wes bentley | World Wide Aura

Liz (Evan Rachel Wood) has a rare moment of closeness with her husband Terry (Wes Bentley), who appreciates how she handled the meeting with the headmaster of Debbie’s school. The woman drops a question that sounds awkward to our ears, but it made sense in the early 1980s: is Terry wearing a fragrance created for and marketed to women? The question digs deeper, though, because it inevitably refers to the man’s sexual orientation.

Giorgio Beverly Hills was launched exactly in 1981: it’s a fragrance that conjured an exclusive and luxurious imagery. It was not intentionally unisex (Terry tries to find a way out by saying it is), but he admits he’s wearing it. Strange that Liz doesn’t realise it without asking, considering that a box of the same fragrance was spotted on her own dressing table.

Created by Francis Camail, Giorgio Beverly Hills was (in its original formulation) a white floral fragrance with top notes of orange blossom, apricot, peach and bergamot; middle notes of tuberose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmine, orchid and rose; base notes of chamomile, vanilla, oakmoss, musk, amber, sandalwood, cedar and patchouli. In case you were wondering, it was really super intense, and very unique.

Debbie (Hayes Warner) once again serves as the younger version of her mother, but she’s way less respectful and self-aware than Liz. There’s contempt and sarcasm in her question to Steven (Jordan Roth).

His answer is loud, clear, and unapologetic: he’s wearing Giorgio.

Debbie’s comment on the fragrance and on Steven is ignorant and derogatory, which is not surprising: strict categorisation of people and things makes her feel in control, while facts tell a different story. Despite her efforts and her father’s money, she’s a sad and lost girl, who thinks she deserves everything by birth right, but gets proven wrong again and again.

It’s interesting that her reply seems to refer to two very contemporary topics: the “old lady perfume” discussion, and the broader topic of fragrance and gender.

Brett (Igby Rigney) is checking his hairstyle during a break from Dance Off!, the dancing competition he’s taking part in.

Right in front of him there’s a spray can of Aquanet unscented super-hold hairspray.

Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), Debbie’s father, is acting like a helicopter parent: he’s doing everything he can in his power to make his daughter win the competition. In this specific scene, he’s talking about Brett’s Less Than Zero script, and arranges a meeting with the boy at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

On the far right side of the dressing table we can see a bottle of Rave unscented ultra-hold hairspray.

More products can be seen when he sits down.

There’s a jar of Vaseline pure petroleum jelly (Terry applies it on his lips).

The Mondrian-inspired can is from the Studio Line hair styling collection by L’Oreal, one of my most vivid memories from the 1980s (I loved the mousse and the gel).