#020

Bite Beauty #020 The Lip Pencil ($18.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a medium brown with warm undertones and a natural finish. It had good pigmentation that covered the lips with smooth, even coverage, though it just shy of true full coverage. The consistency was soft, thin but not drying or clingy, and felt a touch tacky but did not lift or make the color appear uneven if my lips pressed together (quite the opposite--most effective for blending the color across the lips!). It wore well for five hours on its own and was non-drying. Bite Beauty recommends wearing this particular shade with Honeycomb or Meringue; I think it would work well with Honeycomb (warmer, brighter) -- see comparison swatches.

The Lip Pencil formula is supposed to have "perfect, allover, opaque lip coverage" with a lightweight feel. I think the formula worked exceptionally well for lining the edges of the lips and keeping color on longer and more within the lines (e.g. a lipstick feathers on its own wouldn't feather when layered over one of the lip pencils). Some shades worked well for filling in the lips for all over color, but some applied more unevenly or were less comfortable to fill in with. The consistency was soft, just barely creamy--almost more velvety than creamy--and oddly spreadable, as I found the best way to "even" out the coverage was to press my lips together, and while there was a touch of tackiness, the color almost always appeared more even after that than if I kept trying to maneuver and push the color around with the pencil itself. They do feel lightweight, and they lasted anywhere from five to six hours on their own. They weren't spectacularly long-wearing as a standalone lip product, but they extended the wear of lipsticks by two to four hours.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview, which is a detailed review of the range as a whole.

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