I have an attachment to a brand that I haven’t yet written about: Bite Beauty.
Bite Beauty can only be found at Sephora or on Amazon.com through re-sellers. Regardless of that limited availability I will still track it down and buy it!
When this brand debuted a few years ago, I happened to be dealing with some very reactive skin. The issues came and went out of nowhere, but at the time it seemed like the end of the world. I was allergic to just about everything I wanted to use on my lips. So I eliminated all ingredients that were questionable, and started from the bottom up. I resorted to shopping in the cosmetic section of Whole Foods, where I was able to find some lipstick and lipgloss that didn’t bother my skin. However, the makeup there did not excite me and Whole Foods just couldn’t offer the variety of colors and formulations I wanted. Ah, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a time for eliminating all vanity, engaging in self-reflection, and connecting with my inner buddha…. ♥Cumbaya♥…
Umm…You didn’t just believe me when I said that nonsense about eliminating vanity and ya-da, ya-da, ya-da, right? Because it was totally not like that. I was just as makeup hungry as ever and on top of that I was downright despondent that my makeup choices sucked.
Then I gazed upon a Bite Beauty display at Sephora. I thought the lipglosses were so pretty, so I decided to torture myself and look more closely at them. I decided, what the heck, I’ll read the ingredients label… Wait, what? No petroleum? no chemical sunscreen? It looked safe, but I was sure that one I’d picked up was just an anomaly. So I picked up another color and read the ingredients again. As I scanned the list I thought I was looking at something from Whole Foods. But no, this was at Sephora, a place I actually wanted to shop! I was incredulous! So then and there I bought my first Bite Beauty lipgloss and held onto it like my life depended upon it.
Only a few years later it’s gotten so much easier to find makeup made from ingredients you can find in your garden or kitchen and could theoretically eat, but I still really like Bite Beauty. That brings me to the topic of today’s post, my two loves: Bite Beauty Opal Crème Lipstick and Opal Crème Lipgloss. I could swear that these two products were introduced as limited edition in the summer of 2015, but now they appear to be permanent in the line-up. And thank goodness for that.
Let me start by talking about the lipgloss, because that’s the first of the two I tried. As it’s name suggests, it is an opalescent gloss. It is not glittery or sparkly. And obviously it’s glossy, which is what you want. The great thing is that it’s just sticky enough for my taste. It stays put but doesn’t attract and catch dust bunnies. Plus it’s moisturizing. I have used this gloss as lip balm in times of need. In fact I wore this gloss daily for several weeks and still loved it at the end of that time. I typically get irritated after using one gloss for too long, so I’ll switch it up a lot.
Then the lipstick: it too is moisturizing. It is not meant to be a lipgloss, so it’s solid and twists up as a lipstick. It provides the same opalescence as it’s sister, but appears matte/ dry instead of glossy/ wet (if you don’t get what I mean, look at the side by side swatches on my hand and you’ll catch on).
Now here is what gets me really excited: there are so many uses for these opalescent siblings. You can wear either one alone on bare lips, or layer on top of each other for extra body. You can wear a colored lipstick, lip tint, or gloss underneath of either one. You can wear either of them thickly or dab on thinly.
Or you can be more creative: one of my favorite things to do is to apply the gloss or lipstick only on the middle part of my lips to make them stand out (like a highlighter). Why don’t you try dabbing some on the bow of your lip, or right above your top lip, in the area called the philtrum? Are your lips unbalanced, like mine are? (My bottom lip is like twice as big as my upper one.) Using a light catching product (like either the gloss or lipstick) on the smaller lip will help it appear larger.
Question: what do you do when you’re about to meet a friend for lunch but unfortunately you look like crap when you do a final check in the car mirror? (This happens to me all the time.) Well, if I happen to have a Bite Beauty Opal gloss or lipstick with me, I quickly dab some on my cheek bones and blend up to my hairline. Or I apply a bit onto the lid near my inner eyes to make me look awake (above the tear duct area). With highlighters you need not worry about drawing a straight line or being perfect with a makeup brush! Just use your finger.
My point here is that even though Bite Beauty isn’t marketing these as face or eye products, you can absolutely use them that way!
What makes me so comfortable doing all of this? The ingredients! They’re copacetic, man. I am not afraid to put them on my face or near my eyes. Check them out:
Ingredients in Bite Beauty Crème lipstick- Opal¹:
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil**, Cera Alba (Beeswax)**, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil**, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter**, Triisostearyl Citrate*, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil**, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax*, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil*, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil**, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax**, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Cera (Wax)*, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil*, Flavor, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax*, Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax*, Polyglyceryin-3*, Trans-Resveratrol*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil**, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract**, Siraitia Grosvenorii (Monk Fruit) Extract*, Mica (Ci 77019)*, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)*.
Ingredients in Bite Beauty Crème lipgloss- Opal²:
Riisostearyl Citrate*, Lanolin*, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Dilinoleic Acid/Propanediol Copolymer*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)**, Polyamide-8*, Glyceryl Rosinate*, Mica*, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)*, Cera Alba (Beeswax)**, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax**, Hydrogenated Castor Oil*, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract (And) Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract (and) Simmondsia Chinesis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Flavor, Glyceryl Oleate*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil Unsaponifiables*, Ethylcellulose*, Linoleic Acid*, Tocopherol*, Trans-Resveratrol*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil**, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract**, Siraitia Grosvenorii (Monk Fruit) Extract*
¹Ingredient list copied from Sephora.com at this URL: http://www.sephora.com/opal-creme-lipstick-P398401?skuId=1718733
²Ingredient list copied from Sephora.com at this URL: http://www.sephora.com/opal-lip-gloss-P398403?skuId=1718741
Some of these ingredients sound very complicated because they’re in latin. But pay attention to what’s in parentheses, or look up the names for more information. All I will say is that I’m very satisfied with the contents.
Don’t you love these two gems from Bite Beauty? Even if you weren’t born in October (my birthday is the day before Halloween), you can totally enjoy opal!
If you decide to try these out will you send me some pictures of how you use them? I’d love to see!
Have a good one ya’ll!
-JGG