bite beauty lipstick
Bite Beauty

Bite’s Beloved Lipsticks Are Finally Back—Well, Sort Of

Miss Amuse Bouche? Meet Power Move

When Bite Beauty announced it would be discontinuing most of its line last year in order to become fully vegan, makeup lovers everywhere mourned the loss of their favourite lipstick. Amuse Bouche, the Canadian brand’s famously food-grade lippie launched in 2011, had achieved cult-status in the beauty world thanks to its buttery texture and gorgeously flattering shades.

Since making the shift to vegan formulas, Bite has debuted a slew of new products, even venturing into the eye and complexion categories. And while these launches are admittedly great (the mascara is seriously mind-blowing), the brand had yet to release a replacement for the product that put it on the map.

“It’s very tricky to create a vegan lipstick that actually performs,” explains Charlotte Cleary, director of global marketing for Bite Beauty. Indeed, it took the research and development team three whole years to finally get it right.

bite beauty lipstick
Bite Beauty

The result is Power Move, a matte finish lipstick free of the animal-derived ingredients found in many traditional formulas, including beeswax, lanolin and carmine (a.k.a. red pigment obtained from insects). “I’ve found that most matte lipsticks I’ve tried tend to dry out your lips or give you that sort of flaky sensation, which we really wanted to avoid,” says Cleary. To do that, Bite infused the lipstick with conditioning cocoa butter. 

The other key ingredients include tapioca pearls and fatty acid waxes, which create a soft, blurring effect. “[The lipsticks] have this really nice, pillow-like feel to them,” says celebrity makeup artist Ash K. Holm, with whom the brand partnered for this launch. “The formula doesn’t seep into the natural texture and wrinkles that we have on our lips, which is hard to find—I’m always struggling with that. I have some more mature clients and they would never pick up a matte lipstick, but I would feel confident using this on someone like Kris Jenner.”

bite beauty lipstick
Bite BeautyBite Beauty Power Move Hydrating Soft Matte Lipstick in Sugar Buns, $37, sephora.ca

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Now, for the big question: How does it compare with Amuse Bouche? Well, it’s actually pretty different. “Amuse Bouche launched in 2011—so 10 years ago—so we really want to consider what people are looking for now in a lipstick,” explains Cleary, noting that its predecessor was creamier, shinier and a bit thicker.

Power Move, on the other hand, feels completely weightless on lips yet offers impressive colour payoff. And speaking of colour, Bite did throw die-hard fans a bone by relaunching the five most requested Amuse Bouche shades: Chai, Fig, Tannin, Maple and Cayenne.

Fifteen new shades complete the range. Holm’s favourites include Sugar Buns, a pinky beige she describes as “that perfect supermodel lip,” and one she could see herself applying on Ariana Grande. (Holm did Ari’s makeup for her wedding this past May.)  She also loves Hot Tomato, “the perfect cherry red,” she says, noting it’d look stunning on Megan Fox, another of her famous regulars. Rounding out her top three is Tamarind, a soft caramel. “It’s a nude that won’t wash you out—it has some warmth to it.” This one, she says, would be her pick for client Kim Kardashian.

bite beauty lipstick
Bite BeautyBite Beauty Power Move Hydrating Soft Matte Lipstick in Hot Tomato, $37, sephora.ca

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Not sure what shade to choose for you? A fail-safe strategy, says Holm, is looking at the natural hue of your lips and going one to two shades darker. “Sticking to tones like that is a little more wearable and approachable if you’re trying to get your feet wet coming out of the pandemic.” 

As I was typing this, my doorbell rang and a package containing three tubes of Power Move serendipitously appeared on my stoop. I ran to the bathroom to try one on. Following Holm’s advice, I selected Praline, a sweet honey rose colour reminiscent of my bare lips but a tad bolder. Consider this bouche thoroughly amused.

bite beauty lipstick
Bite BeautyBite Beauty Power Move Hydrating Soft Matte Lipstick in Tamarind, $37, sephora.ca

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