You know them well: buzzt words like organic, green, vegan, all- natural, pure, toxic and cruelty-free. Such words are stamped on many current cosmetic products on the market, and some stand out among the rest and truly live up to every one of those promises—each in their own way.

BITE BEAUTY
Wear your makeup and eat it too. Headquartered in downtown Toronto, Canada, BITE Beauty boasts high-performance lip care, and their slogan says it all: “Edgy, Edible, Innovation for Lips.” Cosmetics that guarantee they are safe enough to ingest are hard to come by, which is what makes BITE lip wear so unique, and what gives them their proclaimed edge. Don’t give BITE any lip about this promise; you are not encouraged to actually eat the product. However, in case some happens to get past your pout, you are in the clear. Cue sigh of relief.

Natural lip care with super-bold and adventurous colors and a creamy texture will practically make lips pucker on their own. So, what are these products made of? All ingredients are hand-picked, hand-milled and made in small batches; pigments, organic waxes, and oils are nourishing (not drying). There’s a reason why they don’t just call it lip wear, but lip care.
In this case, feel free to judge this book by its cover; lipstick caps are designed by EOOS, an industrial firm based in Vienna, who also have designed for clients such as Armani Cosmetics
and Adidas Originals. Talk about innovative.

BITE Beauty shares their inspiration on their blog with clips of music (“Sound BITEs”), photos of models and celebrities, im- ages of flowers and other brightly hued objects as well as natural plant ingredients. BITE invites you to take a look at what drives them to create their product, even taking you inside their Lip Lab where all the magic happens and actual people hand-make each lipstick. The BITE Beauty blog briefly highlights several of the natural ingredients in their lipstick, including lanolin and argan oil, and details how each ingredient offers something special to the texture, pigment, or general quality of their lip wear. As a bonus, the BITE Beauty blog offers some fashion pairing ideas to go along with their vibrant lip colors.

Take a peek at the BITE Beauty blog: www.bitebeauty.com/blog

BLEEDING HEART COSMETICS
The name of their game is “Free.” Gluten-free, Paraben-free, Allergen-free, Fragrance-free, and Cruelty-free is the mantra for Bleeding Heart Cosmetics, because as they proclaim, “We were born to be free.” Bleeding Heart Cosmetics doesn’t sacri- fice beauty or the quality of their products. Based in Los Ange- les, they are raising awareness for non-toxic products and it is their time to shine. But these cosmetics don’t merely shine, they illuminate.

With product lines for eyes, lips, cheeks, face, and a men’s line as well, Bleeding Heart is entirely made with natural ingre- dients like jojoba seed oil, shea butter, olive extract, rosemary leaf extract, and magnolia bark. Offering rich color palettes from bold reds and rosy pinks in their lip and cheek lines, to shimmery blues and greens in their powder “Fairy Dust” wet/dry eye shadows, these cosmetics are far from shy.

Their product line for face is purely mineral-based. Get this: their “Totally Baked” mineral foundation is baked in Italy by Italian artisans with natural sunlight in Terra Cotta pots! You’ll get your glow straight from the source, no trip to Italy required (but perhaps still desired).

For total makeup purists, they have a Vitamin E-based “Smooth it Over” stick and “Pout Pumice,” a lip exfoliator stick. Sans color, these products still reap the benefits of all-natural
ingredients.

Bleeding Heart has a vision: all-natural, healthy beauty is what they live for. Check out the whole collection of Bleeding Heart Cosmetics at: www.bleedingheartcosmetics.com

W3LL PEOPLE
“Pure as a saint. Sexy as Sin.” In their makeup, organic Aloe Vera is king. All hail Aloe Vera. This powerhouse ingredient has therapeutic as well as moisturizing properties, and is infused in most of W3LL PEOPLE’s products.

Their all-natural collection features product lines for face, cheeks, eyes, lips, and organic, cruelty-free tools/brushes as well. All products are handmade in small batches in the USA.
Founded by an A-List beauty pro, a makeup mogul, and a board certified Dermatologist, W3LL PEOPLE is mixing it up in more ways than one. Their vision is three-fold: blending all natu- ral ingredients, advanced performance, and social responsibility. W3LL PEOPLE is driven by good intentions, inspired by quality products and performance, and fiercely dedicated to beauty.
As their slogan says, W3LL PEOPLE is “Beauty Conscious.”

Care to investigate? Feel free. They list every last one of their product’s ingredients on their website. Ingredients such as green tea, chamomile, sunflower oil, and vitamin-E make the grade.

Even the product names shed light on their company theme of saint/sin and emphasize its clear influence on the makeup collection. Products include: Altruist (Mineral Foundation), Narcissist (Stick Foundation), Hedonist (Bronzer), Universalist (Multi- Use Colorstick), and Elitist (Mineral Shadow), to name a few.

Some bonus tidbits: on their website, they have a founda- tion selector to help you find the perfect match to your skin tone. Plus, they give you access to their blog and look book for more beauty inspiration. Be W3LL on your way to finding out more: www.w3llpeople.com
Moral of this story: organic cosmetics are here to stay, and they are all up in your face.

Text by Megan Richcreek