So today I’m excited to talk to you about my first zero waste makeup product, Besame Mascara cake. I’ve read a number of blogs about zero waste makeup brands and the why’s each is better. I decided to start with Besame for a few reasons.

I don’t wear a lot of makeup but mascara and eyeliner are a daily staple. This one product serves two purposes being used for both mascara and eyeliner. It comes in a small metal container that can either be recycled or reused and it is really cute too.

It wasn’t obvious to me on the Besame website that it had local stores or was in local stores. After I ordered, I discovered some products are carried in Sephora and a few other locations. Unfortunately/fortunately the mascara cake was not at my local Sephora or anywhere I could pick it up locally.

My package arrived quickly, however, I am super disappointed in the packaging. I will take most of the blame for this error. I totally forgot to indicate in the notes section that I wanted limited packaging. Zero waste FAIL. So let’s look at the packaging.

If you can’t tell, I was super excited to tear into this. I couldn’t even take time for a decent picture. Sheesh. It worked out because the way I peeled up the label covered my address. Can’t post that all over the internet…

Packaging

For a small mascara cake, applicator and eyeliner brush, this box seemed like overkill. It’s about 5x4x3 in size. Once I opened the box, I realized even more how much additional waste I had created…

Inside my lovely box was a Besame News Letter, several sheets of tissue paper, a packing slip, two postcard ads and my tiny tin with the mascara cake as well as brushes…AHHHHH. On top of all of that, The Mascara cake was held in a small box with a piece of tissue paper wrapped around the cake sealed with a sticker. OMG, the waste! The brushes were also sealed individually in plastic and then in a larger plastic bag. Aye caramba, look at all this waste I created in my zero waste attempt.

The Product

So I’ve beat myself up enough about all the waste. Let’s talk about the actual product. I really love this mascara cake. I was a little intimidated with the application process. You have to put a drop of water on the cake and mix it to form a paste. You can make it as thin or thick as you prefer and apply like a normal mascara. I was able to master the mixing process after two attempts. I prefer mine a little on the thin side. I found it clumps less and I can add multiple layers to my lashes.

The eyeliner was a little more difficult but really it was the learning curve with the brush I purchased from Besame. It’s not as angled as I would have hoped for but I have been able to make thin and thick lines with relative ease. If it happens to be too watery the product dries fast.

What I absolutely love about this product is the deep, dark, rich color it produces. My eyeliner and bitty eyelashes really pop. I have very wet eyes and usually, all of my eye make up is gone by the end of the day from the various times I dry my eyes. This mascara and eyeliner has a lot more staying power. I still had fully lined eyes at the end of my first day. It takes a little more coconut oil makeup remover to clean this off completely, but that effort is totally worth the day long staying power.

I think the absolute best part of all is you use such a small amount of product. I feel as long as I clean my brush after each use I will have this mascara cake for a long time which might offset some of the waste (or at least the guilt) I initially generated buying this product…

Overall I am extremely pleased with the product itself. I’m upset I created so much additional waste through the extra packaging. However, I have found uses for a few of the items. I repackaged an item from my online store in the box and used the tissue paper for padding. I also used my packaging slip to partially cover the barcode on the original Besame shipping label and then placed my new shipping label on top of it all. I didn’t know what to do with the ad cards and the newsletter so I recycled them. Some Besame products are offered in my local Sephora so if I plan to buy anything in the feature, I will check there first. You know so I can eliminate all the extra waste. 🙂

I’m enjoying this journey towards zero waste, mistakes and all. I’m learning so much about the products I use and my own impact on the earth. I just wish I had started sooner. Thank you for joining me! Until the next time, enjoy this party we call life.