From retro beehives to heavy swooping eyeliner, Amy Winehouse’s legendary aesthetic was defined first and foremost by her beauty regime. This week sees the cinema release of the late singer’s life retold via Sam Taylor Johnson’s highly anticipated blockbuster Back To Black. Portraying the iconic singer is Industry star Marisa Abela, whose transformation was first revealed through a first look in early 2023.
Alongside adopting Winehouse’s signature piercings, tattoos and statement make-up look, the Brighton-born actress recently revealed that perfume played a major role in her transition into the iconic ‘Valerie’ singer.
“I like to keep the lines quite clear,” Abela shared in reference to playing Winehouse, during a recent appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. “I like to use perfumes because they’re a sensory thing that make me feel. I know my smell and my detergent and my perfume, so when I’m playing someone else I like to use a different smell. I had an ‘Amy perfume’ and then I’d get home and wash it off. It changes the way that other people interact with you too.” Fellow actress Kirsten Dunst, who appeared on the show alongside Abela, also endorsed the use of fragrance to transition between real life and roles.
Abela later revealed that the scent in question was a staggered combination of strong oud perfume and the cult ’00s scent, Alien by Thierry Mugler.
“Alien by Thierry Mugler was one of [the perfumes] used,” she told Harper’s Bazaar UK. “The first one, I’d come onto set in the morning and I’d spray myself with an incredibly oud-y, dark leathery scent and I’d wear that in the make-up chair, which as you can imagine was quite a long process. When I would come back into my trailer, I’d get into my clothes as Amy and put on my perfume as Amy. And that was Alien.”
Since launching in 2005, Alien has been considered a widely coveted scent. Combining notes of cashmeran wood, white amber and jasmine sambac, it’s warm and floral – and a true throwback to that era when Winehouse reigned the charts.
While this iconic and enigmatic Mugler scent has garnered the perfume an adoring fanbase throughout the years, we can only assume that Abela has since returned to her own personal signature scent post-Black To Black: the ever classic Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum. Watch her discuss her love of this, and more of her personal beauty bag favourite in our video above, or via the link below.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
