Tag Archives: xavier dolan

La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s’est réveillé E02 (La nuit où Mireille était reparue)

Whenever I watch a Xavier Dolan film, there’s one thing I am always certain of: I will spot a fragrance in it. Even if this is technically a TV show, the rule still applies  because there’s a scene, set in Madeleine’s bedroom, where two fragrances make their appearance.

One is a Nina Ricci atomiser, used in the past to house several fragrances. There’s no way to know which one it contains, but it’s probably L’air du temps, previously mentioned in The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.

The jar topped with a dove is Avon Flight to Beauty moisturising cream.

Julien (Patrick Hivon) takes another bottle and smells it.

It’s Christian Dior Miss Dior eau de toilette. The bottle that houses this fragrance today is very similar to the original, but I want to believe Madeleine used the vintage version.

Thanks to Zah in the comments for the Avon id.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018)


I think Xavier Dolan must have a thing for perfumes mothers wear. In his films, there’s often a moment in which the protagonist’s mother explains what perfume she’s wearing [1], so I guess this must have something to do with a personal obsession of the director. In this case, Grace (Susan Sarandon) is wearing Nina Ricci L’air du temps, the classic floral/spicy creation by Francis Fabron launched after WWII, in 1948.

[1] In Mommy, Diane says she’s wearing Christian Dior Eau Sauvage.

Mommy (2014)

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dioreausavage_bornunicornDiane (Anne Dorval) wears a classic men’s fragrance by Christian Dior – Eau Sauvage. She hasn’t bought it (most of the time she’s broke), but she’s using the leftovers of a bottle her uncle gave her. If she could buy perfume, she would probably wear something overtly sexy and feminine, but the Dior perfume strangely suits her. Her son Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) loves it: “You smell like fucking heaven,” he comments. 

Eau Sauvage, famous for its fresh citrusy notes on a woody base, was created by Edmond Roudnitska and introduced in 1966.