As you can imagine, I’m always excited to try out any cosmetics line that is inspired by vintage makeup and has vintage-inspired packaging. Bésame Cosmetics absolutely fits the bill. Founded in 2004 by Argentinian native Gabriela Hernandez, all of it’s packaging is based closely off vintage designs and colors are based off colors popular in the 1920’s to the 1940’s. The line contains foundation, powder, cake mascara, lipstick and lip balm and cream lip and cheek rouge, which I tried out recently.

As evidenced by the extremely brightly rouged cheeks in these vintage cosmetic ads, rouged cheeks were quite popular in the early 20th century. The Bésame Crimson Rouge is one way to achieve this highly-rouged look, or you can go lighter with your application for a softer, more modern look.

Crimson Cream Rouge is a bright, waxy, highly pigmented cream that can be used on both lips and cheeks. The description says that it is beautiful on any skintone and given its brightness I would say that if applied correctly it would indeed look lovely on a wide range of skintones. It appears red in the tin (despite the color you see in the picture), but when blended out on the skin it reads more like a bright pink, and does create a lovely flush to the cheeks. In the picture of the back of my hand you can see the cream applied directly from the container and blended out.

Because it is so highly pigmented, you need to be extremely delicate with the application. Dab the cream with your middle and ring fingers, then dab the cream on the back of your opposite hand to dilute the color, then lightly pat onto your cheeks and lips. Remember, you can always add more as needed and it’s much easier to add more than to take it off!

This lovely little compact will definitely be a staple in my handbag! You can find out more about Besame Cosmetics at their site: www.besamecosmetics.com