Bite Beauty Power Move Soft Matte Lipstick Swatches
Bite Beauty Power Move Soft Matte Lipstick ($28.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a new range of lipsticks that includes 20 shades. The formula is supposed to be “creamy, non-drying” with “fade-resistan[ce]” and “velvet matte” finish that delivers “bold color.” The line also launches online at Sephora tomorrow for in-app and July 12th for online.
It is the long-awaited replacement for the prior Amuse Bouche range, though what they have most in common is that they’re both twist-up, traditional lipsticks, but the finish and feel are quite different. My initial impressions after swatching through the 14 shades I received as press samples and testing a couple (so far) is that the formula is the more modern, silicone-heavy kind that has a mostly matte finish, feels fairly lightweight, but is on the thinner side and is less forgiving of lip texture/imperfections. The lighter shades, as expected, were least flattering to wear, while the darker shades were the most flattering to wear.
Per the brand, it is “three years in the making” and they tested “over 100 different formulas” (not the flex they think it is; sounds like something went very, very wrong!). If you loved Amuse Bouche for its creaminess and more of a cream-satin finish (so some shine), these might not feel like a replacement. If you always felt Amuse Bouche was too creamy and wished it was more matte, these might be an upgrade.
Amuse Bouche was one of my favorite formulas for years, but I loved it for the intense, creamy color with satiny shine that still had good adhesion/wear time, so these were not “worth” the wait for me, unfortunately. I know that MAC’s Powder Kiss Lipsticks have gotten quite popular, so I can see why they went in this direction and expect that some will fall in love anew!
Power Move Soft Matte Lipsticks
Bite Beauty Power Move Hydrating Soft Matte Lipstick
Bite Beauty Power Move Hydrating Soft Matte Lipstick
Disappointing. The swatches look fine, but matte isn’t my preference.
I got an âearly accessâ email for these yesterday and I almost gave in and got one out of nostalgia for the old Amuse Bouche. So glad I waited for your preview!!!! I donât think Iâd like these at ALL. Thank you Christine!
Wow, this is disappointing. I loved the formula of the Amuse Bouche lipsticks – I wouldn’t have changed anything about it, and I was really bummed when Bite discontinued the range, but I was hopeful at the time that they might just be working on a minor reformulation. Now, forever later, this is what they finally put out? This took them three years to make? Of course, this comes down to personal preference, and some people love these kinds of silicone-y formulas, but I really don’t. And I can appreciate a good matte, but these don’t even look that good in the swatches, in my opinion. Oh well…
I still miss Amuse Bouche. đ
These look incredibly disappointing…the Amuse Bouche was my favorite lipstick formula from any brand, and these look like a poor substitute. By going vegan, Bite may have gained some new customers, sure, but I know they’ve lost a lot, too, since many of their preexisting customers were disappointed with them at the start of their rebrand. Regardless of someone’s personal thoughts about vegan beauty products, their rebrand has felt like such a bad move from a business perspective. And even formula change aside, the old colors they brought back (Chai, Maple, Fig) may as well be different colors entirely–these returning colors barely resemble their Amuse Bouche counterparts. Tannin looks pretty close, but I have no interest in the new version since it is matte.
Christine (or anyone else!), do you have any recommendations of other brands who have similar lipstick formulas to our dearly departed Amuse Bouche?
These are creamier/more luminous formulas:
– Charlotte Tilbury KISSING
– Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting
– NARS Audacious
– Sephora LipStories
– Urban Decay Vice (which is discontinued now)
Thanks, Christine! I’ll have to check those out.
If you can grab them before they sell out, the Becca lipsticks are really nice.
Why are all the decent lipsticks being discontinued?
That’s what I wonder too, Sarah! It’s quite depressing to see some of the best ones getting axed.
I can recommend ColourPop’s Lux Lipstick formula – very creamy, hydrating a reasonable range of shades and Christine has reviewed them all too.
Propa Beauty is a Black-owned indie brand, and their lipsticks are SO incredibly comfortable and creamy, but not prone to moving around at all. Christine has reviewed their nudes, but they came out with a line of reds more recently. Their shades are intended to be wearable for folks with dark skin, but I have light skin and I love the shades I have, and I think they have something for everybody. Definitely worth checking out!
Hm. I hate to say it but it feels like what I expect from Bite anymore. Depending on reviews, I may get one just to see how I feel about them myself but right now I’m feeling pretty lukewarm.
BITE – please bring back the Amuse Bouche!!! Don’t “fix” what’s not broken! These swatches look terrible – grainy and dull. And no unique colors either like Kale or Squid. The Amuse Bouches were so awesome, one of the best lipstick formulas ever, had I known this was going to happen, I would’ve bought more sob sob sob IDK but I think that if BITE doesn’t bring back Amuse Bouche, they might be biting the dust – between all the hit-and-miss new products (like their cream blushes), being out of the lipstick market since 2019, then coming up with this new, “improved” formula, which looks similar to MAC Powder Kiss but is more expensive ( $28 vs. $22.50), I just can’t see them doing well in such a hyper competitive industry
I might pick up one of these just to see how I like it but these really arenât inspiring. The formula looks like a step down from the Amuse Bouche (RIP) and the colour range isnât very broad or original.
I’m disappointed.
Hot Tomato, Tannin, and Mulberry look decent and I might pick them up on sale one day. But some of these just look sad and uninspired. If you told me those pinks were all swatched from the same tube, I would believe you. Where is the variety? And who is the audience for accentuated lip lines and texture?
I find it hard to believe in three years and 100 formulations this was apparently the best they could do? That people actually sat down in a room together, looked at these, and thought “We nailed it!”??? I mean I just got Laura Mercier Rose Vif after swearing I wouldn’t because I have more lipsticks than I know what to do with but I could not get it out of my head and Bite used to be that kind of brand for me. I”m not even sure I’ll remember these tomorrow, let alone rushing out to get them.
I am not feeling this launch AT ALL. Even the arm swatches look a little patchy or like they’re picking up texture from what is generally a very smooth part of the body.
What I loved about the Amuse Bouche formula was how it was very comfortable to wear while providing such rich color — and a lot of the colors were very unique. Now rather than trying to recreate that success, they’re chasing after some MAC formula? And launching with a very limited and somewhat basic color selection?
Oh well. I didn’t need to spend $28/each on lipsticks anyway.
It sounds like Bite Beauty had a management change and now this is the result. A lot of the shades look very similar to each other or are just one tiny shade colour apart. Matte lipsticks don’t appeal to me, so I won’t be buying them.
I am disappointed for all those who loved the previous formula and was hoping for a new iteration of that.
Even if these lipsticks really do turn out to be just as phenomenal as the original formulas (and I doubt it– the swatches look gunky), I still don’t really care for the release. Bite’s massive departure from being the industry queen of lipsticks to…whatever the heck they were doing with their god awful blushes/complexion products has completely erased the passionate artistry and vigor over lip products that made me attracted to them in the first place. And that’s not even counting them selling their souls to the clean beauty fiasco.
These swatches confirm what I had feared…I really really wanted to love these but I don’t know if I will. Part of me wants to pick one up to “put my money where my mouth is” and support a Bite lipstick launch, but buying a lipstick that I probably won’t enjoy feels like a pretty silly thing to do!!
Definitely don’t buy something that you won’t enjoy!
I feel like after formulating for 3 years they should have come out with a whole new range of colours (perhaps keeping the best selling old shades). Who is going to be clamouring to buy the same shade in a different formula?
Most are new – I think only three or four are “returning,” though a couple of names I recognize from before Amuse Bouche (Juniper comes to mind).
So what happened to the revamped formula they teased a couple of Chrismases ago? Did anyone here buy the mini pack of four? They came out around the time their main line went on liquidation.
“Silcone-heavy” is the opposite of what BITE was all about back in the day. The reason I got into the brand was because their main bragging point was being a silicone-free lipstick brand. Like others have stated, if I wanted a silicone-heavy matte formula then I’d buy MAC’s Powder Kisss–for less money.
Clearly there was a complete change of people running the company. Whomever is currently at the helm must not have known the founder’s vision and BITE’s customer base. Such a shame.
In my opinion, BITE has fallen so far from grace that I’d be surprised they last as a company, but then again, KVD Vegan Beauty is still breathing, so who knows.
I like the look of Mulberry and Tannin, since I like them, I probably have dupes. I don’t think I’ll get anything from BITE, the ship internationally these days, I think I read, back when I desperately wanted to buy from them they did not. I keep Kale on my wish list, just to go back and admire what could have been a go to green lipstick for me. Green lips are very hard to pull of for me.
I think I-l sulk for a few more years. đ
Meh. Other than *possibly* Hot Tomato, these just aren’t doing it for me. It’s truly disappointing that they did away with Amuse Bouche and didn’t give us something comparable.
This is incredibly disappointing. After 3 years and a pandemic youâd think theyâd know that people want something new and innovative. Like maybe some shine? Or comfortable to wear? I was looking for a matte lipstick in 2015. Not now. Bite really sold themselves out to the âcleanâ industry. They were innovative and my go too for lip products. Their agave mask was the best in the market and is awful now. Some people want lanolin still! And I donât remember their prices being this high? 37$ in Canada for a lipstick. In this economy? Nope.
Agree 100%!
The critiques are real. They have a silicone heavy formula that seems to come from eliminating beeswax to be vegan. Thereâs an old UD e/s that says it all: Sellout. Iâm glad I refrigerated my Bites, so theyâre all fine.
I’m willing to try them, as I never truly loved the Amuse Bouche (despite buying so many. it was one of my few “drink the koolaid” moments), but these are so……pink. I know what I like and what looks good on my skin at this point in my life and pink ain’t it.
Yikes. I clicked on the larger images and had to make a second comment. These look dry as hell. Like, I love my Uoma matte lipsticks (white tubes) because they’re beautiful shades, but they also have a heavy silicone base that coats and sucks the life out of my lips. These will be an easy pass.
I’m livid at BITE Beauty right now. After 3 years of people asking for a replacement of Amuse Bouche, you would think the development team would have come up with something similar. They seem to be so focused on going vegan and clean that they forgot what customers want. The old BITE Beauty was innovative and listened to customers. Did someone ask for blushes in a weird squeezie round bottle? Nope. Did Bite’s customers ask for a MATTE lipstick high in silicones with a limited shade range? Nope. Did they ask for an agave lip mask formula that does not work like the previous one? Nope again. I’ve been waiting for 1) Lipsticks similar to Amuse Bouche or the Buttercream lipsticks – LOVED BOTH FORMULAS and 2) Lip pencils in those neutral shades they made. If BITE is listening, please hire a new development team or hold focus groups with your previous customers so you can refocus on your customer base and make products that customers actually want.