Talk about an amuse bouche: Susanne Langmuir is a firm believer in the beauty maxim that every girl requires a really great lipstick; one that has the power to instantly transform. It’s a philosophy she’s put into her own practice after nearly two decades as a beauty product designer and formulator. In her first industry job, she traveled the world sourcing essential oils to be used in the creation of organic products—lavender from France, Palmarosa from Nepal, Sandalwood from India—and she quickly fell in love with these from-the-earth materials and how their high performance in beauty products comes naturally.
In 2011, she was motivated to create Bite Beauty, a collection of creamy, high-pigment, moisture-rich lip products made with food-grade, antioxidant ingredients that are handcrafted in downtown Toronto, Canada and are all, well, good enough to eat. “What we put on our lips we ingest and products applied to the skin are absorbed. I love that I get to use these incredible ingredients in a new way to create high-performance cosmetics that don’t compromise on anything.” —Jennifer Henderson
Name: Susanne Langmuir
Occupation: The lip-color-obsessed founder of Bite Beauty. “To me it didn’t make sense that a product you apply five times a day would be filled with synthetic ingredients. For Bite, I wanted to create high-performance lipsticks made with high-value natural ingredients that nourish and provide benefits long after the color is gone. I think this is relatable to every woman, and the reason we have grown so quickly.”
In the company of women: “My first memory with makeup was exploring my mother’s vanity. It was filled with beauty products because my mother was the Avon lady! I fell in love with her Anaïs Anaïs perfume and her vintage-red lipstick. To this day, I still remember the smell and texture of that lipstick.”
Her work ethic: “Passion is a great motivator. I work hard and I’m very focused. We are now a team of 150 and every single person is connected to Bite’s values; we share the same focus. That’s pretty amazing. I can be a bit headstrong about the details, but that’s an integral part of why we exist: it takes being mindful of the balancing act of being tough yet compassionate and creative yet strategic.”
Her secrets to success: “Passion, perseverance, luck, and timing. Not all of those things happen at the same time either, which is the tricky part. If you are passionate, you have a clear vision, and you don’t give up, it’s amazing how others will support you and point you in the right direction.”
Her turning point: “There have been a few. Typically breakthroughs come when you’re at your worst … those moments when you have to dig deep and keep going until the next phase. For me, it was deciding to produce Bite’s product within our own lab and production facility. It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made because I was discouraged by experts in the field, but it also was one of best decisions I’ve ever made. Bite is made by Bite. We control every step of the process and don’t rely on outside manufacturing; it’s where we get our edge on quality, color depth, and connection to our ingredients.”
Her personal style: “I’m pretty classic, but also like things that have a bit of edge, like my Chanel biker boots with the double ‘C’ on the toe. I’d rather have fewer things in my closet that I curate and covet, than too many things I don’t care about. Quality over quantity! Ninety percent of my wardrobe is black and grey—I can’t help it.”
Her go-to wardrobe: “I like a good pair of Marsèll boots, black jeans, a light Vince top, and a Rag & Bone jacket. I am a creature of habit and, although I have lots of variations, this seems to be my uniform. I wear a lab coat a lot of the time as I am constantly working with pigments. My favorite Givenchy bag had a run-in with a jar of pigments last week—that was a 911! I’m still cleaning up.”
Favorite beauty booty: “I love my Beauty Blender. I make my own tinted moisturizer using powders from the lab and an organic moisturizing lotion, and the Beauty Blender makes application so easy. And I would be hopeless without my Agave Lip Mask. I use it on lips, brows, cuticles, and dry skin.”
Her must-haves: “I’d be lost without my devices (iPhone, MacBook, etc.)—the world has become smaller with all this access. A good book helps, too. I’m currently reading Garance Doré and she is so inspiring.”
Beauty is: “Embracing quirkiness and irregularity with confidence and style. And a good lipstick certainly helps, too.”
Inspiration all around: “Inspiration comes from everywhere. Cooking, Instagram, the Bite Beauty Lip Lab in New York, travel, Fashion Week, changing seasons at my farm in Woodford, Ontario … you name it. Trends and ideas have an undercurrent to them that is easy to see if you pay attention. My major influences are paying attention to what women create at the Lip Lab; it always inspires me to think of product ideas and color palettes.”
A little obsession goes a long way: “Mastering the art of things that look simple like pasta made from scratch—that took more time than I thought it would! Formulating a new product is similar in the sense that there’s a lot of trial and error to getting it right—and a real sense of satisfaction when you do.”
Words of wisdom: “When I was breaking up with my first love, my stepmother encouraged me to recognize: The height of your happiness can only equal the depth of your despair. It sounds a little negative, but she’s right. The things we cherish and care about achieving require sacrifice and hard work that can sometimes be difficult.”
What’s next: “Full steam ahead. Bite has a new lab with five talented chemists and I get to play with several formulation ideas at once. My partnership with Kendo (LVMH) lets me focus on the vision, rather than many of the obstacles that were in the way. A new flagship Lip Lab in Toronto is in the works. It’s all very exciting. The future looks Bite!”