Beezin' / Burt's Bees on Eyelids

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About

Beezin' or Burt's Bees on Eyelids refers to the act of applying Burt's Bees peppermint lip balm to your eyelids, purportedly causing a perceived heightened alertness and enhancing the effects of drugs and alcohol. The peppermint oil causes a burning sensation on the eyelids, which can cause inflammation. The trend allegedly started to spread by word of mouth, largely among teens in high school, as early as 2005, seeing a rise in popularity in the mid-2010s. In late 2022, the trend became popularized again on TikTok.

Origin

According to an article by Gothamist,^[1] published on April 25th, 2014, the trend of applying Burt's Bees peppermint lip balm to the eyelids started spreading around Washington, D.C. as early as 2005. One early video of someone Beezin' was uploaded to YouTube on January 19th, 2013 by Dylan Wisman,^[8] garnering over 444,000 views in nine years (shown below).

Beezin' first gained virality in April 2014 when it was reported that the trend was spreading on YouTube, Twitter and around schoolyards.^[2]^[3] According to many reports, applying the lip balm to the eyelids is meant to cause heightened alertness or a "rush" of energy and also increase the effects of drugs and alcohol.^[4] While the trend is mostly harmless, Dr. Cauthen told FOX 25 that the peppermint oil in the lip balm is "a very strong irritant and can cause inflammation in the eye redness of the eye swelling."

Spread

Beezin' was reported on and discussed throughout the mid-to-late 2010s. In 2019, MEL Magazine^[5] published an article on Beezin'.

2022 TikTok Revival

Throughout 2022, Beezin' saw a steady increase in popularity on TikTok.^[6] For example, on June 10th, 2022, TikToker @miybol posted a video of several men Beezin' in the club, garnering over 8 million views in six months (shown below).

@miybol Absolute menace #fyp #beezin #burtsbees #villainoriginstory ♬ Take My Breath Away (Love Theme from "Top Gun") – Berlin

Videos referencing Beezin' gained more notoriety later that year in December as TikTokers shared videos of themselves applying the balm to their eyelids, many unaware of what it does and reporting mixed results (examples from December 2022 shown below). On December 20th, Centennial Beauty^[7] reported on the trend's return.

@lilyknottmusic who came up with this💀 #burtsbees #beezee #burtsbeeschallenge #burtsbeeseyelid #beezer #escapism #raye #szasos #fyp ♬ Escapism. – RAYE & 070 Shake