Let me tell you about lip balm: it's probably not that great for you.
I know! When I first heard it, I was like, "No, that's wrong. I need my Chapstick." But then I started to think about it: when I have access to Chapstick (or any similar stick-style lip products), I tend to use it a lot. Like, every hour, I feel like I need in. I listen to the podcast Natch Beaut and my girl Jackie J recently talked about she stopped using lip balm because she realized it was making her lips drier.
I was, honestly, a little shaken. But I've backed off using lip balms for the past few weeks, I've tried to drink more water, and guess what? I'm not putting my EOS lip balm on every few minutes.
The only routine I maintain is brushing my lips with my face brush every other night and then always applying a layer of either Smith's Minted Rose balm or Vaseline Lip Therapy. Or, if I have them, applying a dab of BITE Beauty Agave Lip Mask. Let's talk about those, since obviously it's the point of this review!
I received these BITE Beauty Agave Lip Masks in a Sephora order. Immediately, I wanted to try them. Look at those sample packages! They're lips! I received Regular, Champagne, and Rose colors. The idea is that you can wear them during the day or you can slather them on at night to prep your lips for lipstick the next day.
My first impression was they are thick. This isn't like a lip balm that you have to scrap out of a tin; they aren't solid. They aren't really a Chapstick texture either. It's like a very thick, goopy lip gloss. I was suspicious, but I persevered. The first night, I woke up to super moisturized lips: the softest lips I'd had, honestly, in months. (All that Chapstick, destroying my pout!)
They smell great too, which is definitely a bonus. I love my Vaseline Lip Therapy tins, but the smell of them sometimes it's a little too... Vaseline-y? These had a light scent, kind of sweet, but not overpowering. Mostly, I loved having super moisturized lips every morning. My favorite was the original because it was completely sheer (great for sleeping and not smearing pink lip balm all over your sheets); these aren't something I would wear during the day because they are so thick and goopy, but if you are okay with that, the Champagne color is really pretty.
If you want to buy these BITE Beauty Agave Lip Masks, they're available on Sephora here. Yes, it's $26 for a tube (I gasped a little too), but realistically, a tube will last you ages. You don't need a huge amount (I used probably less-than-half a pea sized drop every night) to cover your mouth.
