My Holy Grail lip balm for many years was Bite Beauty’s Agave one, which came in two delivery systems: a small pot or a chic matte black bullet tube. It was a perfect, lanolin-based, slightly waxy balm — super emollient while not smearing all over your face, absorbing quickly, and keeping your lips feeling soft and supple even through the dreaded 3:30 a.m. wake up for water and doom-scrolling. It had very little taste to it — just a hint of earthy, sweet, herbal notes.
It was top-notch lip protection against ice-cold weather, overheated rooms, and being a mouth breather. In other words, it was a comforting, long-lasting, emollient hug for your lips. Bite’s Agave lip balm was also made with food-grade ingredients and edible oils, which is a nice thing for a product you put on your mouth and assuredly ingest in the process. (Bite was doing “clean beauty” way before it was a “thing.”)
Now for the sad part of this love story: Bite Beauty was eventually sold, and the new owners (under the influence of who knows what drugs) reformulated everything to be vegan — something nobody asked for. It was terrible and everyone hated it and now the whole brand is kaput. I’m still inconsolable years later. (Yes, I know the parent company that bought Bite Beauty continues to operate nine Bite Lip Lab locations, but it is $80 a tube and they can only color match discontinued colors, not re-create the old formulas and ingredients — which were a big reason Bite Beauty was so great.)
All of this to say: I have spent the years since Bite went under looking for a decent replacement for the Agave balm. Lots of things got close: Serious honorable mentions are in order for Weleda’s Everon lip balm (inexpensive, long lasting, not greasy but a tad waxy); First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Lip Balm (good slip, great for under lipstick); Alpyn Beauty’s Willow & Sweet Agave Plumping Lip Mask (a much better version of the curiously much-loved Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, which is too greasy and not hydrating enough for me); and Kiehl’s Buttermask for Lips, which utilizes shea butter and coconut oil for lasting, non-greasy moisture.
After making do for years with replacements that were still a pale imitation of what I really wanted, I got the bright idea to see what Reddit had to say about the situation. After reading hundreds of comments all lamenting the amazing properties of our dearly departed Agave lip balm, I found one sentence that changed my life: “Lixr is a brand by the original founder of Bite that makes tons of lanolin masks.”
After researching and confirming that Susanne Langmuir, Canadian founder of our dearly departed Bite Beauty, is indeed the owner and operator of Lixr Beauty, a luxurious, cruelty-free, transparently sourced-ingredient beauty line, I added a handful of its lip products to my cart and hoped for the best. I’m thrilled to report to my fellow Agave lovers that our long national nightmare is over: Lixr Nocturnal Lip Mask is everything I hoped it would be and is the closest we are ever going to get to our beloved Agave lip mask.
The lanolin-based formula feels and smells just as soothing as Susanne’s original Agave balm, lasts all night (as well as through eating and drinking) and, best of all, is made with Susanne’s signature food-grade ingredients. A little bit goes a long way, and it’s as wearable during the day and under lipstick as it is as a nighttime balm.
The main ingredient in both the Bite Agave and the Lixr Nocturnal Lip Mask is lanolin, and the big thing I now know to be true is that lanolin is a huge part of what makes a truly good lip balm. I read an interview with Susanne in which she said, “I’ve made the decision that, on lips, nothing works as well as lanolin,” and I, too, am a believer. (As part of my quest, I also tried the original Lanolips Lanostick, but the coverage feels too thin and the formula smears too easily.)
As of now, the Lixr Nocturnal Lip mask is only available in a pot, and I very much prefer a tube, but beggars cannot be choosers. The Lixr lip masks are also available in multiple flavors (Cafe Creme is a lovely, lightly scented vanilla) and even a few tinted versions (the Napa Cherry and Bulgarian Rose versions are gorgeous, naturally scented, and feel just as nourishing as the untinted versions). At a price point on par with far less fancier balms, why not treat yourself to what I believe is the best balm to ever do it?
Plus, the lip balms our beauty editors actually buy:
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
