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.)
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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
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