Review | Bésame Cosmetics Cake Mascara in Black

Hello friends! Alina here, long time no post! Today I’m talking about something very pertinent to my interest in vintage makeup products. 

Bésame Cosmetics is a Southern California based makeup brand that produces modern reproductions of makeup from the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. Right from the get go I was fascinated by this brand because they truly capture the vintage aesthetic in their packaging.

I was on the hunt for a cake mascara after seeing this post on Tumblr. The packaging of Bésame’s Cake Mascara in Black ($25) is inspired by this old Maybelline masacara.

I have a really intense fascination with cosmetics from the early 1900s and beyond. This is especially so with products from the 1920s. I think it's because many of the contemporary products we have today got their start around this time period. Also, real talk here - this whole new makeup culture was a response to the idealized portrayal of feminine beauty (see Gibson girls for the basics on that). Postwar changes weren’t just changes in government policy. Literally all of society was going through some sort of social and ideological shift that made it publicly acceptable for women to wear lipstick, blush, and mascara (the Holy Trinity of makeup products I like to think) in public. Now flashback to prewar time when wearing a lot of makeup branded you as a prostitute. Now that’s some major sociopolitical upheaval yo. 

Uh sorry for the history lesson. If you’re interested in this stuff though here’s a Wikipedia article on it. :P

Cake mascara is a bit tricky to apply. Unlike contemporary mascaras, cake mascara comes in a solid dry form that’s activated when you add a bit of water to it. If you add too much, the mascara is runny and doesn’t apply well to your lashes. If you add too little, you can’t get any of the product onto your brush. After some trial and error I’ve found that quickly dipping my brush in water first, then rubbing it into the product gives me the consistency I like. 

There are a ton of pros to using cake mascara. First of all, it’s more hygienic than contemporary mascaras. You wash the brush out after every use so that it decreases the amount of bacteria buildup on your wand. Also unlike contemporary mascaras, you don’t have to worry about clumping. The wetness of the product in modern tube mascaras causes this, but since cake mascara comes in a dry formula (and goes back to this dry form when you’re done using it), you get a more natural look overall. I personally don’t mind the clumpy look (sometimes I go for it :P) but I know others find this reaaaally annoying. 

Cons? There’s definitely a learning curve to this product. Finding out what works best for you takes some trial and error. Also, if you’re short on time this isn’t a product that will get you out of the door quickly. 

Oh yeah, I haven’t tried using this as an eyeliner or eyebrow color so I can’t really comment on that. 

Alright here’s what my lashes look like before mascara. So no excuses, I took off my eye makeup and now my eye looks a bit angry. No worries though, all is well.

womp womp

Here’s after mascara. I was a little sloppy with the application but I think it still looks pretty good. It definitely added some length to my stick straight lashes.

yoooooooo

Overall I really like this product. It’s a lot of fun to apply (when I have the time) and does a great job lengthening my lashes. I’m curious to try other brands now like Longcils Boncza Cake Mascara or the Le Femme Cake Mascara. I hear these ones have a cult following so I’m interested in seeing what the hype is about.

Thanks for reading! It’s almost finals week for me so I probably won’t be posting anything any time soon, but I did do some major retail therapy not too long ago so expect something about that in the future.

Have you tried cake mascaras? If so, what did you think of them?