Sometimes, I feel like Maria in the Sound of Music – Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good!
Well, relatively speaking, since I was pretty much that goody-two-shoes kid you wanted to smack anyway LOL! But I’d read a lot about Bite Beauty lipsticks from my North American friends a few years back, and I really really wanted to try them, because they are supposed to be really amazing silicone-free lip products.
We don’t get them here in Malaysia just yet, so I resigned myself to not being able to try them for a while longer. But one mysterious day, a large package dropped in my lap. There was no sender information, and it was flown all the way from the USA. That’s all the information I could glean from the package.
Inside, were these.
I let out a little squeal of delight! Unfortunately, I had no one I could thank, as there was absolutely no information at all outside or inside the box. I think it came from Bite Beauty or possibly Sephora in the USA, although I have no idea how they obtained my mailing information, since that’s not something I toss about willy-milly! So, if the sender is reading this, thank you so much! 🙂
Once my excitement subsided, I realised that these were in fact, something new from Bite Beauty – Multistick. Bite Beauty had sent me a selection of their new Multistick, which is a product you can use on eyes, lips and cheeks. Intriguing!
Truth to tell, I wasn’t all that excited once I found out it was a multi-use item. From experience, a product that can be used for different purposes tends to excel in one and fail miserably in the other. Take 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. How many of us have used this and had our hair dry up like straw? *hands up*
Things got a little more worrisome for me once I opened up the tubes to see the shades.
My eye was immediately drawn to that deep brown in the front and centre and my thought was “Oh boy, I knew brown lipstick was coming back in vogue, but that’s some serious chocolate brown!” Still, I was game to give it a go.
The philosophy behind these lipsticks were simple. The creator, Susanne Langmuir, realised that women had been using lipsticks on their eyes and cheeks for a while, and she wanted to create a product that would sit comfortably on eyes, lips and cheeks.
I don’t know about you, but while I know that it’s possible to use a lipstick as a quick fix cream blush, I’d never really found a need for it. It might be to do with the fact that I’m a blush fiend and therefore make sure I have one on hand when I need it. I have also never taken a lipstick anywhere near my eyes – have you?! 😛
Still, I wanted to test out how the Bite Beauty Multistick felt on eyes, lips and cheeks so I could test their claims. Before that, let me show you the swatches and tell you about the texture.
The Bite Beauty Multistick swatches very smooth and very creamy without tugging the skin. The texture is so creamy that mine have a bit of oil sheen on the bullet, which I attribute to my warm weather here. It is also very pigmented. A little pressure on skin yields an intense colour like this.
They are supposed to be a cream to powder formula, which I can imagine would make it more comfortable to wear on eyes and cheeks. However, I personally found that the formula was pretty much a cream to cream. It is also fairly matte but comfortable.
The shades however, don’t quite look like what they do in the tube. I found that each colour swatched much deeper and more pigmented than what I expected. That’s a good thing if you like pigmented colours. Not so much a good thing, when a neutral shade blots out your lips and makes you look dead 😛
Bite Beauty Multistick on lips
On lips, the Bite Beauty Multistick wears like a creamy lipstick. It isn’t matte, but there isn’t a lot of shine to it. It applies very smoothly although the flat top and surface does mean you have to be a little more careful around the edges of your lips, especially when working with a deep colour.
I did not find them drying, which was a boon, but I did find that it had that slightly waxy scent that I wasn’t crazy about.
As for colours, I’m perhaps not as adventurous than most, so I do tend to stick to safe lip-friendly shades, that rules out very light pinks, nudes and deep browns. Naturally therefore, it was a challenge trying to wear Cocoa on my lips to go with my complexion. I just couldn’t pull it off! 😛
See what I mean? I look like I was hiding in a corner stuffing my face with chocolate (which I don’t because I don’t really eat chocolate) and forgot to wipe my mouth LOL! 😀 The safest shades for me were therefore Macaroon and Cerise, and maybe even Cashew, which I was surprised by.
You may however, appreciate how opaque and pigmented the texture is, so it actually blots out the real colour of my lips, and allows you to see the different colours of the lipstick.
As a lipstick, I like the non-drying creamy-matte texture very much indeed and I can understand why Bite Beauty made such waves in the lipstick scene when they launched!
Bite Beauty Multistick for Eyes
On the eyes, I found these colours too challenging for me. But this is what I used Cocoa for. It felt a little strange swiping a lipstick on the eyes, but I did it for the sake of experimentation. I used it as I do a cream eyeshadow, using this little trick I showed you before.
I personally did not find these drying down to a powder finish at all. While easy to blend them, they never really set and while they didn’t feel uncomfortable, it would crease easily. I’d just pick a regular eyeshadow if I’m to be honest. These didn’t cut it for me.
On eyes: Cocoa, Cashew, Blondie
On lips: Cerise
On cheeks: Macaroon
Bite Beauty Multistick for Cheeks
As a blush or even as a contour shade, it was easier to get my head around them. Just stripe it on your cheeks, and use your fingers to blend. Because it is pretty pigmented, 1 stripe is about right, and then really work it in, because you risk looking too flushed otherwise. If you prefer something lighter, use your fingers to pick up the product from the tube and then pat it on skin.
For cheeks, I found that it was quite pretty, using a pink shade like Macaroon. I could have tried contouring using a more neutral shade like Blondie or Cashew. Cocoa would have been far too deep for my skintone. However, if you have a deep skintone then it would work for that purpose.
Bite Beauty Multistick – conclusion
All in all however, I felt that these Bite Beauty Multistick thingies were, as I feared, best used for maybe just 1 purpose – either as a cream blush or as a lipstick, depending on your preference. However, I have come across people who like it on their eyes, because it works for them. So I really think your mileage will vary with these.
The only problem for us Malaysians, is that I don’t know where you can get these, unless you have family or friends in the USA who can help you get hold of them (or if you use shipping forwarders – a service I’ve never used) But they are one of the more interesting makeup products I’ve come across in recent times, so I’m very grateful at having had the opportunity to give these a go! 😀
IN A NUTSHELL
The Bite Beauty Multistick is a product that can be used on eyes, lips and cheeks. There are 18 shades available and they come in a lipstick format. The product and packaging is a little small, with a rubbery exterior like NARS products. The tube has a lovely heft, and the cover is magnetic and sticks quite strongly. I found that the product had a bit of a waxy scent associated with lipsticks. The texture is very creamy and opaque when swiped straight from the tube. I also found that the colour swatches a little darker on skin than what you see in the tube. I liked it as a lipstick because it was creamy yet slightly matte and not drying at all on my lips. As a blush, you do have to be use a light hand for the opacity and pigment means it’s easy to overdo. For eyes, I wasn’t too crazy about it, as I found that it didn’t set on my skin and the shades were a little too warm for my preferences. I can imagine that it would be a handy little product to have, in an emergency maybe, but I would otherwise just use these as lipstick.
PROS: Handy multiuse product, Creamy-matte lip colour is not drying, Pigmented and opaque formula, Solid and sleek packaging, Neutral selection of colours
CONS: Not easy to buy online internationally, Texture is very opaque and pigmented and can be hard to control for the eyes and cheeks, Formula does not set to powder on my eyes, Slight waxy scent
WHO WILL LIKE THESE: Anyone who likes multi-tasking makeup products, Anyone who likes opaque, pigmented, creamy lip colours
PRICE: US$24
WHERE TO BUY: Sephora US online
Have you used any Bite Beauty products before? Are you into multi-use makeup products?
I’ll likely be keeping these as just lipsticks, mostly because I’m not that adventurous LOL! I was quite pleasantly surprised that I rather liked Cashew, despite it looking so dull and neutral in the tube. On my skin it had a slight pink undertone to the neutral beige, that made it wearable. It might be one of my first true neutral/nude lipsticks! I’d love to try the regular Bite Beauty lipsticks, but I’ll probably wait till they become easier to obtain online.
Paris B
I’m skeptical of multi-use products too, although I do sometimes use lipstick on my cheeks – works pretty well.
I don’t need multi-use products though, since I have more than enough lipstick and blush, so I don’t really need to try these. I hear good things about the Bite Amuse Bouche lipsticks; hope you can try them at some point!
I know the theory about swiping lipstick on cheeks but it’s just something I’d never do haha! Weird right? I do want to try the Bite Amuse Bouche lipsticks but I”m going to have to find a store that will ship internationally first! Sigh…
Haha, I just dab excess onto my cheeks sometimes – mostly when I’m using one of those lipstick sample bubble packs – I apply to my lips first, then rub the rest on my cheeks. It’s like a cream blush, basically 🙂
Ah yeah, international shipping is a pain. Maybe they’ll send you some samples randomly 😀
Haha that would be awesome but I won’t hold my breath waiting 😛 Actually, that’s a clever way to use up those sample packs, and it’d be great for travel wouldn’t it? One less item to pack, then toss when you’re done 😀
Wise 🙂
That’s true – it is efficient for travel!
Ahhh Bite Beauty is a Canadian brand, if I’m not mistaken. Their Amuse Bouche lippies are superb, they are not exactly matte but definitely not glossy, and are very creamy. It’s a texture that is hard to explain…
Yep, Bite Beauty is Canadian and I’ve heard so much about the Amuse Bouche lipsticks! Pity it’s so hard to get hold of them with international online shipping 🙁
cashew looks amazing on you! it was the colour and photo i gravitated towards instantly. I also wonder if the hot weather and humidity may affect the cream to powder finish so it stays creamy (in any case I find most powder finishes on my eyes turn to cream due to oils anyway!!)
Thank you Shamim 🙂 I was pleasantly surprised myself! Teaches me I shouldn’t judge a lipstick by the bullet 😀 You could be right about the heat, except I also noticed that some N. American blogs also showed patchiness on the bullet. I do wonder if it’s just their product?
NARS multiples have the same idea, don’t they? I remember reading that François created them after a shot where the make up of the models was made using the same lipstick on eyes, lips and cheeks.
In my opinion the idea of using them in the eyes doesn’t convince me because of the creaminess these products need to be comfortable on lips, also the fact of using pink or red in the eyes without looking sick is terrifying.
I have have to accept that Blondie and Cashew would be perfect nudes for me.
You are right Efrain. Nars Multiples do have a similar idea, except they are shimmery (except the matte ones) and drier while these are creamy. I think there would be a few more brands that have a similar product too! The reddish shades do put me off using them on the eyes, simply because I don’t like pink/red shades near my eyes. But I suppose being able to use it on eyes, lips and cheeks does sound better than just being able to use it on lips and cheeks hehe..
I’m more intrigued by how good the flatlays look, than the products itself hahaha. I think cream blushes would look good worn underneath foundation than on top, just because I think it gives more of a natural flush. It depends on how you apply the foundation as well. I’ve been wearing my blush either before foundation, or before powder because I love how flushed I look after I buff and blend everything together.
LOL thank you for the compliment! 😉 I’m still bumbling around this flatlay business as you can tell 😀 You are right about how cream blushes work better under bases than over. Because of the texture of cream, I like wearing them under base too, because I can then set everything (I don’t like that creamy feeling on my skin), and as you say, there is a more subtle flush of colour.