Rouge Profile: Besame Samplers in Merlot, Cherry Red, Red Velvet, Red Hot Red, Besame Red, & American Beauty

 

Hello everyone! In my never ending journey of finding the PERFECT red lipstick, I stumbled upon this makeup line called Besame Cosmetics. It is a vintage inspired makeup line created by Gabriela Hernandez in the hopes of bringing back glamour and romance into the makeup industry. After finding this line, I saw that they are a good number of red lipsticks that vary in subtle shades and finishes. I got a few of the colors in lipstick samplers ($5 each) and wanted to share. I think I may have found my FAVORITE RED! Let's take a look!

 

So I bought 3 lipstick samplers that came in a small paper box about the size of a matchbox. Each sampler came with two colors with three "match sticks" with the color on them giving about 2 uses each stick. As for the colors, I got Merlot, Cherry Red, Red Velvet, Red Hot Red, Besame Red, and American Beauty.

 



Here are the actual descriptions of the colors from the website itself.

• MERLOT: Semi-matte brick red. Neutral enough for daily wear on any skin tone.
• CHERRY RED: Deep, rich cherry that can be worn as a sheer rose stain or opaque. 
• RED VELVET: A deeper red suitable for everyday wear. Neutral and subdued. 
• RED HOT RED: Marilyn Monroe’s favorite. A bold and brazen warm red. 
• BÉSAME RED: True red with a cooler, blue-toned base—brightening and vibrant.

• AMERICAN BEAUTY: (there wasn't a description for this color, so I assume it's new) on me, it's a very pink-red



Merlot



Cherry Red (my favorite)



Red Velvet



Red Hot Red



Besame Red



American Beauty

L to R: Merlot, Cherry Red, Red Velvet, Red Hot Red, Besame Red, American Beauty

 

Overall I LOVE these lipstick colors. My favorites are Cherry Red and American Beauty they are the most different than ANY other reds in my collection! They are very creamy and have opaque color even as the tiny match stick and give the lips a stain after the color wears off. But mind you, it takes that color a WHILE to wear off to a stain! I can't wait to buy the full size of these!

 

I hope that you enjoyed this makeup ramble! I think any makeup fanatic should have a good red lipstick as part of their arsenal!

 

Drink up, beauties!

 

Maybelline Color Elixirs in Caramel Infused, Raspberry Rhapsody, Amethyst Potion, & Caviar Couture: Review + Swatches

L to R = Caviar Couture, Amethyst Potion, Raspberry Rhapsody, & Caramel Infused

For the winter 2013 season, Maybelline has created a NEW lip product for the masses! It is called Color Elixir ($6.79 at Bed, Bath & Beyond) and it will fall under their Color Sensational line.

Quotes from the Maybelline website:

Fall under the spell of the elixir effect
Hyper-saturated color, ultra cushiony feel
The new hypnotic lip sensation


A trio of concentrates delivers the color of a lipstick, the cushiony care of a balm, and the glass shine of a gloss
Our exclusive smoothing angora brush delivers a polished , even application and smoothing sensation to lips


This product seems that it will be in competition with other lip products already available like the Almay's Color + Care Balm and L'Oreal's Color Caresse Wet Shine Stains except with this product it doesn't claim to be a stain, and I did not find it to stain my lips like the L'Oreal Wet Shine Stains.

I bought four of the twenty available colors, Caramel Infused, Amethyst Potion, Raspberry Rhapsody, & Caviar Couture. The colors range from nudes, reds, and purples. The packaging is a hard, clear plastic bottom where you can see the color that you should get on the lips. It also has a silver plastic twist top with a stopper inside which helps clean up excess product. I love that in the bottle the plastic is shaped so that it looks like a lipstick bullet.

As for the applicator, it is a tear drop shape and very soft. It feels softer on the lips than the L'Oreal Caresse Wet Stain applicator.

These products are VERY hydrating and make my lips feel like I applied the Baby Lips lip balm. After using these colors for about a week, I have found that they do NOT have any staining power on my lips. After these colors are wiped or eaten off, they are GONE and I have not seen any major stain left behind. My darker colors may have a VERY slight stain, but nothing that other people will notice unless they are SUPER examining your lips. It could be that since my lips are already very pigmented on their own any stains have trouble showing up.

 

Starting off with Caramel Infused 065. It looks like a peachy pink in the tube, but it comes off as nude pink on me. It is creamy and the color that needs the least amount of swipes to get full color payoff. It is also the only color in my collection that does not have any shimmer.



 

 

Raspberry Rhapsody 030 is a fuchsia berry color with blue and silver micro-shimmer in it. It is barely seen on the swatch, and it is not noticeable in the lips whatsoever. I didn't even know it had shimmer until I was taking the up-close photos. This color takes more swipes to get opaque color pay off, but it is worth it. It's definitely my favorite of all the colors I purchased.

 

 

 

Amethyst Potion 045 is a mid-tone cool plum with micro-shimmer of silver, but again it's not visible on the lips when applied and not felt either. I want to like this color, but I admit it is my least favorite because of the cool-tone lean it has on my lips. It almost looks like a deep violet. I usually mix it with Raspberry Rhapsody to warm it up a bit. The color pay off is a lot like Caramel Infused, almost full opacity in one to two swipes.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I got Caviar Couture which is a DEEP reddish purple with purple, silver, and blue shimmer that is VISIBLE on the lips. This is the color I REALLY want to love, but as I have been wearing it, it has been irritating my lips. It could be the bigger shimmer/glitter particles, but I really do not know because I have not had any issues with the three other colors I have. I don't usually like my lip products to have any visible shimmer because I think it very easily overwhelms my look. I really love this color for fall, but I do not know how much use I can get from it, if my lips continue to be bothered by it =[

 

 

 

Overall, I am enjoying these new lip products from Maybelline. They are pigmented, hydrating, and non-sticky and I really look forward to using this in these colder months.

 

 

So far I have only found these products at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, but I know that they should be popping up more at local drugstores at the end of October 2013.