Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick in Vouvray - Review, Swatches & General Love

I'm going to start this review off bluntly, and simply say that Bite Beauty makes some of the best lipsticks I've ever tried. The texture is what (mostly) does it for me - it's creamy but not slippery, it's moisturizing but not glossy, and it's completely lightweight and doesn't feel cakey in the least. And on top of everything, as if it wasn't enough, it wears off beautifully, with no awkward flakies (we've all been there). If I could only own Bite Beauty lipsticks, being a beauty junkie, I'd be content.

After having tried their Lip Library (reviewed here) and their Color & Shine to Go Minis (reviewed here) and loving both of them, I was ready for a full size lipstick commitment. Sadly though, my local Sephora (which is 1.5 hours away, but luckily where my family lives) did not carry Bite Beauty lipsticks. I've been known to buy lip products without swatching often in my life, but lately, as I begin to slow down, I like to swatch and take my time to decide whether I like a color or not. So, imagine my surprise when during my last visit at my local Sephora, a shiny new Bite Beauty display was looking at me. With brand new testers! I swatched, pondered, and decided on Vouvray, which Bite Beauty describes as a "ballet pink".

Vouvray is a cool lavender pink and not usually a color I would pick out for myself. However, I wanted something that would jazz up my collection a little. Too often I wear a pink lipstick and find it kind of unsatisfying, mostly because it doesn't add anything to my face. Vouvray's coolness gives my un-pigmented lips that little extra pink they need to look alive. I love it.

Swatched on my hand.

On my lips.

I cannot recommend Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme Lipsticks enough. They are amazing quality and are well worth their $28 price tag. I'd put my money on Bite Beauty before Dior lipstick any day, and I love Dior lipsticks!

Have you tried Bite Beauty lipsticks? What do you think of them?

Face of the day featuring Bite Beauty!

You beauty addicts must relate to this. You know when you have a beautiful makeup product that you love, but you just can't seem to fit it into your beauty routine because... well, who knows why, it just doesn't make it. This is kind of how I've been feeling about my Bite Beauty Lipstick Library.

I absolutely love this palette. But being someone who almost never applies lipstick with a lip brush, it's kind of an extra step that I almost never have the time to take.

This past weekend however, I took the time to apply Carménére and thought I'd post my face of the day.

I used my Estée Lauder BB Cream all over the face after moisturizing with my Nuxe Crème Prodigieuse, then concealed any imperfections with the MAC Moisture Cover Concealer, and topped everything off with my Clinique Loose Powder. On my cheeks, I wanted to use something a bit more subtle with glowy, so I went with MAC's Warm Soul mineralize blush. My brows were lightly filled in with the Anastasia Brow Whiz in Brunette. For my eyes, I used my Make Up For Ever Eye Primer before using the same brand's Aqua Shadow* pencil in the coral/champagne shade 26E. I then used MAC's Satin Taupe in the crease, and Shroom in the inner corner of my eyes. To brighten up my eye, and keep things natural, I used MAC's Chromographic Pencil in NC15/NW20 in the water line. I used one of my favorite mascaras, the Make Up For Ever Smokey Lash* generously on upper and bottom lashes. And to finish, the pièce de résistance: Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme Lipstick in Carménére.

Carménére is described as being an "apple red" on Sephora's website, but I feel it pulls a bit rosy on my skintone. It's quite pretty! I like that it's not a shade I would usually wear. I tend to favor glossy lipsticks but Carménére's velvet/matte finish was gorgeous. It did not give that dreaded "matte lipstick" pull when applying, and wasn't drying to the lips at all. In fact, it felt quite creamy upon application, but settled quickly into a velvet finish. I definitely recommend you checking out their lipsticks - their formula is one of my favorite. I wear their Luminous Creme Lipstick in Pepper all the time!

* I have received this product for consideration but my opinions are always my own. I always strive to review products with honesty.

Best 5 reds lipsticks of the season!

I love a bright red lip over the holidays. There's something about black liner and red lips that just screams Christmas to me. And now that I only have one day left of work before an extended vacation, I can finally permit myself to feel a little more festive. Yay!

In the past few weeks, I've worn the most red lipstick I have than during the full year. I even wore red lips to Wal-Mart because, dude, if I'm not going to do it over the holidays, it's just not going to happen. And I need to use up every opportunity I can!

Here are some of my favorite picks that will definitely get some serious wear over the holidays.

Left to right: Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick in Tannin, Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet, Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge in #9, MAC's Red Russian, L'Extrait Rouge G de Guerlain in Colere

I've already raved about Bite Beauty's lipstick formula, but I'll mention it again: it is amazing. Tannin is a gorgeous deep red that suits any skin tone. Tannin is so comfortable to wear, especially when lips can't handle a matte lipstick. Revlon's Lip Butter in Red Velvet falls under the same category. The formula is so smooth that it's really forgiving to any dry lip problems I have this season. So happy I found it last month in my search for the perfect bordeaux lipstick.

When I tried Make Up For Ever's Aqua Rouge on my sister for a wedding makeup trial I gave it a try after myself and totally loved the lipstick. If you need your red lip to stay on, this is the way to go. I still have the swatch of this on my arm hours later, having used makeup remover. It. does. not. budge. Fair warning with this shade - it does dry a bit darker than it initially applies. Nevertheless, the color is a stunning deep burgundy red.

MAC's Russian Red is a new acquisition of mine. I ordered it from MAC a few weeks ago and forgot about it until I chose to wear it to my office's Christmas party! This lipstick is amazing - I can't believe I didn't own it before now! As you can see from the swatch, it has a matte finish, but it doesn't have that dry feel most matte MAC lipsticks have. It's rich and creamy. I really have zero complaints about this beauty!

And finally, Guerlain's l'Extrait Rouge G in Colere is the boldest of them all! The formula of this baby is stunning. It has the same feel as the Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge, but is much smoother and more lightweight. It is very long wearing as well, but I'd say Colere is more moisturizing than Make Up For Ever's #9. My lips do not feel dehydrated after application. I love wearing this for a night out with a gold eyeshadow and black liner.

That's it! Those are my favorite reds of the season! What are yours?

Bite Beauty Luminous Lip Library - Review & Swatches

After having tried their Bite Beauty Color and Shine to Go minis (reviewed here) I knew Bite Beauty was a brand that was to be on my radar. Bite Beauty is an all-natural lip care company that operates out of downtown Toronto. I had no idea they were a Canadian company! Their goal was to create lipstick that was good enough for women to eat - I can't say I would, but the fact that these lipsticks are edible make me think they can't be bad to put on your lips!

When I saw the Bite Beauty Luminous Lip Library available on Sephora's website, I knew I needed to give it a try. I was excited to try 9 Bite Beauty colors - who knows, maybe I'll find my perfect color?

This is what the palette arrived looking as, all packaged up.

 And inside that was this:

And this is what the actual palette looks like! It has a sleek cardboard casing. It feels quite sturdy.

And the inside looks like this! It comes with a small lip brush, which is actually quite good. It has rounded edges which makes lipstick application easy.

From left to right: Cava, Rosette, Pepper, Fig, Cin Cin, Poppy, Carménère, Rosé, Tannin

All, and I mean all of the lipsticks, are incredibly pigmented. They are smooth and creamy - really one of the best formulas I've come across. None of these contain shimmer, or glitter bit. They have a semi-glossy finish - they are still quite opaque and creamy so I wouldn't say they are glossy. They do not dry my lips out whatsoever.

My favorite of the bunch are Pepper, Rosé, Tannin and Cin Cin. Even if it looks a bit orange in my swatch, Cin Cin was quite flattering on, especially with some gold tones for eye makeup. 

I can't speak much of the Prep, Prime and Protect balms, but the Prep was quite pleasant to put on under a lipstick. Personally, I would have preferred to have more lipstick colors in the palettes rather than try on a lip primer and balm. I don't use lip primer, and I have way too many balms already!

If you don't mind applying your lipstick with a brush, I think this would be a great buy! I personally don't have the time to apply my lipstick with a brush in the morning, but I don't mind doing it for a night out. Plus, it's fun to explore different colors you might not think of buying in a full-sized tube!

Hope you all had a great weekend! I visited my grandparents (who live in the middle of nowhere) and it was a blast! My brother and I took some scenic pictures - perhaps I'll post them this week.

Thank you for reading!

Bite Beauty Color and Shine to Go minis!

Being an hour and a half away from a Sephora is sometimes difficult. When my coworker and I scheduled some work meetings in a Sephora town, I knew what I'd be doing during my lunch break. While browsing the ailes, I fell on this little Bite Beauty minis. I had passed on a Bite Beauty purchase this summer in Toronto and after hearing great reviews of Bite Beauty, regreted it. I though, eh, why not give this cute minis a try!

These are teeny tiny! You receive a gloss in Sante, and two Luminous Creme lipsticks in Fig and Pepper. All for $15!

 

Sure, the packaging is a bit hard to work with - you have to be careful not to smoosh the top of the lipstick when you put the cap back on. But I didn't even talk about the good part. These lipsticks are GOOD. Amazing even. Seriously.

From left to right: Sante Lipgloss, Fig lipstick, Pepper lipstick

The swatches don't show how smooth, pigmented and COMFORTABLE these are to wear. They are truly one of the nicest formula of lipsticks I own. They are not slippery in texture like Chanel Rouge Coco Shines, nor waxy like some MAC lipsticks. They resemble the texture of my Estee Lauder Crystal Rose, but these are less glossy, and well, better really. They are smooth, and coat the lips evenly without any tugging or heavy application. I hate when a lipstick is so glossy that you have to seriously coat your lips for an even application. That usually leads to seriously dry lips once it wears out. They are not in the least bit waxy, which is a personal lipstick pet peeve of mine as well. I realise I pretty much ignored the poor Sante lipgloss - it's fine, but a bit too thick for my taste. I'm not much of a gloss girl anyway.

If you're not quite sold, ready this review by Xiao from Messy Wands. How pigmented is THAT? Bite Beauty is going to be famous, I can tell. (I forgot to add that this review by Beautezine is also excellent!) At least I hope so. I'm definitely purchasing the full size of the Pepper lipsticks. I wore it this morning and I think I checked myself in the mirror a couple times on the way to work. Boy thought I was weird, and with reason.

Have you tried any Bite Beauty products?