Bésame: The Elegance of A "New" Look

It's easy to forget there once was a time of stricter style ... when a woman wore a hat and gloves simply to go shopping. When grooming meant carefully applied cosmetics and seamed hosiery smoothed over sleek calves.

I remember the scent of my mother's dressing table when I was about six, that off-limits altar with her lipsticks and rouges and powders. The look produced at that table certainly wasn't aimed at "natural." It was the artistry of attraction, a concerted effort to send a sexual message.

Bésame Cosmetics draws its appeal from that, and earlier eras. Its retro packaging and color selections are a determined pull back to the time when women unabashedly worked their looks.

*whisper* I like it. It feels very different, very new.

I've tried their loose powder, boudoir rouge and lipstick ... wonderful quality, and although the colors and textures are much different than I'm used to -- more matte, more velvet-y, a bit more intense color -- it's a nice, nice look. More finished, more polished.

And I love looking at the products, with their vintage goldtone and enamel cases, decorated with red chrysanthemums and tucked into red velvet pouches.

The scent? Well, until I can get hold of Bésame's new Rose Balance moisturizing lotion, I'm going with Frederic Malle's Lipstick Rose. Its violet/rose is the perfect fragrance complement to the era, and to these lovely cosmetics.

Many thanks to Bésame for their elegant products. If you'd like to see their full range, visit http://www.besamecosmetics.com

Silk shantung "Bar" suit jacket, spring/summer 1947
Christian Dior Haute Couture (French, founded 1947)
Gift of Mrs. John Chambers Hughes,1958
Wool Skirt, executed in 1969 from a 1947 design
by Christian Dior;
Gift of Christian Dior, 1969;
exhibit of the Metropolitan Museum of New York