What is Vanishing Cream?
The most intriguing item from the Bésame Skincare Essentials is our new Vanishing Cream. A classic skincare staple that’s almost forgotten, Vanishing Cream used to be on nearly every woman’s vanity. But what is Vanishing Cream? Find out all about the history of this elusive product and why Bésame decided to bring it back to life.
A Companion to Cold Cream
The first cream to go mainstream was Cold Cream. The oil based makeup remover did a great job of cleaning the skin, but left behind a greasy sheen. In 1897, the first vanishing cream was advertised (though it went by the name Snow).
In 1904, Pond’s created a Vanishing Cream as a kind of companion to its popular cold cream. Women loved that the cream quickly absorbed into the skin, leaving nothing but a slight pearlescent glow behind.
The First Primer
As commercial makeup became more popular in the 1920s, vanishing cream became the go-to base for makeup. Face powders of the time couldn’t adhere to dry skin, so people applied vanishing cream, then powder to act as a kind of foundation. The powder stuck to the cream perfectly and left a dry, non-oily finish.
Why Is It Called Vanishing Cream?
To separate it from it’s cold cream cousin, advertisers loved to talk about vanishing cream’s dry finish. The cream absorbs quickly and “vanishes” into the skin, hence the name.
Sometimes the name was taken a little too literally. In Popeye and Tom and Jerry cartoons, you see vanishing cream used to astonishing effect. Even though our modern formulation gives skin a lot of benefits, we can’t promise our Vanishing Cream will help you in any disappearing act!
Why Did Vanishing Cream Vanish?
From the 1900-1920s, Vanishing Cream and Cold Cream were the most popular forms of skincare on the market. After World War I, advances in manufacturing made creams easier to produce and companies came out with more specialized products with added skincare benefits.
Also, advancements in face powder, liquid, and cream foundations, left people with little need for vanishing cream as a primer. Vanishing Cream started to look old fashioned and began to fall out of favor in the 1930s.
Bésame Skincare Essentials: Vanishing Cream
Unlike Cold Cream, which continued to be sold throughout the decades, vanishing cream is now extremely hard to find. Gabriela loved the idea of a hydrating primer and sought to bring back the best qualities of classic vanishing cream with modern innovations.
Our Vanishing Cream contains a wealth of natural ingredients to soften, soothe, and hydrate, leaving your skin beautifully smooth under makeup. It dries completely, leaving no oily finish (just like classic vanish creams!) and is especially good for dry skin.
Have a hard time finding a light foundation that works for you? Just mix Vanishing Cream with a bit of liquid foundation to create a custom tinted moisturizer. All the benefits of a BB Cream but with a color you control completely.
This multi use product is sure to become a new fan favorite. With so much skincare out there, why not try something totally unique? A mix of old and new, classic and modern, simple yet glamorous. Vanishing Cream, a part of the Bésame Skincare Essentials line, is available now!
Back to Bésame Blog
When you say it evens out skin tone, what does that mean exactly? I have a lot of freckles and don’t want to encourage them to fade.
Will it be remotely possible for some 1920s style face powders (not translucent but more foundation-like) to be released? They would go well with the vanishing cream! I would totally buy.
When will foundation return ?
Do you know how vanishing cream interacts with mineral sunscreen? I want to try it, but can’t give up the SPF, as skin cancer runs in my family.
Leave a comment