Look For Your Perfect Red Lipstick with Besame Lipsticks

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Ages ago, I was introduced to Besame Cosmetics by the MakeupAlley Makeup Message Boards. I was so drawn in by the vintage inspired gold and red packaging, combined with the vibrant hues of the lipsticks and other products. The line was started by Gabriela Hernandez and a "culmination of Gabriela's passion for design and her desire to create an original cosmetic with details and formulas that make women feel glamorous and unique".

Their big seller is their current line of Classic Color Lipstick but they do offer other products like a 1930s Mascara, Sweetheart Lip Balm, Crimson Cream Rouge (which I'm dying to try), Brightening Violet Powder, and other rotating accessories and sets.

I got this sample set of their Classic Color Lipsticks as a birthday gift but unfortunately, they've stopped offering it (hopefully it'll return soon!) . The set was $16.00 and came with six 1 gram lipstick samples (equal to about two lipsticks), a brochure card, and a tiny disposable lip brush. For sure, I'm set on red lipsticks for quite some time (I say this now of course!). Perhaps this is the perfect red lipstick set, I could see these lipsticks working for blondes, redheads, and brunettes.



Product Description: "The most delectable lipstick with a semi-matte finish and one coal full coverage. the highest natural pigment content for a smooth, indelible, feather-proof finish. Enriched with vitamins A, E, and C, aloe and green tea. Our vintage reproduction colors are the exact shades used by your favorite Hollywood starlets." The lipstick bullet has a "wedge tip" to line and fill with precision.

Formula/Wear Time: Elsewhere on the site (under "The making of Bésame"), there's further info on the lipstick formula. It's meant to have "a satin finish and high-pigmented formula" that stays put and I can attest to both claims. If you're looking for a matte finish, these lipsticks don't have it. Even after 5 hours, the color looked just as good as when I first applied it and it could have kept on going. I'll update when I wear it longer than 8 hours but I didn't notice any feathering. These didn't feel heavy on the lips, not tacky but just smooth on. Comfortable to wear. These aren't vegan by the way (they contain beeswax) but they look to be paraben-free (not a big issue for me but it's worth mentioning)

Packaging: Each lipstick is in a gold plated bullet shaped case and comes with a velvet pouch for storage.

Price: Full size lipsticks retail for $22.00 for 3.5 grams

Where to Purchase: Besame Cosmetics, Sephora (affiliate). Online orders don't ship internationally unfortunately but they do have a list of places to buy if you're international and some brick and mortar stores if you're in the US.

Cruelty-free? I checked their FAQ and they do not test on animals.

I usually don't like doing page breaks but since I have lip swatches, an arm swatch, and comparison swatches for these lipsticks, it's just too much to have on the front page so click on to see everything!
One thing I can give props to the brand for is that their lipstick descriptions are concise and to the point giving the color and its undertone. It is great for me since I'm poor at describing colors and it certainly makes it easier for consumers to differentiate between the shades of red lipsticks they offer.



I tried putting the lipsticks in order from lightest to darkest so that's how they are in the picture (though Cherry Red is one of those colors that appears darker in the pot and lighter on the lips)

I think the lipsticks warranted the arm swatch treatment so you can see overall how the colors are when swatched next to each other. This was taken in direct sunlight with no flash.

Now onto the lip swatches and my thoughts on each color. These were applied with a lip brush and the pictures were taken in natural daylight without flash.

Bésame Red:


Bésame Red (affiliate): "True Red, cool base, neutral. A true navy red, bright and vibrant." The company's namesake color did not disappoint. The clean, crisp red with its cool undertone is super flattering on.

Carmine:

Carmine: "Orange red that changes depending on skin tone. A red-orange that is very becoming on warm and olive skin tones." The only color in the group that I'd say is more orange than red. It is true that the color changes depending on skin tone, it appears very orange on me. I don't think it's an unflattering color but I've never been drawn to oranges so it doesn't appeal to me.

Cherry Red:

Cherry Red (affiliate): "Deep rich dark cherry shade. Can be worn as a stain, to give a nice rose color. Cool color that is very flattering to medium and olive skin tones and dramatic on pale skin." This is easily my favorite color of the bunch. The color just has a vintage/retro feel to it and makes me wish I could put my hair up in victory rolls.

Merlot:

Merlot: "Brown red color, semi-matte. Great neutral red for daily wear. Subdued brick red." At first glance I thought this looked quite warm but the color is equaled out by the slightly cool toned berry base. If you build up the color, you can get it to look quite brown but sheered out is more berry. For daily wear, I would definitely wear it much more sheered out (it's a little dark for me when built up like in the swatch)

Red Hot Red:

Red Hot Red (affiliate): "Bright and bold, a bit warmer than Bésame Red, and Marilyn's favorite." This is one of their vintage reproduction colors so as it says in the description, it's based off of Marilyn Monroe's favorite red lip color. Like the description says, it definitely looks similar to Bésame Red but this one has a warmer, orangey undertone versus Bésame Red.

Red Velvet:

Red Velvet (affiliate): "Deep, rich red flattering on most skin tones. Great for office wear or everyday red, neutral and not too bright. Also wonderful for the evening on formal occasions." Compared to the rest of the red lipsticks, this definitely feels much more muted though I think it is more cool toned than neutral.

For ease of comparison, here's a collage of all the lipstick swatches together!

It can be difficult to see the different nuances of the colors (even in the collage) so I did a few comparison splices between the lip swatches so it'd be easier for you to see the differences. Each side is labeled with the corresponding lipstick!

Bésame Red vs Red Hot Red. Besame Red is the one with the cool base whereas Red Hot Red is described as being warmer than Besame Red. The side by side comparison does help to show that Bésame Red is looking much more cool toned than Red Hot Red, which is appearing more orangey.


Bésame Red vs Cherry Red. Both of these lipsticks have a cool toned base so I figured it'd be handy to see the depth of the two. Cherry Red is much darker but also seems deeper and saturated in tone whereas Bésame Red is much lighter and maybe a little bit brighter. I love both but Cherry Red is my favorite.


Cherry Red vs Red Velvet. I thought the lipsticks looked similar to each other in the arm swatch so I figured it'd warrant a comparison. Turns out they're not close at all. Red Velvet is much more muted and not as bright as Cherry Red.

These are definitely luxury lipsticks at $22.00 each so they're an extravagant purchase but they have great wear time, feel good on the lips, and not tested on animals. So they're a splurge but worth the splurge. I do need to note again that they're not vegan but not tested on animals. I felt like such a retro star wearing them, I even wore Cherry Red to the bank and cared not about any looks I got for going out in red lipsticks to do a mundane task.

Have you heard of Besame Cosmetics before? Do you like the looks of these lipsticks?

Disclaimer: I received this set as a birthday gift. All opinions are my own and I am not being compensated for the post! Affiliate links are included in this post.