Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Champagne

I blame the darling Sabrina at The Beauty Look Book. I had absolutely no intention of purchasing Bite Beauty's Agave Lip Mask in Champagne ($26). Unfortunately, her feature intrigued me, leaving me no option but to order it. Her pictures were fabulous, as always, and it looked like something I would appreciate. I love masks of all types, but there are few good ones for the lips.

The color is not as exciting on me as it is on Sabrina. Once I apply it to my lips, I'm left with a clear champagne gloss that loses the peachy oomph that you can see in the unblended shade. I took my photos in full, lunchtime sun as I waited not-so-patiently for the sun and clouds to do their daily dance.

The photo directly above shows the Champagne color as it "dots" out of the tube, with the blended shade above. As you can see, that lovely color disappears into an almost-clear champagne shade when blended - or when you smack your lips. I wouldn't purchase this product for the color unless you are short on champagne glosses.

I did a finger swatch because your finger pads are closer to the pigment of your lips than your inner arm. This is how the Lip Mask looks on my lips. It does have a very sheer peachy hue if you look hard.

How does it feel on the lips? Thick, very thick. Is it protecting them? Said to instantly soothe and soften the lips, this "delicious" leave-on lip mask contains a bio-active blend of healing antioxidants, including organic agave nectar, jojoba, and 15 mg of the antioxidant resveratrol (good stuff). Used over time, I expect it would have a therapeutic effect on the lips. I won't be using it long enough to find out.

The problem I have with it is that I would never use it during the night - the time when I'm most amenable to wearing masks. It is so thick and goopy it would come off of my lips and leave sticky lip prints all over my silk pillowcase - way too messy for my tastes. I sleep on my side. If I were a back sleeper, I wouldn't have that problem.

Because it's thick, it clings to the lips during the day, offering a nearly sheer shine. I look better with a little color. Had it had some lasting color, I might be more impressed - and more likely to use it.

It has a disagreeable taste that dissipates pretty quickly, so it's basically a sheer, thick, lip gloss (packed with ingredients that are good for your lips). That's not enough to entice me.

Sabrina was thoroughly honest in her review. I chose to focus on the attractive features as I rushed off to order this product. Had I read more carefully, I would have passed. Given the price, I've lost only a great lunch.

There you have it. We offer two opinions with many similarities on the same product. Mine is more critical. I'll keep Bite Beauty's Agave Lip Mask in "storage," though. I might be more impressed in the winter when my lips feel chapped all the time.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

BITE Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick Trio

I'm always looking for perfect nude lipsticks (not chalky, not too light, not too orange). When I saw that BITE had a new Luminous Crème Lipstick Trio in Natural Nudes ($36), I was intrigued. I like BITE lip colors, and the shades looked pretty online.

Here is what hooked me...

A deluxe trio of Luminous Créme Lipsticks in universally flattering, moisture-rich nudes. This beautiful trio features sophisticated, neutral shades that can easily take you from the office to date night. Plus, with every application, delivery of super antioxidant resveratrol fights free radicals with potent long-term age-repair benefits. Each lipstick contains the resveratrol equivalent of five glasses of red wine.

Resveratrol? Moisture? Three new nudes to try? The set went right into my basket at Sephora online weeks ago. Now that I've had a chance to play with them, I'm pleased that they were a good buy.

The shades shown above are listed in CPR order: Cava, Pepper, and Restina. Their nicest feature after their intense hydration? The pink shades! When you think of nude, you normally think of flesh tones, right? These are pink tones - and I love that.

I took swatch photos in full sun, in the same CPR order, top to bottom on my arm. I wasn't expecting Crème lipsticks to be as sheer and they are, and the shine, while not nearly as intense as it looks in full sun, is attractive.

Cava is a blue pink - very light and the closest to nude on my lips. Makeup artists love these shades on me, although I like a little more color. Pepper is my favorite. The neutral rose is stunning. Restina is a pretty warm pink with just a touch of peach. As you can see, Pepper offers the most color.

These lipsticks are made with lip nurturing natural and food-grade ingredients that are healthy enough to eat. They do not contain synthetics, polybutene, or petroleum byproducts - a nice feature when you think about how much lipstick and lipgloss you ingest in a month.

I purchased my set at Sephora, which is the only place I shop where I've seen BITE Beauty. I think BITE is exclusive to Sephora.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

Two Sheer Lip Colors from BITE: SPF 15 Sheer Balm and Lip Shine

BITE Beauty is an alluring collection of lip products, available at Sephora. All of BITE's products feature the super-antioxidant, resveratrol, to protect your lips. Ranging from the lightest to the darkest shades, the long-lasting shades were designed by leading makeup artists. In addition to featuring resveratrol, BITE's formulas have all-star, natural ingredient lists that include organic shea butter, superfoods, and food-grade coloring, making them "good enough to eat."

I've been exploring my way through BITE's products, and I'm very happy with everything I tried. Today, I'm featuring two different products: SPF 15 Sheer Balm and BITE Lip Shine. I'm a sheer lip color worshiper, and I know that I don't sit alone in that pew.

SPF 15 Sheer Balm ($19) caught my eye immediately. The slim tube, transparent color, and SPF protection reminded me of one of my "old favorites," YSL's Gloss Volupté Sheer Sensual Gloss Stick. This soothing Sheer Balm formula features delicious organic mint and blood orange essential oils to refresh and cool the lips. With every application, a micro-delivery of super-antioxidant resveratrol provides age-repairing benefits. Each balm contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine. More has to be better, right?

There are eight shades available, ranging from Sparkling (pale peach nude) to Burgundy (berry rose). They had me at the berry description, so I ordered Burgundy. With transparent lip colors, I like to go darker so that I can see some color on my lips - it lights up my face.

BITE Lip Shine ($20) is a gloss, a translucent lip tint available in 10 illuminating colors. There's something for everyone, from the sheer nude Prosecco to Raspberry, a blue red. As with the balm, I was looking for a little color, so I selected Plum, described as sheer aubergine.

This high-tech gloss is infused with time-release jojoba beads and an antioxidant resveratrol complex that imparts soothing hydration and intense shine. Like the SPF 15 Sheer Balm, each Lip Shine contains a high concentration of resveratrol, but no nasty stuff, like synthetics, polybutene, and petroleum byproducts.

I took a few photos for you - all in full, afternoon sun, but all with my arm turned at slightly different angles to the sun. My photos were taken in front of a Kousa dogwood. Mine is in full, glorious bloom.

I applied SPF 15 Sheer Lip Balm in Burgundy at the top and Sheer Lip Shine in Plum at the bottom of my arm. I think both shades are gorgeous. They are different products, but have very similar levels of pigmentation - or sheerness. It's like describing a glass as half-full or half-empty. Since I selected pigmented shades in sheer lip colors, they have color - on my arm and on my lips. I love that.

On my lips, Burgundy isn't burgundy. Instead, it's the beautiful berry color you see on my arm. Plum Lip Shine is plum-rose or rosy grape, beautiful to my eyes.

The Balm has no discernible taste. The Lip Shine does. It's not one of those bubble-gum tastes, though - nor does it taste like red wine, which would be "interesting." The ingredient list of both says "natural flavor," but I have no idea what it is - and I can't taste it at all in the Balm. Figure that out!

There is retinyl palmitate (far down on the ingredient list) in the Lip Shine; it's not present in the Balm. For that reason, I would buy a second Balm before I buy a second Lip Shine. My regular readers know that's a personal preference. Unless you are also sensitive to retinyl palmitate, you shouldn't care; you might even like having the vitamin A derivative for its anti-aging benefits.

Enticed to try one? I think they deserve a look-see. There are many other BITE lip products to tempt you. I also purchased the Vitamin Gel Trio, which I'll tell you about very soon. All of BITE's beauties are exclusive to Sephora.

P.S. I've started spelling out my blog name in the photo credits because of content theft. BTiB was too vague to indicate to those reading my stolen features on other sites that it's my arm!

Product photos courtesy of Sephora; swatches by Best Things in Beauty

News You Need to Know: YSL and BITE

One's history, one's new: sheer lip colors...

YSL is discontinuing its Gloss Volupté Sheer Sensual Gloss Stick SPF 9 - very soon. I would guess that production stopped long ago, since its replacement is going to hit the counters in April. The replacement sounds divine, but...if you are as addicted as I am to the Gloss Stick, hoard now!

Yesterday, I asked my favorite Neiman Marcus sales associate to pull every color they had left except Tangy Orange. Today, I found that Sephora has only one shade left to sell. Why don't companies warn us? If you like these fabulous Gloss Sticks, it's time to search and buy. The replacement may be stunning - and probably is. The gals in the stores have been trained, and they think it's going to wow us. I just like what I like, and I hate to lose favorites.

Not long ago, I got a very nice sample from Sephora. BITE Lip Rouge ($22) is a multitasking lip color and blush, rich with buildable layers of color and a satin texture. This lip color delivers the super-antioxidant resveratrol, which fights free radicals with potent long-term anti-aging benefits. Each Lip Rouge contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine (so do we or don't we ingest our liptick?). For weeks, Sephora has had an offer of a free sample with the promotion code BITE.

The Geranium sample shade comes in a pot that's generous for a free sample and well worth your selection. The sample was still available last night. Now that I have a few of the samples (perfect for my purse for lip and cheek color on the go), I plan to order another shade. This is a nice tinted balm - worthy of a look-see.

Here's a swatch of Geranium, the shade Sephora sent. It's very pretty. On my lips, it's light pink. I applied the Lip Rouge with my finger and took my photo in outdoor sunlight. When I order one, I will select a shade that is slightly darker - maybe Raisin.

BITE is new to Sephora. In addition to featuring beauty's hottest antioxidant, resveratrol, the all-natural ingredient list of their many lip products includes organic shea butter, superfoods, and food-grade colors, making them good enough to eat. "It's beauty that's better for you."

While I am telling you about Sephora, the company just started a sample promotion. You can select five samples of skin-care products until April 5. No special code is needed. While the samples are the typical packet samples, it's a nice offer. You'll get five samples, and you can still get your BITE sample. You won't even have to look at smelly perfume samples.

I'm toying with making News You Need to Know a periodic feature - appearing when I have news bytes to share ("half-posts" to combine) - so please let me know what you think.

Photos courtesy of Sephora