Bésame Cosmetics

Brand direction and communications strategy for an LA cosmetics boutique that’s big in the movies but was struggling for sales on the street.

Brand Identity • Logo Design • Brand Strategy • Market Positioning

Everyone deserves that red lip feeling, no matter their age, lip shape or the day of the week.

  • Bésame Cosmetics are beloved in Hollywood for authentic vintage makeup made with modern ingredients. So how could that success on screen translate to sales on the street?

    A 20% drop in yearly sales exposed an over-reliance on repeat customers, Disney collabs alienating those vintage enthusiasts, and inconsistent branding confusing new buyers.

    Add the intimidation factor of bold vintage makeup, and the barriers were clear.

  • Lead with lipstick as an easy entry point for new buyers. Make a bold lip feel like a safe choice to lift an everyday look. Bring Bésame’s glamour off the screen and onto the street.

    We positioned the brand around true color, longevity and ease: richly pigmented, long-lasting formulas; compacts and cases made to endure and treasure; iconic looks from the past made effortless for today.

  • Bésame recouped the 20% sales deficit the following year, attracted more first-time buyers, and increased sales, engagement and clickthrough across email and social.

    “It was very easy to get all the team on the same page, really fast. People just got it.”

    “Finally something actionable”. “Easier all the way around”.

Glamour can feel like it belongs on the silver screen, but the truth is glam is just at home on the street. It’s a t-shirt and jeans elevated with a bold red lip.

Glamour is a feeling: the feeling you get when you let your true colors shine through.

Glamour doesn’t need an occasion. When you rock a red lip, you are the occasion.

T-shirt, jeans and a bold red lip? Classic.

Bésame celebrates icons of the past — from Marilyn Monroe to Debbie Harry — by bringing their looks to life with authentic heritage, so everyday icons — Bésame’s customers — feel able to celebrate themselves.

CONCEPTS

Visualisations include AI-generated imagery and third-party reference footage, for internal use.

A conceptual video made to communicate brand direction early in the process, to express the DNA of Bésame.

The design language of vintage gold with a red ribbon accent creates a standard brand asset that can support seasonal and bespoke collections, while maintaining brand clarity.

#redlipday

An update to the existing logo provided legibility without sacrificing elegance. The script was based on the founder’s own handwritten wordmark, and can be used for Signature editions and special moments. A fresh iconic logo and wordmark allowed distinctive brand assets to be used on products, packaging and web-based communications.

A distinctive lipstick case brings a clear standard to the product design, inspired by Bésame’s Marilyn collection.