Bite Beauty

Romantic Rose Tones With Brilliant Bronzed Browns

February 3rd, 2021 by Karen 8 Comments

mac chatterbox lmac chatterbox laura mercier roseaura mercier rose — I like this palette of luscious golden browns and dainty, rosy pinks. ?

OK, so, I wore this look yesterday, and doggone it — I felt good about my makeup. The pink blush and lipstick spoke to my soul… You can’t go wrong with springy, romantic rosy pinks. Methinks they’re downright therapeutic. Wearing pink in winter reminds me that we will see the sun again.

mac chatterbox laura mercier rose — Just a little makeup!

I’ve been doing the bare minimum in terms of base for months, but I put a little more polish into this look, and I really like how it turned out.

For starters, I mixed a dab of pearly lotion into a matte, medium-coverage foundation, then applied a thin layer with a skunk brush all over my face. Then, for slightly more coverage, I loaded a tiny, pointy-tipped concealer brush with the most minimal amount of concealer and strategically dabbed it where I have a little extra pigmentation (spots on my cheeks and around my mouth). And those couple extra things took my base makeup to the next level! Dare I say it? — an elegant level. 🙂

mac chatterbox k down havana — Swatches of the key products on NC42 skin

I felt like myself again for the first time in a while.

Yeah…I was wearing lipstick around the house again, LOL! MAC Chatterbox is an awfully pretty, playful reddish pink, and it can be quite bold if you apply a layer straight from the tube. I was in the mood for something more mellow, so I blotted it down, then used my finger to push in whatever lipstick remained to create a beautiful rosy pink stain… I think it’s springy and cheerful, and I love it. MAC Chatterbox, man! Don’t sleep on it.

Speaking of MAC, Powersurge eyeliner with Havana eyeshadow = magic. Layer Havana on top of Powersurge the next time you’re wearing warm browns or bronzes on your lids, and don’t forget to send me a thank you note when you’re done. ?

mac chatterbox laura mercier rose 1 — MAC Havana eyeshadow + Powersurge liner = magic!

Makeup in this look

Base: It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare in Tan 41, Kevyn Aucoin Concealer in Medium 06, MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite

Eyes:Urban Decay Brow Blade in Dark Drapes, MAC Saddle and Havana eyeshadows, MAC Powersurge pencil liner, Bite Beauty Upswing Mascara, MAC Clear Brow Gel

Cheeks and lips: Laura Mercier Soleil 1 Bronzer, Laura Mercier Rose Blush, MAC Chatterbox lipstick

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bite Beauty Upswing Full-Volume Mascara, and a Merry Christmas Eve!

December 24th, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

bite beauty upswing mascara — Volume, length AND lift

“Like sands through the hourglass…so are the days of our lives.”

You know you watched HELLA soap operas when you see the brush on the new Bite Beauty Upswing Full-Volume Mascara and mumble the Days of Our Lives intro, hahaha!

This sh*t is crazy!

What’s with the curvy brush?

Bite designed it that way so the center of the brush head holds as much product as possible, which is then supposed to maximize how much mascara makes it onto the center of your lash line.

Concentrating the product right there in the middle is supposed to lift and thicken your lashes where you want it most — which is music to my ears (eyes?), because I’m all about mascaras that lift, lengthen, hold the curl, and embiggen in a bad-@ss way.

I want — no, I need — mascara to work minor miracles, and the ones I keep in heavy rotation all do it to varying degrees. Currently, I think the best overall mascaras for drama are Laura Mercier Caviar and Chanel Dimensions de Chanel, but neither of those are cruelty-free and vegan, unlike Bite Beauty Upswing.

“Upswing Mascara is powered by clean, vegan, gluten-free and cruelty-free ingredients, including tree berry wax instead of beeswax. Tree berry wax, derived from berry fruit peels, grips lashes for volume and gives them an instant and buildable boost that’s both lightweight and smudge-resistant.”

-Official PR

The bottom line

If you’re looking for big, beautiful, dramatic lashes that can be seen from a mile away, AND you want a cruelty-free and vegan option, Upswing is legit. It doesn’t smear or flake, it layers well, and it’s easy to remove; however, one thing to keep in mind is that you may need to use a few layers. I’m a girl who likes A LOT OF LASH ACTION on my eyes, and I use about three, which is actually pretty normal for me.

Where to find Upswing

Upswing just launched on the Bite Beauty website and will also be available at Sephora stores and online starting December 29. It’s $28 for a 0.40-oz. tube, so price-wise, it’s in the same ballpark as Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara, Too Faced Better Than Sex better and YSL Faux Cils. It comes in a single shade: black.

Some quick comparisons before I float away on a pink, sparkly inner tube…

Too Faced Better Than Sex — Upswing and Better Than Sex are in the same category, IMO. Both are cruelty-free and vegan, and both are made for bold lashes. Upswing is waaaaaaay better overall, though. It gives you more volume, more curl, more length, and it isn’t nearly as smudgy or flaky. Frankly, if you’re debating between the two, go with Upswing.
Laura Mercier Caviar — Upswing offers similar curl hold, length and lift, but Laura’s Caviar is more volumizing and doesn’t require as many layers. That said, it isn’t cruelty-free or vegan either.
YSL Faux Cils — Upswing isn’t as dramatic in terms of volume/thickness, but it offers similar length and curl hold. Again though, it isn’t cruelty-free or vegan.
Chanel Dimensions de Chanel — Better than Upswing when it comes to overall volume, length, curl hold and lift, but it’s also slightly more expensive at $32. That, and it, too, isn’t cruelty-free or vegan.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. One more sleep until Christmas! ?? Coywolf, El Hub, Pretty Girl Rosie and I are just hanging out at home. We made some homemade lemonade, finished making a batch of brownies, some cheddar biscuits, and now we’re listening to Christmas music and rocking out. How ’bout you? I hope you’re having a nice night.

A Must for Coral Lip Lovers Is Now on Sale for 50% Off: Bite Beauty Lip Pencil in 070

July 17th, 2019 by Karen 6 Comments

This coral lip makes me almost as happy as when Connor says “YAAAAAAAAAS, QUEEN!”

I’m *not* wearing a lipstick, by the way. It’s Bite’s Lip Pencil, with the very numerical name of 070, and right now it’s on sale on the Sephora site for $9 (full price is $18, so it’s half off).

I love how intense it looks, and I like the finish, which is halfway between a matte and a satin. Oh! — and the creamy, featherweight formula coasts across lips like a lipstick.

I hope the deeply discounted price doesn’t mean it’s going away (crosses fingers and toes), but if that’s the case, at least you can grab it while it’s still around for a good price.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. How was your day?

14 Days of Ravishing Red! — Day 13 (Actually Day 14): Reddish Fuchsia Lips With Bite Beauty Kimchi and Cayenne Lipsticks

February 14th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

I realized JUST RIGHT NOW that I accidentally repeated “Day 7” of this series twice, which is what I get for staying up late to watch Altered Carbon on Netflix. Note to self: go to bed earlier, K-Dawg! Lack of sleep depletes your math skillz.

Sci-fi fans, check out Altered Carbon

Yeah, so this is technically the 14th edition of 14 Days of Ravishing Red, not the 13th. Whoops!

With it being V-Day and all, I wanted to wear a red lip today, but not just a lip with a hint of red, or a tint of red, or a sheer gloss of red. But a RED red.

But I was also in the mood for fuchsia. I looked around and couldn’t find exactly what I wanted, so I mixed a fuchsia lipstick with a neutral red (Bite Beauty Kimchi Lipstick and Cayenne Lipstick, which are $18 each) to get exactly what I wanted.

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14 Days of Ravishing Red! — Day 12: Satiny Bluish Red Lips With Bite Beauty 078 and Caudalie Innocence

February 13th, 2018 by Karen 7 Comments

Are you ready for 14 Days of Ravishing Red? Stay tuned as we explore ravishing red ? lipsticks, lip liners and glosses every day on our way to ? Valentine’s.

Namaste… You wanna do some red lip yoga? — because there are sooo many ways to work a red lip using just a tinted lip balm and red lip liner. They’re two of the most flexible things you can have in your makeup bag.

Like, last weekend I did a causal red lip stain with a Caudalie lip balm/Bite Beauty lip liner combo, and today I used two more Bite and Caudalie products in different shades — $18 Bite Beauty Lip Liner in 078 and $18 Caudalie French Kiss Lip Balm in Innocence — for a more formal Tuesday satiny bluish red lip (got gussied up for a trip to CVS).

Same as with the lip stain, I did the liner first, then followed with a layer of the balm on top, but instead of diffusing the liner to soften it, this time I lined my lips first with bluish red 078 Lip Liner before completely filling them in with the same pencil for a full-on opaque matte lip. Then, I lightly dabbed pink Caudalie Innocence balm in the center of my lips to take the edge off the matte and add some shine.

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14 Days of Ravishing Red! — Day 10: Stained Brick Red Raspberry Lips With Bite Beauty 082 and Caudalie French Kiss in Addiction

February 11th, 2018 by Karen 8 Comments

Are you ready for 14 Days of Ravishing Red? Stay tuned as we explore ravishing red ? lipsticks, lip liners and glosses every day on our way to ? Valentine’s.

Hope you had a fab Sunday Funday, girl (and guys). I had to run a bunch of “mom errands” today, like I had to get diapers for the Coywolf, picked up a 28-pound bag of kitty litter for His Highness, Sir Tabs, returned a throw pillow I got from HomeGoods that was way too white, which begs the question — why did I even buy a white pillow in the first place? I live with little animals.

But I digress…

Anyway, life errands, so I didn’t go too crazy today in the red lip department. I wore a brick red stain, but instead of applying and blotting, I lined my lips first with a creamy brick red liner, Bite Beauty Lip Pencil in 082 ($18), blended out the line with my finger to spread the color all over my lips, and topped it off with a layer of raspberry red Caudalie French Kiss Lip Balm in Addiction ($18).

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Bite Beauty Multistick in Honeywheat

December 13th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

bite beauty honeywheat — Bite Beauty Multistick in Honeywheat, the unsung hero of all your warm brown palettes. ALL OF THEM!

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

I’ve had *three* conversations over the last few days about warm brown eyeshadow palettes.

Have you noticed when you walk into a Sephora, an Ulta or a drugstore that those six-pan palettes with orange browns and reddish browns are everywhere? It’s like, Oh, there’s Urban Decay Naked Heat, and there’s NARS Wanted, and there’s Anastasia Modern Renaissance.

They’re all over the place!

I’m a fan. I think they’re fun. My heart’s all, “Blow out those warm orange-y and red smoky eyes until your wrist falls off, K!” but my mind’s like, “Realistically, you have 15 minutes to do your makeup today, so look for shortcuts.”

Shortcuts: I’m all about them.

I’ve been starting my smoky looks lately by layering two cream shadows together, one lighter and one darker, to jump start the smoky gradient effect.

I might not always have the time to layer and blend with the care that smoky eyes usually need (but who does, really?), but this trick at least gets me halfway there.

This warm matte chocolate brown is Bite Beauty Multistick in Honeywheat ($24), and it’s the lighter shade I’ve been using in most of my smoky eye looks lately. I think it’s the best base shade for those orange-y and reddish brown palettes (or pretty much any nude/neutral palette in your stash).

It’s a multipurpose cream stick for lids, lips and cheeks with a pliable consistency that you can easily push around with your brush. It’s not oily or greasy, though, so it actually stays where it belongs once it sets, which takes about five minutes.

Other creams blend into it easily, too, and powder shadows glide across it without sticking to any spots.

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These Bite Beauty Lip Pencils Have Bite!

April 11th, 2017 by Karen 23 Comments

bite beauty the lip pencil 1 — MWAH! Kisses!

Dang, these Bite Beauty Lip Pencils ($18 each) have serious swag! Shoot, I haven’t been a lip pencil person since on/around ’97, back when I rocked dark purple liner on the daily (unblended, of course), but I guess I’m finally over that trauma, because these pencils? They’re doing things to me! 🙂

Where do I start?? They feel light and glorious, glide across my lips and don’t tug at all. Plus, they last all day long and, unlike so many other lip pencils out there, they don’t dry out my lips. I’d almost call them borderline hydrating.

They just might be the most comfortable lip pencils I’ve ever worn.

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Bite Beauty

Makeup in this look

What’s with the curvy brush?

The bottom line

Where to find Upswing

Sci-fi fans, check out Altered Carbon