Have you heard of Bite Beauty? If not, it’s time to sit up and pay attention. This extensive lip line is bringing inoffensive makeup formulations from the fray into the mainstream.
Exclusive to Sephora, Bite Beauty’s colors and textures are 100% on-trend. And the lipsticks perform. They don’t dry out lips, while providing deeply saturated color.
Brilliant.
The Lip Kit
This mini-lipstick collection, called The Lip Kit ($38), is a perfect sampling of eight Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipsticks. The colors include: Palomino (bright magenta), Rose (classic pink), Pomegranate (cherry red), Musk (brownish pink), Pepper (dusty rose), Apricot (warm red), Retsina (nude pink), and Mulberry (sultry wine, shown far left).
{Jacqueline’s note: Sephora has sold out of this popular lipstick kit! But the individual full-size lipsticks are still available. Read on for more reasons to still get on board with Bite Beauty!}
The Ingredient Breakdown
Active Ingredients: 2 mg trans-resveratrol from red wine polyphenol & polygonum cuspidatum
Ingredients: organic castor seed oil, organic beeswax, naturally sourced triisostearyl citrate, shea butter and jojoba seed oil, pomegranate, organic jojoba seed oil, acacia decurrens/jojoba/sunflower seed cera/polyglyceryl-3 esters, organic argan kernel oil, euphorbia cerifera wax, hydrogenated vegetable oil, organic sesame oil, carnauba wax, fragrance, siraitia grosvenorii (monk fruit) extract, polygonum cuspidatum extract, grape vine extract. May contain: mica (CI 77019), titanium dioxide (CI 77891), iron oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), carmine (CI 75470), FD&C Blue No. 1 (CI 42090), FD&C Yellow No. 5 (CI 19140), FD&C Yellow No. 6 (CI 15985), FD&C Red No. 40 (CI 16035), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), manganese violet (CI 77742), limonene, linalool.
Extremely Safe | Reasonably Safe | Proceed with Caution | Insufficient Data |
Trans-resveratrol is a fascinating anti-aging ingredient. Although trans-resveratrol is more commonly known for its presence in the stems, seeds, and skin of grapes, Bite Beauty has opted to additionally source this ingredient from polygonum cuspidatum. Also known as Japanese knotweed, polygonum cuspidatum is an invasive shrubby plant with small white flowers. The benefits of trans-resveratrol aren’t limited to makeup; it’s also found in nutritional supplements with powerful antioxidant action act to promote cardiovascular health, balance UV sensitivities in the skin, and support the immune system.
Having spent a good deal of time squinting over lipstick ingredient lists, I gotta say, this list has made a very good impression. Each individual ingredient is obviously carefully selected on the basis of efficacy and established safety, while cutting few corners. So often I read makeup ingredient labels that seem to have been created without a moment’s thought to quality or safety, even when viable alternatives are readily available.
Bite Beauty has raised the bar for nontoxic makeup with mass appeal. Not bad, especially for a brand that doesn’t scream GRANOLA.
The only true unknown is the fragrance, which is labeled on the box as “aroma (natural flavor)“. For all of us who are vigilant about scanning ingredient lists for potentially problematic elements, this disappointing lack of disclosure could be easy to overlook. Cosmetic manufacturers are allowed to hide certain ingredients under the umbrella of fragrance. This will often include ingredients which are allergens or hormone disruptors.
My hope is that all makeup companies, especially the natural ones, will someday disclose all ingredients in their formulations. Especially the ingredients that fall under the “fragrance” category.
Other than the aroma/fragrance issue, Bite Beauty uses quality ingredients such as organic castor seed oil and organic beeswax that manage to come together in an elegant, top-quality product.
Find Bite Beauty Lipsticks
Because Bite Beauty no longer offers the limited-edition Lip Kit collection pictured above, I’ve found some other Bite Beauty Products to get excited about.
- Bite Beauty | Amuse Bouche Lipstick, $26. In a whopping 42 lush shades (Rhubarb is my favorite!). Free of parabens, phthalates and petroleum byproducts. Find them here.
- Bite Beauty | Matte Cream Lip Crayon, $24. With twelve bold shades and a hydrating formula. Water-resistant and long-wearing. Check them out here.
Fragrance-Free Natural Lipsticks
For exceptional natural lipsticks that do not hide any of their ingredients behind the veil of “fragrance” and instead offer full ingredient disclosure, be sure to check out:
- Antonym | Lipstick Pencil, $17. Vibrant, rich color for a polished look. Available in 3 better-than-bare shades. Read a review or purchase them here.
- Ilia | Lipstick, $26. The ultimate in modern natural lip color in shades ranging from nude to electric grape. Read a review or buy them here.
- W3LL People | Nudist Colorbalm Stick, $20. Color, shine and hydration. Available in 6 shades. Purchase them here.