Sunday, April 13, 2025

THE Perfect Charlie Girl

Shelley in a promo pic for Charlie
perfume and cosmetics, 1977

Shelley will forever be remembered as THE quintessential Charlie Girl (who became Charlie's 5th Angel, of course). Her image of the independent, bright, chic and confident woman was the perfect embodiment of the ideals of the Revlon brand. There were other Charlie models prior to her, but it was only Shelley's commercials and ads (from 1976 on) that were successful. Why? During one of Shelley's radio interviews, as discovered from answers to a call-in question, it turned out that women weren't intimidated by her and that men found her approachable. 

Shelley in a French Charlie perfume ad, 1977

And her influence was far-reaching. The popularity of her ads was worldwide and Charlie perfume ads were translated into different languages. Spanish, French, Portuguese... The ad always featured the spirit of Shelley's Charlie Girl - gorgeous, sexy, young, intelligent, confident and liberated. Women all over the world wanted to be Charlie Girls; so much so that six months after Shelley began endorsing it, in 1977, Charlie became the #1 fragrance in the world (the first American-made international bestseller) and Revlon sales figures passed the $1Billion mark.

Shelley in a promo pic for Charlie
perfume and cosmetics, 1977