Skip It: BITE BEAUTY Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in Palomino / Violet (+ much needed dupes!)

Bite Beauty is a Sephora-exclusive brand that markets natural, 'good enough to eat' lipsticks. They claim each of their Luminous Creme Lipsticks contains "super antioxidant resveratrol" and that "each lipstick contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine" (Source). This makes me raise my eyebrows a bit. The lipstick may contain the antioxidant, but applying a thin layer on your lips once a week will give you absolutely none of it. You will neither absorb enough through your skin, nor will you lick off enough lipstick to get any measurable benefit. Maybe if you sat down and chowed down on your $24 dollar snack, but not if you use it as intended.

Well anyway, I decided to pick up the $12 Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in the Vibrant shade, which includes two mini bullets in colors Palomino and Violet. Violet is self explanatory, but I have no clue why they chose to name the fuchsia 'Palomino'.

One of these is not what it's named.

Source
Now this is a palomino.

This tiny thing is tinier than anticipated. Obviously Bite made the box 4x bigger than the actual lipstick so you feel like you're getting tons of product.

The back of the box, if you like reading lengthy ingredients lists.

The two colors here look really vibrant and exclusive, but they're actually pretty plain. They're bright, but no special snowflake.

Nonetheless I slapped both ends to my lips and smeared them around in the usual fashion.

Palomino on the top lip, Violet on the bottom. I blotted Violet somewhat and they both looked disappointedly similar after that.

These Luminous Creme Lipsticks applied like butter. Like literal butter: they were, in fact, a little too creamy. When I tried to layer on more pigment for a really vibrant punch, they sort of slipped and slid around in an uncertain way. Not to mention the two have basically the same undertone. If you wear them as a stain, they'll look the same. But overall, they felt ok on my lips and stayed alright. The finish is satiny and shiny, far from matte.

I wear my lipstick all day without reapplication, that's why I don't like liquid products. This duo, though, faded significantly and within 4 hours, taking the shine with it. The stain still lingered, so that's a plus in my book, but it was no longer a vibrant shade, but a very typical snooze-worthy fuchsia.

The problems came in after 6 hours and at the end of the night. The Luminous Creme Duo dried my lips out so fucking much. I think the Revlon Super Luxurious mattes are drying, but in an acceptable way; I'm not particularly sensitive to dry lips. This duo, though, was out of control. It went on so buttery at the start, but deteriorated to a disgusting smear on my lips.

You can clearly see the straight line where my lip ends and lipstick begins.  My lips are so chapped.

I had to scrub this stuff from the fine lines and chapped spots after the photos; my lips were starting to flake because they were so dry at that point (10 hours). It felt and looked absolutely disgusting. I have over a hundred lipsticks, many drugstore, and nothing has fried my lips this much.

Here's how the colors look when first applied next to the worn version.

On the plus side, even when your lips are cracking, the duo goes on smooth for reapplication and doesn't emphasize fine lines.

Overall, I'm really disappointed that this cute little duo is like a disgusting little bullet of deception. I won't return it, it's cute to keep for later reference, but I definitely won't be wearing it. Thankfully, the colors are pretty easy to come by in the drugstore, with an actually decent formula and good lasting power.

First up is dupes for the Violet shade:

L-R: Bite's Violet ($12), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Brazen Berry (~$8), Covergirl Lip Perfection in Divine (~$7), L'Oreal  Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in Violet Chiffon (~$10), Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in Whimsical (~$10) 

L-R: Bite's Violet ($12), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Brazen Berry (~$8), Covergirl Lip Perfection in Divine (~$7), L'Oreal  Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in Violet Chiffon (~$10), Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in Whimsical (~$10) 

Same order as above, but with flash.

Maybelline's Brazen Berry leans cooler than Violet, while Covergirl's Divine is a spot-on dupe in person. I've worn it on many occasions and it still looks fresh and purple after my 10 hours, so I would definitely pick it instead of Bite's.


And now here's the dupes for Palomino:

L-R: Bite's Palomino ($12), Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in Eternal Rose (~$9), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Vivid Rose and Fifth Ave. Fuchsia (~8)

L-R: Bite's Palomino ($12), Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in Eternal Rose (~$9), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Vivid Rose and Fifth Ave. Fuchsia (~8)

Same order as above, but with flash.

Maybelline's Eternal Rose is the only one that leans on the red side. The other three are basically the same on the lips. I would say Maybelline's lipsticks go on a tad more sheer than Bite's--but you can easily build up color, while Bite Beauty's duo just sort of slides around.


So in the end, I don't recommend this little impulse buy. You can easily get two full lipsticks for the same price, but with a formula that lasts great for my 12hr wear. The dupes get a Veronica thumbs up, while Bite's Duo gets thumbs down with an added fart sound effect.

You can price Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in two ways: as 1 lipstick, or as two small ones. If you combine the sizes, Lipstick Duo retails for $12 for 0.1oz ($120 per ounce), but if you buy it for only one color, it retails for $12 for 0.05oz ($240 per ounce).

The regular sized Luminous Creme Lipstick retails for $24 for 0.13oz ($184 per ounce). So it's up to you to decide whether this is a good deal or not.