Sunday, November 29, 2015

Another lipstick size comparison: Bite Beauty Mix and Mingle Duo ($14) vs. Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Creme ($24)

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Here's a supplement to my previous post on this topic. I bought myself one of the Bite Beauty Mix and Mingle mini lipstick duos a couple of weeks ago as a reward for completing some especially horrible job applications. Not without a lot of dithering, however--they just look so small! They're basically two "deluxe" sample-size lipsticks attached back to back, with a total weight of 0.1 oz. (Note: The Sephora listing is incorrect, because it says that they weigh 0.5 oz x 2. In fact, they are 0.05 oz/1.55 g x 2, as labeled. BIG FUCKING DIFFERENCE. A 0.5 oz. lipstick would be huge.)

According to Sephora, the duos are a $24 value for $14. Since they are Bite's Luminous Crème lipsticks, that's not completely accurate. A full size Luminous Crème does cost $24, but it weighs 0.15 oz., not. 0.1 oz. The Bite High Pigment Pencils, however, are 0.09 oz. and also cost $24, so I suppose they are calculating the cost as somewhere in between these two.

And that is what actually persuaded me to buy the tiny lipstick duo (in Scarlet/Mulberry). By weight, it's about the same size as a typical lipstick crayon, so it's not outrageously small. In fact, it's exactly the same weight as the hideously expensive Tarte crayon that I used as a comparison last time.

Bite Beauty Mix and Mingle Duo in Scarlet/Mulberry and Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Creme in Heartfelt

Since those Tarte crayons cost $24, that makes them $240 per oz. This Bite lipstick, then, is a more reasonable (ha!) $140 per oz. But are they really the same size?

Bite Beauty Mix and Mingle Duo in Scarlet/Mulberry and Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Creme in Heartfelt

I just don't see it. What do you think? Maybe there is something going on here with the components of the different lipsticks weighing different amounts. After all, we're measuring these by weight, not volume. Is it better for a lipstick to be heavier or lighter? That is something I just don't know at the moment. It would depend what ingredients weigh more, and if those are the things you want more of (pigment or moisturizing ingredients, etc.). Will a heavier lipstick last longer than lighter one--or vice versa?

The Tarte crayon is a bit sheerer than the Bite lipsticks, if that tells you anything. I am quite happy with the little Bite lipsticks, in any event. I'd been wanting to try this lipstick formula, and this was a relatively inexpensive way to do so. I'll write more about the formula (etc.) in a future post on dark/vampy lipsticks, but here are some quick swatches, in case you're interested! Scarlet on the left and Mulberry on the right.

Swatches of Bite Beauty Mix and Mingle Duo in Scarlet/Mulberry

If you have any insight on the weight/size problem, please share!

13 comments:

  1. It would be interesting to see how much product is in the bottom of the tube (the plastic part, where the twist-up mechanism is). I'm pretty sure they list the weight of the product itself independent of the packaging. If the part holding it in the tube is way deeper on one than the other, that could make it smaller visually but still weigh the same?

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    1. This would be my guess as well. The Bite tubes are a typical lipstick style where at least a quarter of the product is usually set within the tube when you get to the bottom, but the crayon types don't seem to have that often.

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    2. That's a good thought! It will take me forever to finish this Tarte thing, but I've heard that the Bite duos sometimes break off while in use, so maybe I will find out about them sooner than I want to.

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    3. The Bite also has 2x the product in the bottom since it's double ended. Maybe the Bite lipstick also needs to be seated deeper in the tube to prevent breakage, since it looks thinner (circumference-wise) than the Tarte.

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  2. No insight on the size/weight but damn do I love that Bite duo. It's so festive and dark and wonderful.

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    1. It's way more flattering than I was expecting!

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  3. You know, it takes me so long to finish a lip colour whether it's full sized or mini that I completely overlook size/weight. Good question about the weight though and nice catch on BITE's "typo." Maybe this is a question for cosmetic chemists like Beauty Brains and such.

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    1. I usually don't pay attention either, which was actually why I found it interesting to do this. With the Bite duo, most of the reviews mentioned how tiny it was, so it was hard to avoid thinking about it.

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  4. This wouldn't be the first time Sephora made that kind of mistake. Last year they had a set of 4 mini Too Faced bronzers listed as 4x0.32 oz, when they actually were 0.08 oz each

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    1. Weird! This one could just be a sort of typo, but .32 and .08 are totally different numbers!

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  5. Maybe more of the Bite product is hiding behind the packaging at the base. Since it's double ended, it would also have twice as much hiding as the Tarte.

    This idea is a bit out on a limb, but since the Bite lipsticks are thinner (circumference-wise) than the Tarte, they might have need to be seated lower in the container to be stable.

    Too bad you would have to destroy them to investigate!

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  6. .32/.08=4 they listed total weight as individual weight

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