika.

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On another dressing table two versions of Lucien Lelong Balalaika: the spiral bottle contained the eau de parfum, while the squared one contained the eau de cologne.

Behind the spiral bottle of Balalaika there’s another Lelong fragrance – Sirocco.

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From a different angle we can see there’s another object on the same table: a coffret containing Revlon nail polishes.

Thanks to Bluebelle in the comments for the Sirocco id.

Pose S01E02 (Access)

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When Elektra Abundance (Dominique Jackson) visits the nail salon where Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) works, it’s clear she’s not interested in getting a manicure. She asks for a top coat on her already done nails, and she soon points out her likes and dislikes.

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She likes Revlon and Max Factor nail polishes. In the adverts above (both from 1987), you can see the design these brands had for their nail varnish bottles.

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She totally dislikes Yardley, the British brand founded in 1770 which was incredibly successful in the 1960s and 1970s, but lost its appeal in the 1980s.

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She’s not done with Blanca: her former daughter should take better care of herself and her “ashy complexion” by using Pond’s cold cream.

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In the screencap above we can see a jar of Barbicide disinfectant on Blanca’s working station.

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In the meantime, Blanca is applying the top coat Elektra has asked for. It’s by Seche Vite, even if this product didn’t exist in 1987 (the brand was founded in 1991).

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opi_pinkandred_bornunicornWhen Blanca puts away the top coat, we can see a display of OPI nail polishes. This is historically incorrect, since the American brand, founded in 1981, expanded its portfolio to nail lacquers in 1989, not in 1987.

Indiscreet (1958)

indiscreet1_bornunicornThere are several perfumes and toiletries on Anna Kalman’s dressing table.

vintagerevlonnailpolish_bornunicornFirst, two bottles of Revlon nail polish, in the signature bottle with super-long cap handle.

jeanpatou_joy_bornunicornNow let’s focus on the perfume bottles. At the centre of the table there’s Jean Patou Joy, “the world’s most expensive perfume” created in 1930 by Henri Alméras.

dioramphorabottle_bornunicornNext to it, a beautiful amphora bottle by Christian Dior. Hard to tell what perfume it contained here: designed in 1947 by Fernand Guéry-Colas and produced by Baccarat, it was first used for Miss Dior, but later used for all the other perfumes of the French house – Diorissimo, Diorling, Diorella and Diorama. If we consider the film was released in 1958, the amphora could contain Miss Dior, Diorama (launched in 1948) or Diorissimo (launched in 1956).

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guerlainflaconmontre_bornunicornLast but not least, there’s a Guerlain flacon montre. Again, it’s impossible to say what eau de cologne it contained, but we can make some assumptions. It could be Shalimar or Cachet Jaune (blood orange and yellow stickers, respectively; both launched in 1937), L’Heure Bleue (pale blue sticker; launched in 1945), Ode (purple sticker; the eau de cologne was launched in 1950s, but I don’t know the exact date), Fleur de Feu (hot pink sticker; the perfume was released in 1948, so probably the eau de cologne was on the market by the time Indiscreet was shot), Mitsouko (teal sticker; launched in 1937), Jicky (deep purple sticker; launched in 1945), Chypre 53 (light green sticker; the perfume was released in 1953, so it’s possible the cologne already existed in 1958) or Liu (black sticker; launched in 1956).

Picture source.

Feud E05 (And the Winner Is…)

Joan Crawford is getting a manicure for the Oscars 1963. The beautiful array of nail polishes in the screencap above includes shades by Cutex and Revlon.

The first bottle on the left is the Cutex nail polish Joan will opt for: the shade is Sterling Silver, which will match her Edith Head silver dress and Van Cleef and Arpels diamond jewellery.

The fluted bottle behind the manicurist’s hand is a nail polish by Avon.

The Revlon shades are mostly pinks and reds and have exotic names, like Persian Melon, Beach Peach and Frosted Sphinx Pink. The two bottles in the front contain a platinum nail polish and the top coat Seal Fast. These are bottles used by professionals, because their tall bottles differ from the long-handle ones which were on the market at the time.

Last but not least, there’s a bottle of Jewel Glaze (another top coat) on the right. Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the label to identify the brand.