Cosmetic Review: Besame Classic Color Lipstick

I've been very behind with this blog post but finally I'm glad to be able to share it with you. Part of the delay was in getting some good photos that I was happy with, but the other night I finally managed to get the elements together that I wanted for the photos.



The lovely Gabriela from Besame Cosmetics sent me a 'Classic Color' lipstick to try out for myself. I'd long been an admirer of the range both for its vintage appeal and also the natural pigments- the reds of which are reproductions of the shades used in old Hollywood films. How glam! :)

Of the ingredients, Gabriela says on the website:


Formulations that I consider responsible luxury, non-toxic, natural, and beneficial to your skin, while still retaining the feel and performance of a truly luxurious product. A mix of today's cutting edge technology and some wonderful natural ingredients that have proven benefits to your skin.

Aloe, ginseng, olive oil, green tea, jojoba oil, rose waxes, lavender flower extract, avocado oil, just to name few. Ingredients that go beyond the glamour and contribute to your well being, delivering the quality that has become synonymous with Besame Cosmetics.

The lipstick arrived in my mailbox the morning I left for a trip, I was excited to try it out but had to wait until I got back. It went in my suitcase and gave me something to look forward to when I arrived at the hotel.

This version of their lipsticks comes presented in a cute velvet pouch for safekeeping. The case is a nice metal embossed with the signature chysthanthemums and the Besame name.

It is heavy enough to be substantial but not too heavy. The size is a little bit smaller than my Maybelline Color Sensational, but still plenty big enough.

The lipstick itself is in the old 'blunt bullet' shape which means you can use either the edge for lining or the blunt face for coloring. Very handy actually!



The shade I tried out is called 'Dusty Rose'. It's a nice, slightly dark pinky brown. The Classic Color comes in 12 different shades, with a good range including a coral-type for those girls who like their bright colors.



I also got a pamphlet in the package which tells a bit about some of the Besame range. The Classic Color lipstick includes Vitamin A, E & C as well as aloe and green tea. I definitely noticed this when I tried it out. Felt very moisturising, but not too shiny or slippery- almost like a balm which is a nice change from the usual drying-out feeling I get from some other lipsticks. (The website describes the CC lipstick as "semi matte"). It also has a slight but pleasant fragrance, nothing too strong but quite soothing which I am guessing is from the aloe and other oils used in the products such as jojoba and avocado.

Photo showing me with makeup but before applying the lipstick.

The colour coverage was great; It only took one sweep to get a deep colour. While I didn't do any heavy-duty eating, I did have a drink out of a glass and while there was a little bit of transfer (usual I think with moisturising lipstick) it wasn't anything major. For me, I usually reapply after eating or drinking so personally I wouldn't find it a problem at all had it been more left.




As I don't usually wear a lipliner for everyday (non-work) wear, I tested this the same way, with just the lipstick. I didn't notice any feathering, even though the colour is quite dark on me. I hate it when my lipstick feathers so this was a plus for me. I think for a deep red a liner would be a good idea anyway, but for this shade it wasn't really necessary.



Another way I tried this lipstick was to put it on & then blot some of the colour away, leaving more of a stain and then some gloss on the top for a more understated look. I liked this method for times when I didn't want so much colour. For night time wear, I'd probably wear it right out of the tube. The only negative would be if you don't like a lipstick that's not matte. In which case one of the other formulas might suit you better. For me, I don't like totally matte so this is a nice compromise.

Overall, I really liked this lipstick, and when payday allows will be getting one of the reds for work. =)

Currently the Classic Color is available to purchase online for $22USD. Considering the packaging I think this is very reasonable. In Australia, the Maybelline I used everyday retails between $12-16AUD and my L'Oreal between $22 to $30AUD. Those are lipsticks I don't know the ingredients of and also with plastic packaging. Besame Classic Color comes in a very attractive tube which is more substantial and an accessory in itself!

(For those of you who are eco-conscious, metal tubes are great for re-using once your colour is done- just Google for how to re-make your lipstick using the tubes)

Overall, I was very happy with the product and think any girl would love to have a little bit of glamour back in her makeup bag, without breaking the bank.

Thanks Gabriela!

Be sure to check out the Besame website as there are some cool instructional videos and other vintage-styled makeup products that might be just what you're looking for to complete your look.



(Note: In the interests of transparency; my Classic Color was sent to me as a gift from Besame Cosmetics. All views are my own and aside from the product gift I was not paid for my review. You should read my review in conjunction with the Besame website to decide if this product is right for your personal circumstance.)

Makeup: Cover Girl Advanced Radiance Foundation in Buff Beige, CG Eyeshadow Quad in Country Woods, CG TruBlend Minerals Powder Compact in #2 Creamy Natural, Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Mascara in Black & Besame Cosmetics Classic Color Lipstick in C212 Dusty Rose.

Pearl Harbor Style...

A few days ago I posted about a plane trip I took in a vintage aircraft. (You can read about it here.)

For that outing, I dressed "1940's style" to celebrate the occasion and the fact that you don't get to fly in a beautiful classic aircraft like this every day. (I also wanted to bring back a bit of the glamour to flying, hehe)



My outfit was inspired by Kate Beckinsale's character in Pearl Harbor, I simply loved all her clothes in the movie and knew that a black and white outfit was the perfect choice and would be fairly easy to achieve in the short preparation time that I had.



I already had the dress, a B&W bird print frock from Target. The suede platforms were borrowed from my sister, the bag was vintage reproduction and the hair flower (frangipani like Kate of course!) was found in a hair supply store.

Here's some photos of Kate in the film.





Since the plane ride, I purchased a dress from Alannah Hill that has a strikingly similar ribbon print to the dress that Kate wears in the film.

From a distance it would look almost identical. Of course, the shape on mine is different but adding some small shoulder pads could make it more 40's-authentic! (Of course, the model is way taller than me, so when I put it on, it falls just below the knee, the way it should for the 1940's look)

If you're a fan of 1940's style as well, and like Kate's "off duty" 1940's beach bunny look,


check out this cute sarong-suit pattern from Wearing History patterns! How adorable is it...

(Photos: from Fanpop website, copyrights are owned by the filmmakers and are for inspiration purposes only)

Classic Wings

A year or two ago, I had the chance to take a flight in a vintage airliner. A former colleague of mine had set up a sightseeing business with his father, taking people for flights in this gorgeous aeroplane that they had restored. Sadly, due to the economy they were forced to sell the plane and so had a "last hurrah" champagne flight over the city to say goodbye.

To celebrate the occasion I decided to dress in the era of the DC-3. As it was short notice the outfit wasn't as accurate as I'd hoped, but I think I got the overall 'look'. (My inspiration was Kate Beckinsale in 'Pearl Harbour'- post on her outfit to follow)

(I have to apologise in advance for the formatting of this post, I'm not sure what went wrong but I couldn't fix it without starting over and it's taking AGES to upload photos)


I already had a cute shirt dress in a black and white bird pattern which would do nicely, and I found a frangipani hair flower (favourite of pin-up girls) and I think tropical enough for the Hawaii part =)



I would have loved to wear a suit and hat but as it was the height of summer it jsut wasn't possible. At this point I hadn't yet learned to do victory rolls in my own hair, so I made a quick trip to the hairdresser. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but as the girl had no experience with vintage hairstyles I thought it wasn't too bad, and had the right 'feel' for 1940's.






It was a gorgeous day for flying and the view was beautiful! A really neat feature of the plane was a 'bubble window' that was specially installed to allow people to take unobstructed photos of the views. You could sit right out into the bubble and be about a foot outside of the fuselage of the plane. How cool!

I just loved the retro seats with the white vinyl trim and the curtains. Flying at least LOOKED more glamorous back then! In reality I'm sure there was a lot of airsickness, oil stains and windswept hair on the ladies :P

I would have loved to fly as "stewardess" on this flight, and had the sale not had to happen so suddenly, they would have let me do it. Can you imagine, how NEAT would that have been?! I still have hopes to maybe do this in Melbourne when I come back to Australia to live.









Outfit details:

Dress: B&W bird design from Target
Bag: Thrifted (sadly ruined in storage last year)
Shoes: 1940's suede platforms borrowed from sister
Hair Flower: Price Attack
Cherry Earrings: Diva







Certainly was a great day, I had a fantastic time and also checked off one of my "bucket list" items at the same time. If you ever have the chance to do a historic scenic flight, I highly reccommend it!

"Gooney Bird" flights with ShortStop Charter Melbourne

Pin-Up Pretties

Out running errands the other day, I happened upon the cutest vintage-styled storage tins. Well, they're actually meant to be biscuit tins but currently they're holding my drawing pencils and suchlike.



Aren't they ADORABLE? Of all the places, they came from Priceline! Now I *love* Priceline anyway, but who wouldn't love them when they have cute stuff like this? The best part was, they were only $7 each on sale (including biscuits!) Yum yum vintagey goodies!

What A Cute Kitten...

One of my favourite stores is the lovely and oh-so-French "Kitten D'Amour" (formerly known as the Sex Kitten Boutique) in central Brisbane, just off the Queen Street Mall.

Kitten D'Amour specialise in handmade, limited-edition clothing for day and evening wear. Their boutique alone is worth a visit, the layout & visual feast is to die for =D

Anyway, I wanted to show you some of the goodies I have bought from them. The service is absolutely brilliant, whether I'm spending or just browsing, I always feel like a valued customer. Last time I was there, the fabulous & friendly Tegan helpped me, and she always remembers me even though she must have a zillion customers spending way more than me! But, I love the half hour of escape I get wandering around just looking at all the cute clothes & accessories :)

Ok, on to the pictures:

I love their bags, they just make me think of Paris & Shopping! As you can see, this first bag was before they changed the name. According to the manager, the liked their name but they want to expand to other countries and some places you can't get away with a boutique that uses the word 'sex'- plus they had lots of men coming in thinking it was a classy lingerie shop! ^_^
Attention to detail is really cute, your purchases are wrapped in pink tissue and sealed with a lovely little sticker. Makes you feel like you just spent a million bucks!
This is the latest pretty I bought,a cute handmade brooch/hair accessory. I just love the polka dot ribbon contrasted with the red feathers. It looks great on a plain cardi or on a stripy top. Very Parisienne...
A cute flower scarf/choker. The number of ways to wear this that Tegan showed me was amazing, things I'd never even thought of. She alsso combined it with their pink polka dot scarf to create a whole new look. I really need to wear this one more, it's so cute.
I just *love* this adorable little mirror & comb set, it looks so cute on my dresser. (It reminds me of Anna Sui as well) This would be a great little gift, as it was only $15 the set. Tegan was so good at her job, the service ethic is great, she even polished the mirror with Windex before she wrapped it up, how cute!



On my last visit, I even got this lip gloss as a gift, very nice of the girls...


All the goodies together :)


If you want to see what else is on offer (and you should, it's GORGEOUS!) Check out the Kitten D'Amour website by clicking here.