My Vintage Tea Party
Ramblings and Reviews From a Lover of Tea and All Things Vintage
Hello everyone! I am very excited to write this post, as it is a review of each perfume from the Besame Cosmetics line: Decades of Fragrance. I absolutely LOVE what they did for this line. Each scent is named after a decade (1910-1960), and each one was carefully concocted to be true to that decade. My boyfriend bought me 1910 a couple of Christmases ago, and I have worn it nearly every day since then. At that time, the perfumes came in beautiful glass bottles but now are only available in rollerball vials or the tiny sample set (apparently, a new bottle design will be revealed sometime this year. Excite). Below is a picture of the bottle, along with the gorgeous box it came in (and a few of my other Besame goodies): Now for the moment we have all been waiting for; my breakdown of each scent. Let's start at the beginning (and be sure to visit their website for a complete list of top notes, heart notes, and base notes):
1910: The first scent I ever got and it is still hands down my favorite. It is light, sweet, and floral. If I had to use one word to describe it, it would be "feminine." It is not overpowering, and once I read another review describe it as smelling like a outdoor, Spring tea party and that is quite accurate. When my large bottle runs out, I will be buying another one when they are released. 1920: This one is not quite as light and feminine. I don't hate it, but it's not exactly "me" like 1910. I want to say it's almost spicy with a hint of musk. It reminds me of what it smells like when you walk past an incense display, which makes sense as it has myrrh as a base note and that tends to be a popular incense scent. Also, there seems to be the tiniest hint of a baby powder smell...but I would need someone else to confirm that. 1930: A tiny bit sweeter than 1920 and I like it much better. Still a little musky though, so not my style either-- but again, I don't dislike it. One of the base notes is cedar wood, and that is probably the one other than musk that stands out to me the most. It reminds me of this little cedar wood box my grandmother had; I would open it sometimes just to smell it. Besame uses the words "Marlene Dietrich, cigarettes and seduction, 1930s oriental" to describe it, and I would say that they are appropriate. Also, they gave me two samples of this one and I'm not sure why. Some coffee beans would be helpful right about now. 1940: Now this one I really like. On first "sniff," I got a hint of vanilla, but there doesn't appear to be any vanilla in it. The more I smell it, bergamot comes out-- which I am familiar with because that is what is in Earl Grey tea. There is also a slight "spice" to it at the very end...? Maybe "Earthy" is a better word, as it is probably the sandalwood I am picking up on. I'd wear this one on a fancy night out (which is funny because I never go anywhere). 1950: As this is my favorite decade, I had very high hopes for this one. I actually wore this one today! I really like it, but I would suggest spraying it on the inner wrists rather than the neck like I did, because a little bit goes a long way and it can get tiresome to constantly smell nothing but 1950 no matter which way you turn. The actual scent reminds me of a toiletry item my grandmother had in her bathroom many years ago, but I can't remember exactly what. It is a rather powdery smell with the slightest hint of musk and a dash of flowers (from the gardenia, I would assume). I'm on the fence about whether or not I would buy this one, and I'll have to wear it more and see if I end up loving it. Right now, I just like it and found it too overpowering to wear on my neck like usual. 1960: The first thing I thought of when I smelled this one is "woah." As in "woah, that was like being punched in the nose." A little of this one goes a looong way, and I definitely smell that patchouli. I feel like I have smelled something similar before, and I want to say it was a perfume my other grandmother had a long time ago. I can't get past the patchouli to really make anything else out. In my opinion, it smells exactly like the patchouli scented oil I got to use in an incense burner when I was 13. It's a "no" from me. Well that was fun, and now my nose and throat are burning. To sum up, I did not like 1920 and 1960, 1930 was OK, I liked 1950 and 1940, and 1910 positively beautiful. Keep in mind though, everyone has a different sense of smell and different likes and dislikes, and this was just my impressions of them. To end this post, here is a picture of my Besame cosmetic brushes and brush holder. Aren't they lovely? (Also, just as a small side note, the last "e" in Besame is supposed to have an accent mark but I'm afraid I don't know how to put one there. Please forgive me.)
1 Comment
Good afternoon, readers! Just yesterday I was brainstorming about ideas for my next post, so I decided to ask my (very few but much appreciated) followers what they would like to see me write about. My first suggestion was to share some of my favorite vintage fashion and lifestyle blogs that I love to read in my spare time. So, I have decided to share four of them-- two of which make me realize how inferior my blog is in terms of the vintage outfit posts, but everyone has to start somewhere, right...? If only my hair-fixing skills were halfway decent, then I'd be getting somewhere!
Anyway, here we go (in no particular order)! 1. Chronically Vintage http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/ This blog is kept up by a beautiful lady by the name of Jessica, who lives in Canada. She posts pictures of her stunning vintage outfits and various other bits of inspiration for those of us who want to live and breathe vintage. What really resonated with me is the fact that she suffers from chronic illness (which gave her inspiration for her blog title) and still manages to look absolutely flawless. As many of you know, I have my fair share of "invisible illnesses" such as arthritis and a whole list of digestive disorders and it is beyond inspiring to see someone going through some of the same things while embracing the vintage lifestyle. Unfortunately, Jessica recently lost her home and all of her belongings in a house fire so do consider adding her to your prayer list or reaching out to her via her blog to offer love and emotional support. 2. Junebugs and Georgia Peaches http://junebugsandgeorgiapeaches.blogspot.com/ This blog is run by two ladies, Amanda and Katie, who I find very inspirational in terms of their fashion sense. Any time they blog about their outfits, they always include where they bought each item-- very helpful to those of us who are always on the lookout for lovely things to add to our closet. Speaking of which, one fun feature of the blog is "Friday Favorites": posts where Amanda and Katie share beautiful clothing, accessories, etc. that caught their attention on online stores. It can be dangerous if you love online window shopping as much as I do, but I try my best to resist spending too much money and it's still fun just to look. 3. Glamour Daze http://glamourdaze.com/ This blog is a goldmine! It is not centered around one particular person or persons, but it has seemingly infinite posts on vintage fashion, hair, and makeup organized by decade (1900-1960s). As a fashion history enthusiast, I could spend hours and hours on this blog since it is appropriate for research as well (they call it a vintage fashion and beauty archive). My favorite part of this blog is that they also run a Youtube channel where they post archival footage of everything from mid-century fashion shows to 1940s beauty tutorials! If you are really interested in reading about fashion history and getting inspiration from the past, this blog is for you! 4. Besame Cosmetics https://besamecosmetics.com/blogs/blog This a blog run by the cosmetics company, Besame Cosmetics. Now, I have mentioned before that I am not a huge makeup fan and do not wear it on a daily basis. However, Besame is my absolute favorite cosmetics company; and if any makeup line can make me want to go through the trouble of applying mascara and lipstick, Besame can. They are the only company that I know of that exclusively produces makeup in vintage inspired packaging and creates replicas of products used from the 1910s to the late 1960s. For instance, one of their most popular products is their 1920s cake mascara; a water-activated mascara that comes in a solid block like what was used before the kinds of mascara we know of today. Everything from their lipstick and rouge shades to their powders and perfumes faithfully captures the glamorous feel of vintage makeup. Using it is fun and makes me feel like a golden age Hollywood star! Their blog talks about the historical inspiration behind their products, features users of their makeup, and includes posts on the history of certain cosmetics such as the old classic: red lipstick. Be careful though, it might make you want throw out all of your modern makeup and fill your vanity with Besame! Thank you for reading, and I hope you found some inspiration in these blogs! |
About Me
Greetings, readers! My name is Jordie, and I am a tea obsessed, history loving young lady who just happened to be born about 60 years too late. Archives
February 2017
Categories
All
|