After playing with the new Amuse Bouche Lipsticks from Bite Beauty for several weeks now, I have a roundup post with some final thoughts and a list of my top picks. I’ve been a fan of the other lipstick formulas I’ve tried from Bite Beauty and I think the new lipstick formula definitely is the best product they’ve launched to date. Long-time readers know I like colors with shine and some transparency versus the rich pigment full coverage kind of colors since they often look flat, emphasize fine lines and are a nightmare for any dry patches. There have been some exceptions in the last year including the Louboutin Lipsticks, Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution, Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Cremes (to name a few) all of which have somehow managed to launch full coverage lipsticks that look luminous and have depth on the lips. In a world filled with thousands of lipstick options I’m always impressed when a brand manages to create a new and improved formula because at this point it seems like it’s all been done before (but somehow they manage to surprise us). I have been thoroughly impressed with the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche lipstick formula. To sum it up in a few words, all I can say is that it is a really good one. At the time of this post there are already over 1,700 reviews on Sephora.com and they are overwhelmingly positive which I think is huge.
Thoughts on the formula: I have full semi-sensitive lips that usually are prone to dryness with lipsticks. Some of my favorite lipsticks suck out the moisture from my lips and leave them dry and peeling by the second day (ie MAC). When I swatch batches of lipsticks I often have to split up the swatching process because the swiping, wiping, cleaning and reapplying process usually kills my lips. With the Bite Beauty formula, I did swatches over the course of 4 days and my lips were fully intact without any peeling issues. I personally feel this is a good indication that the formula isn’t drying and is indeed hydrating like it’s described. If you have dry lips or any flakes the lipstick will emphasize lines due to the rich pigment and texture – I’d recommend prepping the lips with a primer or balm first. That being said in my experience, these are hydrating but still manage to feel weightless.
Thoughts on the lasting power: I wasn’t able to test all 34 shades for a full day of wear to see how long they lasted. I did test about 7 shades for the lasting power test. I found each color lasted extremely well. All of them lasted remarkably long through several cups of coffee, tea and snacks. The darker shades do seem to have a slightly longer lasting power – the colors give the lips a slight stain so the color lingers longer.
A few other thoughts and tips on how to wear these: I found all the colors to be one-swipe wonders with no pencil needed to tweak colors. However if you find you have lips that can’t really handle full coverage lipsticks well you might want to consider a primer or balm. The only issue with lip balms is they have a lot of slip. Sometimes the emollient texture is good to treat the lips, but when you add color on top it’s prone to sliding off or weakens the lasting power in general. Two products I like to use as primers include the MAC Prep + Prime Lips and Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask. Both will smooth the lip surface and help lipstick apply on the lips more smoothly. I’ve repurchased both a few times now and have no intention of switching to anything else when it comes to lip primers (although if you have any recs I’m open to trying something new but will probably still call these two my all time favorites).
Thoughts on the colors: I think the color selection is really quite good. 34 shades makes for a lot of options to choose from and Bite covered a lot of categories with this launch. All the shades are creams, so there’s no shimmer in any of the options. I think it would be interesting if they did add some pearl finish colors in the future – I’d definitely check them out, but as far as I can remember, I don’t think I recall any of their lipsticks or pencils having any shimmer. All but two of the colors have extremely good application with a smooth streak-free finish. The only two I had slight issues with include Liquorice (it was prone to smudging around the edges for me) and Black Truffle (the sharp contrast made for a slightly patchy application with one swipe, but it was easy to fix but swiping 3-4 times).
Links to the swatches and other posts:
- All colors arm swatched here
- Sorbet feature here
- Neutrals Souffle, Sugarcane, Honeycomb, Meringue, Sake, Pepper and Rhubarb here
- Cool-Toned Pinks Gin Fizz, Cotton Candy, Dragonfruit, Kimchi, Radish and Sangria here
- Peach and Browns Verbena, Sorbet, Fig, Chai, Molasses and Nori here
- Warm Reds and Corals Pickled Ginger, Gazpacho, Persimmon, Cayenne, Gingersnap, Sweet Cream and Maple here
- Cool-Toned Purples and Plums Spritzer, Eggplant, Jam, Beetroot, Liquorice, Tannin, Sour Cherry and Black Truffle here
There are so many good colors, but if I were pressed to pick my favorites Honeycomb, Meringue, Sake, Pepper, Fig, Sweet Cream are the winners for me. If you’ve picked up any of the colors let me know what you ended up with! If you’re passing on these what’s your favorite lipstick formula or color of the moment?
You can find all 34 shades of Amuse Bouche exclusively at Sephora. I have yet to spot all the colors in store yet – if you’ve seen them please share in the comments! These are permanent so there’s no rush to order colors before they sell out. You will have plenty of time to research reviews or find a store to test these.
The Amuse Bouche Lipsticks were provided courtesy of Bite Beauty for review consideration. Many thanks to the team for kindly sending them to me to play with, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun playing with lipstick in a long time.
