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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Let Them Eat Cake!

Cake? Whose birthday? Well, not that kind of cake. Cake Mascara! About a year ago, I wrote a post about my affinity for Bésame Cosmetics and my visit to the flagship store in Burbank. I have a growing collection of the cosmetics including their tools for application. I still have some of my Mac foundation, which I'm trying to finish before getting the Bésame brand. I must say that my antique vanity looks quite lovely with Bésame products on display. (But that dull Mac compact!) Now I must make room for one more product. Bésame recently came out with the cake mascara and has been heavily advertising it via Instagram, Twitter, E-mail, etc. 

Last night as I was browsing my Instagram feed, I came across a contest to win a free cake mascara. Well, anything for free cosmetics especially when Bésame is quite pricey (but oh so worth it). Now I understand my friends who are in the cosmetic industry when they get excited about a new lipstick, foundation, etc. The expense does add up, and you can't buy them at one time unless you have the money. So far, I've bought about $300 worth of their cosmetics. So if there's an opportunity for free make-up, I'll jump on the chance.

All one needed to do was post a picture of her best 1920s face, answer the trivia questions, and tag Bésame. There would be two opportunities to win. So to prepare, I went through some of my pictures from a 1920s photoshoot, the Gatsby picnic, my chorus girl days and any selfie with Clara Bow inspired expressions. I chose to go with two pics from a photoshoot since most ladies would just post selfies. I tweaked them a bit to make them look like1920s photographs. 


Just to see what my competition would be, I went through other tags and noticed the many archetypal selfie flapper head shots. Others had more of a 1940s or Rockabilly flair. Research ladies! Then came the questions. Confusion among the masses ensued; myself included. It wasn't that I didn't know the answers. The questions seemed a bit vague.

Trivia 1:
Who invented cake mascara?
What year was it invented?

Many girls typed Maybelline 1913 or Rummel 1913. Most of them forgot to include a 1920s pic and/or forgot to tag Bésame. Neither response was correct.

My answer: Eugene Rummel invented mascara in 1840. But if it was specific to cake mascara, then the answer is T.L. Williams in 1913. I'm guessing I was disqualified because I put two responses.

Trivia 2:
Which company released it?
What were the ingredients?
My answer: Maybelline. Cake mascara was composed of petroleum jelly and coal dust.

Bésame never did give the answers which left many ladies in the dark. But an hour later, the results of the winners were in:


I won! Yay me! That's a savings of $25 and whatever I'd have to pay in shipping costs. Plus, I'm quite curious as to how this works. From the company's short tutorial videos, this can be used as both an eyeliner and mascara. Other loyal customers have mentioned it can be used to define eyebrows. If it can double as both liner and mascara, then I'm sold. 

As Bésame grows as a company (and with its proximity to Hollywood), I'm hoping they'll come out with more products such as color palettes for eyeshadow. I heard they do have such products but only for those in the cosmetic industry (drat!). Since Bésame will be in San Francisco for the Pop-Up Make Up Show at the end of the month, I just might trek on over to stock up on some of their samples and see what other products they may be introducing.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Starline Social Club

This past weekend, my friend Jeanavive held a birthday party at the Starline Social Club in downtown Oakland. It was built in 1883 as a saloon and social club for the Odd Fellows; an organization founded on the principals of donating funds and/or time together to serve those in need and to build a community of fellowship. Today, it's a bar and ballroom still faithful to its decor of yesteryear. Several people came out to dance, drink and have an all around good time celebrating Jeanavive's birthday. Fil Lorenz Orchestra provided live music, and yours truly was DJ for the evening. I only played between band sets and immediately following their performance. Below is my set list for the evening.