GET THE LOOK || Agent Carter || Besame vs NYX

As soon as I watched Agent Carter, I knew that I had to know the name of the iconic lipstick on Agent Carter. The beautiful Hayley Atwell furnished us fangirls with the much coveted information. Carter's lippy of choice is Bésame's lipstick in the shade, Red Velvet 1946. 

Readily available at Sephora.com, it wasn't much of an option for me for quite some time. It was either use Sephora's website and have it shipped to the UK or spend €30 and use Bésame's European website. Not great options. 

That's where the beautiful world wide web came in handy because a lot of the research into a possible dupe had been done for me. 

NYX's matte lipstick in the shade "Alabama" was hotly tipped as the best budget friendly dupe for Red Velvet. NYX isn't easy to come back in the UK, particularly more difficult in Northern Ireland since NEXT have stopped stocking it. But Deeny's Chemist has a small bay of NYX products. This lipstick was happily amongst the stock there. It's also available from Very.co.uk and nyxcosmetics.co.uk but I've never used either of these websites.

After several months of avoiding buying Alabama, I decided that I wanted to get it for a friend with whom I was doing a make-up swap. Why wouldn't I include a fangirl shout out? But then I couldn't leave myself out... Surely?

- - - PHASE ONE COMPLETE - - -

I then came to have Bésame's lipstick in my possession gracias a my brother and my birthday. It was part-thank-you and part-birthday-present. Plus, with the production of Sunset Boulevard that I'm performing in, I loved the idea of using a vintage lipstick onstage. I did base my costume on the character Dottie Underwood from Agent Carter so why wouldn't I want Agent Carter's lipstick too? Fangirl priorities, I have them! So my brother kindly sat with me as I ordered it from Sephora.

The Besame lipstick is shaped just as lipsticks were back in the 40s. It has a squared-off edge which looks intimidating at first but allows for insanely easy application. The straight edges act as a lip liner before you fill in your lips with the blunt end of lipstick bullet. I have found putting on this lipstick so easy with this design,

Now for the nitty gritty. It applies smoothly to the tips with full coverage from one swipe. It's not drying on the lips due to the formula which has macadamia oil and aloe amonst other things and what's more, it lasts! I wore this to Sunset Boulevard rehearsals yesterday and it didn't budge. Even when I put my hand over my mouth. There was a little bit of transfer but my lips remained just as they did when I left the house. It didn't smudge or smear. 

I then went on to drink a glass of water and I resigned myself to the inevitable lipstick ring on the glass. There wasn't a single smudge of red residue on the glass. When I looked in the mirror, there wasn't the lipstick ring. It hadn't budged. Faded ever so slightly. But it hadn't disappeared. That's one for the books!

If you've seen some of my recent tutorials, you'll have spotted Alabama making a couple of appearances. It's a beautiful cool-toned red lipstick. The formula is creamier than you would expect from a matte lipstick and I found that it's not drying. I have extremely dry lips and I didn't find it drying at all. 

I haven't given this lipstick proper wear time, in that, I haven't worn it beyond the filming of a tutorial. As soon as I'm done, 90% of the time, the makeup comes off too. As a result, I haven't put this lipstick through the drink test as I have with the Bésame one. 

S I D E    B Y     S I D E

With posts that tell you that A is a good dupe for B, you tend to not really trust them. Or in my case, not want to trust them because you don't know what their motivations are and you can make anything look similar with Photoshop these days. Way to sell yourself out of this post, Kazzie! So if you don't want to trust me, I completely understand. I'm simply here as a fangirl telling you that there is a cheaper way to get Agent Carter's look and that is in NYX's "Alabama.

TOP: NYX

BOTTOM: BESAME

(I look so washed out in the top one!)

TOP: NYX

BOTTOM: BESAME

From the comparison shots, (I'm still useless at those), the colour match is pretty damn accurate. I can't seem to spot a difference. The only difference I see is my skintone. That's what you get when using natural lighting, kids. 

THE BASICS

BESAME - $22/£15.32 - RED VELVET 1946 - 0.12oz

NYX - £8 (VERY) £6 (nyxcosmetics.co.uk) - ALABAMA - 0.16oz

I would highly recommend both of these lipsticks. But if you're wanting a 40s lipstick on a budget, then the NYX one is perfect for you! If you want that genuine Carter look, Besame is the one.