 We've come to a sad state of affairs when the explicit claims of any beauty product are just blanked, like your ex on the stairs in a club. Who believes moisturising, anti-aging or (fill in blank) any more, and I mean ever? Bite Beauty called these things High Pigment Pencils and my first thought was :-/ As in uh huh. Yep. Whatever, Trevor. But after investing in Pomegranate I was forced to eat those skeptical preconceptions like they were choc chip ice-cream; cynicism is so often its own reward.  ABOVE Cranberry, Pomegranate, Rhubarb |  A year of Pomegranate has convinced me that these High Pigment Pencils are some sort of lipstick Jesus. They might not raise the dead, but they're 100% cruelty-free and composed of largely organic (as opposed to synthetic) ingredients, their pigments 'hand-milled in small batches' to allow maximum colouriousness (that needs to be a word) and by the look and feel of the product, I actually believe all that. Bite are a Canadian outfit dedicated to producing ethically-considerate lip stuff. I love being able to report that their shit rocks. Aside from the cruelty-free aspect, there are two very good operational reasons why you need them- texture and pigmentation. Both are fantastic. They share a smooth, cushiony lip feel that is emollient instead of greasy, really, actually moisturising and packed to the freaking gills with solid, saturated colour. I mean, check out the shot below. |
BELOW MAC Hot Tahiti, Rhubarb, MAC Diva, Cranberry, MAC Russian Red, Pomegranate.
The High Pigment formula contains a pleasant fruit scent, is frost-free (in these shades), beautifully buildable without patchiness and, despite their texture, barely bleeds on me, even in lieu of liner. If you're sucking on a hot drink (you thought I was going to say something else then, didn't you?) you might incur minor loss and feathering but they're not matte and that's to be expected. The shine level is sophisticated-medium and I average about three hours between touch ups. Their colour-delivery surpasses even the very best of MAC's Amplified formula. There is something just so incredibly clean and vivid about this HP stuff; it projects the colour like cut crystal, so I'm guessing it's down to the quality and clarity of the suspending oils. Rhubarb offers about 80% opacity while the other two clock in at about 90% due to the nature of the shades. I should also mention that they're twist-up; no wasteful sharpening required.
 ABOVE Rhubarb, Cranberry & Pomegranate; sheered out / maxed out | Pomegranate is a bright scarlet red- not as close to MAC Russian Red as it appears in some of these swatches; its shine yields an incredible depth and complexity of colour to the extent that it sings on your face like a choir of rather worldly angels. I use it alone to cheer myself up (literally- it's so beautiful that it's actually mood-altering) and to give more sluggish reds both oomph and lip-comfort. It's a mandatory red. Cranberry is a neutral-to-slightly-cool berry with a medium dose of Bourbon rose and a soupçon of fuchsia; it is clean, tooth-whitening and universally wearable, IMO. |
Cranberry's a great what the fuck am I going to wear with this dress that's such a weird colour stick, pulling reddish, purplish and pinkish depending on your ensemble.
Rhubarb is the quiet one of the three, a cool, dusty grey-stained tearose pink, chromatically a sister to MAC Mehr. It's both pretty and grown-up which is a bonus for everyone over 30, and a great blue-leaning nude for those of us with darker mouths. When I sheer it out it melts into my natural lip colour for a next-level MLBB effect.
These swatches are pretty accurate though the gloss and massive saturation made them hell on wheels to photograph. Never mind. The nice part of me hopes a few constant readers will discover this range as a result, but the bitch part is happier if you don't :)
Rhubarb is the quiet one of the three, a cool, dusty grey-stained tearose pink, chromatically a sister to MAC Mehr. It's both pretty and grown-up which is a bonus for everyone over 30, and a great blue-leaning nude for those of us with darker mouths. When I sheer it out it melts into my natural lip colour for a next-level MLBB effect.
These swatches are pretty accurate though the gloss and massive saturation made them hell on wheels to photograph. Never mind. The nice part of me hopes a few constant readers will discover this range as a result, but the bitch part is happier if you don't :)
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ABOVE Same as the first swatch, but warmer light. RIGHT Cranberry, Pomegranate, Rhubarb.
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