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I use to love simmers over mattes but now I love mattes more because they are more versatile. I also like how they can give such a natural look, although they take a bit more to blend!
Love them! Even at the age of 26 using UDPP, I find many shimmer shadows make my eyelids look crease-y. MAC’s Print, though not a true matte, is my favorite, followed by Quarry and a brown Lancome one I can’t quite think of the name for…something coffee-like, like cappuccino.
They have their place lol, but I almost always reach for my shimmery shades.
I love using matte eye shadows in the crease.
I have dark dark brown eyes and pale skin, my faves are
NARS violetta duo (the matte side), NARS charade duo (purple side) MAC coquette, and the light brown from Maybelline’s chai latte quad!
Eh, I’m not a huge fan of them. I prefer satin-finish eyeshadows, that being said, mattes have a time and a place and my favourite formulas are the MAC Matte2 line and MUFE shadows.
I agree! I absolutely LOVE satin finish eyeshadows. They add just a touch of dimension to the eye that mattes do not. I also love MAC’s Matte2 shadows and it is so frustrating they have discontinued so many of the colors. Also, why they don’t change all the matte shadows to the Matte2 formula is a mystery to me.
I’m also a fan od satin shows but haing issue finding them myself in brands i buy. Mattes i fell are great for studio photography but stains give you great dimension in daylight shoots and in person that can be subtle to wear.
Brule (which is a Satin finish) is one of my favorites as well.
I love matte shadows, especially in the summer when my lids are extra oily. Seems like matte colors last longer. I also like to use mattes because I don’t always need to have a shimmer or sheen on my lids. I would choose mattes over other finishes in a heartbeat.
Do you know if anyone makes a really nice darker green eye shadow? I can’t seem to find one without shimmer and I’m allergice to any gllitter or shimmer. Thanks you!
I love matte shadows! Some favorites: makeup forever and inglot 🙂
I am on a mission to find a really nice matte green eye shadow. Something darker rather than lighter. Do you know of a cosmetic company that makes one? Thank you!
MAC’s Brule on the lid with Espresso in the crease is lovely, but otherwise I HATE mattes; they give little dimension and “awake-ness” to the eye.
I wish there were more!! My crepe-y skin needs matte. I’d love NARS and Urban Decay to do more matte ones.
I love matte eyeshadows! I really like combining them with shimmery/metallic shadows in looks – I think the effects offset each other nicely.
I *hate* MAC’S matte shadows. Some of them are less horrible than others, and there a scattered few that are quite workable, but none of them are even close to great. Chalky, streaky, crappy pigmentation 😛
My favorite matte shadows are Urban Decay and Sugarpill. Both of them make such silky, blendable mattes. I want them both to make lots, lots more!
I think Urban Decay is going to delete the matte shades. That is too bad because they are smooth and have nice shades
Inglot, hands down for the best matte eye shadows.
I second that, while I have tried plenty of eyeshadows of all finishes and textures, Inglot has to be the best!
I’m wondering weer/how to get Inglot online. The website is less then informative on the shades they sell (aka their is NO information). The only place in Canada they sell at a retail location is Quebec so accessibility is insanely hard to get to… They really need to open a store in Toronto and other major cities per province.
Inglot used to sold at Erin Mills Town Centre but they didn’t stay around very long.
Where can I find inglot in the USA?
for all of you in the west coast:
when i went around christmas 2010, there is an inglot’s in the 3-4 level escalator section at the forum shops in caesar’s palace in las vegas Nevada.
it surprised me because i thought they were just in new york.
That’s true. Bf went to Vegas and I sent him on a mad hunt for it. (in September) he said the lady helping him said they’d only been open around 2 weeks. 🙂
Hope they expand!
I love matte eyeshadows, because at age 46 I really have to be careful about how much shimmer or frost the shadow has because it emphasizes the wrinkles on my eyelids.
My favorites are the ones fro Urban Decay. Unfortunately a lot of them were discontinued.
Some of the ones I’ve tried (Blackberry by MAC in particular) have been chalky. I try to stay away from those.
I love creating well-blended gradient looks with matte eyeshadows. They are amazing for making the skin on your eyelids look ultra smooth unlike over-the-top frosty eyes that make your lids look like lizard skin.
What I dislike is that some matte eyeshadows can be chalky and hard to blend. They can easily stick to certain areas of your lids giving you that awful patchy look. Whenever working with a dark matte eyeshadow I always apply a flesh tone powder eyeshadow first as a base. It makes the dark eyeshadow blend easier.
I have a hard time getting mattes to blend right for me. I use them every now and then but they’re not my favorite. And if I do use them I tend to go towards the MAC Matte2 ones.
I used to think I prefer mattes, but my favourite finish is actually mac’s veluxe pearl… the mattes that I have tried (swiss chocolate, embark) have been TOUGH as hell to blend! The matte2s are good though – I love handwritten and I’m planning to get brownscript and prussian 🙂
Ki, I just got Brown Script and wear it almost every day. It’s such a pretty shade id reddish brown.
i love MAC’s matte [squared] shadows, they have the most amazing buttery texture and crazy-intense pigmentation! i love Typographic (charcoal black), Fig. 1 (eggplant purple), Handwritten (deep chocolate brown) and Copperplate (warm grey). the fact that they really don’t make those anymore makes me wanna cry!
I love both matte and shimmer eye shadows. It all depends on the color and the quality of the eye shadow. My favorite matte is probably MAC’s Brule. For a simple natural look, I like to wear Brule on the lid w/ Wedge in the crease.
I meant Blanc Type, not Brule. I don’t think Brule is even a matte.:)
hey Brule is a Satin 😀
I like the look if matte eyeshadows, but sometimes they’re just so difficult to work with a lot of the time:/
I really like my frost eyeshadows but I like to pair them with a matte so that it doesn’t look to shimmery. I think mattes are great for using in the creases.
I love mattes, but I find that they never seem to last as long or look as vibrant as other finishes. That said, I really like the dark mattes from Urban Decay like Shakedown and Heist!
I love love love UD’s matte shadows. They’re so soft and buttery. My fav’s! I like incorporating mattes with satins or shimmers to give a more dimensional look.
Matte eyeshadows have there place in my make up arsenal. When I wear eyeshadow (which is more often then not)I use matte and shimmer/satin. Depending on the look I’m going for I might use a matte for the lid and shimmer/satin for the crease and brow bone or verse and shimmer/satin on the lid/crease and matte on the brow bone.
i like matte shadows, but i prefer shimmer, they are easier to blend, and IMO they are more stunning and eye catching. My least fave matte shadow is Sugarpill’s Poison Plum. I LOVE SUGARPILL, but the texture of that shadow is horrible, it’s really patchy, and hard to get even coverage, and even harder to blend, to be honest, I dont think it’s the company’s formulation thats the problem, I think it’s just the color! mac tried to do a similar shade and it was the exact same way, and when i see tutorials with MUFE #92 being used they have to really layer the product to get it on evenly. and it sucks because those shades are beautiful!
Pigmentation! There are definitely some good mattes out there, but in general, they can look so much duller and less intense.
I do like the softer and more understated look sometimes, but most of the time, I get really bored.
In general, I really like matte eyeshadows. Some of them can be kind of a pain to blend, and sometimes it’s somewhat difficult to get good color payoff, but at the same time a lot of matte eyeshadows are great. I really love MAC’s Matte2 eyeshadows, because they have great color payoff and they’re easy to blend. Mattes work well alone, but you can also combine them with other finishes. For example, Carbon eyeshadow is amazing as a liner.
If I want to do a classic red lips look, my very favorite combination is Orb on the lid with Quarry in the crease (both matte) and something like Shroom (not matte) for the brow highlight, with winged black liner. I love it with Russian Red lipstick.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure if its my skintone or how I apply, but I can only use certain shimmer/glitter shades so matte it is!
I love carbone, plumage, atlantic blue and charcoal brown, prussian, and nars mahogany, fez, bengali, grenadines (I advice to test grenadines, one of my faves) and tropic specially in the crease.
I love mattes. I wish every matte eyeshadow were like the ones in the wnw palettes. There I said it. All I know is that I hate Atlantic Blue from MAC worst matte ever. I do like Plumage,however.But I prefer a creamy soft matte to ones I have to scrape to get enough color. The blending is fine with mattes for me at least except with that damn Atlantic Blue…sorry I have anger towards that color haha.
I really want to love matte shadows, but I just can’t seem to get the hang of them. My eyes always end up looking muddy, sloppy, and overdone. No matter how much I try to blend or how little I put onto my brush, they just don’t seem to work for me!
I love them but I have a hard time finding 3 matte shades that go together. But I need a good mineral makeup matte. The drugstores ones I’ve bought really suckered and had no colour payoff and were too sheer.
My favourite were Aromaleigh’s Hi-Fi Mattes. Super bright and full of awesome 🙂
I hate mattes that are chalky, with poor color payoff and hard to blend. It seems to me like it’s difficult to find good mattes.
I really love the MAC matte2 colors that I own because they’re easy to blend and use. I also love the Sugarpill pressed matte formula. It tends to be a lot harder to find loose mattes, but there are some out there.
Don’t hate them don’t love them. However I do like them in the crease because I don’t want everything to be shimmery and gross. I love UD Naked and Mac Wedge. They’re also handy for blending a shimmery color out a bit. I also like Vanilla as a highlight although I like eyeshadows with some sheen to them for the browbone.
Although I own a few, I’m always reluctant to use matte shadows. Without primer, the application is splotchy; with primer the app is too dry.
If I had to do a look using only one texture, it would be all matte. I love how bright matte colors are while still staying true to the color on a variety of skin tones. I also love how well it suits different age groups. Satins are a close second. I just hate it when a brand doesn’t do mattes well and it come out super chalky and patchy. They should be smooth, soft, and buttery.
I love matte shadows for contouring my eye. I only use shimmer for a pop of pizazz. I’d never do an eye with all shimmery eyeshadow.
I LOVE mattes!!! As many others have mentioned MAC’s matte2 is my preferred choice (to be fair I haven’t tried Urban Decay’s, Make Up For Ever’s, or Sugarpill’s) – unfortunately they are phasing down to only 6 of them in the permanent collection and of those 6 they are phasing some out of the pro palette magnetic pan form. As a result I just bought 5 of them this weekend!!!
I disagree with those who say they are hard to blend – I believe it is totally about the right tools. Because they are matte they don’t reflect light so they actually create more dimension, not less as another poster mentioned as a reason not to like them. For this reason, they may take a little more work to create the gradient blending seamlessly (flaws can be noticed more easily because the reflective particles in shimmers can distract the eye more from small imperfections) but the final look to me is well worth it!!! Enough rambling…I can’t get enough mattes and will be checking out the other brands posted here already! Thanks for the tips ladies!
I really like matte and low shimmer eyeshadows even when I was much younger. i wear high shimmer eyeshadows only for going out at night. one of my most favorite matte eyeshadows is from Too Faced cosmetics , in the Classic Eye palette – I can’t recall it’s name but it is a soft, cool, light peach color.
Matte shadows are the best thing ever invented. My favorite everyday look involved all matte shades and only 1 satin. The one satin color is only there because i haven’t found a dark brown matte shade yet. I haven’t had time to go to the store and sit there for half hour swatching them all on my hand
Matte Shade Must-Have’s: (Obv by MAC)
Brule or Bisque
Vanilla (has a little shimmer but barely noticable)
Soft Brown
Cork
I personally like sable in the crease but i need a matte shade for it. next time im in boca and i can get a palette refil!
i love matte eyeshadows. i never like something too shimmery, but i like to layer them. i only go for shimmers if i want to do something crazy. my favorite matte ones come from some wet n wild palettes and nars.
I love matte eyeshadows! So far my only experience with them is the 2009 edition of Tarte’s Jewelry Box, which came with 16 mattes and 16 shimmery ones. Tarte’s matte eyeshadows have a bit of a powder/chalky texture, but they apply decently (especially with UDPP) and have a halfway decent ingredient list.
I love me a great matte eyeshadow. My fav right now is MAC’s Brown Script. So pretty blended into the crease for a natural look.
The only one I don’t like is glitters, the rest I like to wear even the matte eyeshadows
I prefer simmer shadows because they brighten my eyes. Matte shadows are harder to blend and I tend to rub extra hard to get an even look.They also make me look older.
Most of the matte shadows I have used are chalky, dusty, apply patchy and are difficult to blend and have poor pigmentation. I hate Coastal Scents matte eyeshadows. Wet N Wild has so far been the only brand of matte eyeshadow I can actually work with
Matte eye shadows don’t do much for me. I use the few that I own in the crease, but they really do fall flat on the lids!
I LOVE matte e/s, especially when paired with a shimmer or glitter in the outer-v. The thing that annoys me about most matte e/s that brands offer is that they are often too sheer and hard to blend. I love Inglot’s range…they are my go-to brand for mattes
i love matte eyeshadow, i use it as a base, brow powder, teamed with satin or shimmery shades. i very rarely use 2 shimmery eyeshadow at the same time, because it can look a bit old-fashioned sometimes.
LOVE high quality ones (I will leave the chalky ones behind)… I think mattes look so classy. Shimmers are not my style so much anymore
I love matte’s. Especially any darker brown shade. My favorite at the moment is coconut grove by NARS. Takes awhile to blend but it’s just lovely 🙂
I love Matte Shadows, I personally love wearing a shimmery lid and then using a matte color in the crease, recently I have been loving Mac’s Matte2 shadows like today I’m wearing MACS Violet Pigment on the lid with Prussian Matte2 in the crease and Vanila Pigment as my highlight and I love it I just love the different textures of shadows work together.
I just have like 2 or 3 matte shadows.. but I found them really useful although they’re a bit difficult to blend… I prefer satin/shimmer over matte.
My fave ones: Espresso and Carbon by MAC
I don’t have a least favorite.
that’s almost all i use. i feel like matte shadows look really editorial.
I have malt & brown script from Mac..I layer those on first as a base to contour my eye area. Then I can add whatever color/texture strikes me. It gives a 3-d look to the eye
I used to hate matte eye shadows until I purchased some from MAC in order to try a purple smokey eye and I love them now! I have tons of matte eyeshadows and they most definitely do the trick…also, the older you get, the less less shimmer I think one should wear so by the time I’m in my mid 30s I want to have a good collection of matte eyeshadows.
Lancome fashion label is the best matte eyeshadow!!! Flattering for all eye colors, with excellent pigmentation and very easy to blend!!! I definetly recommend this matte eyeshadow especially to those who are just learning how to blend or do smokey eyes!!!! 🙂
I love using matte eyeshadows, but sometimes they’re powdery and hard to blend. I use them more when I’m trying to do a more subtle, daytime look. I use MAC’s Matte2, MUFE, Stila, and Lorac matte eyeshadows. Lorac and MAC Matte2 are easier to blend and apply, but MUFE and Stila make more fun & vibrant colours.
Matte e/s is very elegant; whether in a bold shade or used as a wash, it’s soft and classy. I like it better over shimmery stuff, although I recognize I follow fashion trends and put on a lot of shimmery/pearly/iridescent stuff (I.e. Dior quints, Chanel palettes).
As a side note, let me tell you that a matte lip is also more elegant and sexier than a shiny one (even if I love and wear gloss daily!!), think Hollywood divas of the Forties….
I find them sometimes difficult to blend!
downside is some of them can be hard to blend, upside versatility, you can always add shimmer or glitter to a look but you can’t remove it. I also like a matte nude base which I also use as a single shade when I don’t want to look like I have on shadow & just want to even my lids & hide any red/veins etc. personal fav is thebalm’s kinky katie which is really nice & smooth texture.
i have single lidded asian eyes and mattes do nothing for me — in a really bright colour it’s funky, but neutrals and softer colours add no dimension and are flat and lifeless.
I love matte shadows – particularly Illamasqua and Sugarpill. I would love to try Inglot ones next.
I often wear satiny/shimmery eyeshadows but I also like matte eyeshadows, it’s especially good on photographs. Inglot and Kryolan are the best, and not ridiculously expensive.
I love mattes. I used to hate them but they are my favorite now.
Urban Decay by far has the best matte shadows!! Sugarpill’s are pretty good too. Wet n’ Wild has some good ones too. I hate the Mac ones I have though.
I love them so much. especially the ones from MUFE!
I prefer mattes over shimmery shadows. I have pale skin that gets oily so using shimmer shadow makes me look too shiny and washed out. Mattes are more sophisticated I think. Having said that, I recently found a somewhat shimmery shade from Bobbi Brown that I love (Heather Mauve). And I also started using a bunch of her matte shadows. They seem to be working for me. I tried to find some from MAC but the shades just didn’t really work for my skin tone or my personality – too muddy. I have noticed that most companies seem to be making shimmery shades, but I prefer to use them as highlighter for my brow bone and inner corner with certain looks.
I used to hate them until I tried MAC’s Matte2 eyeshadows – then I was in love. I like Sugarpill’s and Urban Decay’s matte shadows too. I love pretty much any matte as long as they’re smooth and easy to blend. Chalky mattes (like MAC’s regular matte eyeshadows) drive me bananas!
I always use a matte shadow in the crease … I think it provides a nice contrast to my shimmery lid shades and creates more of the depth and shadowy look that I’m going for.
My favorite? Coffee Ground and Plum Smoke by Laura Mercier.
My favorite matte eyeshadow of all time is MAC’s Brown Script–which is really saying something, because I much MUCH prefer shimmers.
Love matte. That is my favorite formula.
can’t get them to work or look good on me.
I love matte shadows. My favourite ones are MAC Soft Brown and Flourishing.
the finish isn’t much of a concern for me, i’m more worried about the color payout. ie – IT BETTER BE GOOD!! 🙂
My eyes are getting older so mattes play down the crepeyness. I still like shimmer for the lids but mattes work so much better for the crease.
I haven’t tried many matte eyeshadows but I do love Coconut Grove by NARS. It’s perfect for smudging for smoky eyes or just add an extra layer of depth to whatever look.
I really like matte eyeshadows! They are great way to balance out a shimmery look. Although it’s hard to find smooth, pigmented matte shadows.
My favorite matte eyeshadows include:
MAC espresso, carbon, brule, and print.
Merle Norman fox (gorgeous orangey brown… Perfect for blue eyes) and grapevine (deep purple… Great for smoking out a purple look).
Mattes are all I wear these days. I think the finish is more elegant and polished than shimmer and sparkle. I’ve had good luck with Jane Iredale pressed mineral shadows, as well as Cargo (the older style in tins). I’m always on the lookout for new brands, though!
I like matte shadows when they’re really vivid shades. However, I find that they can be difficult because they’re either hard to apply evenly or don’t stay even.
I have almond shaped eyes on the smaller side with combi skin, and I find that in I look much better when using matte eyeshadows. It just makes me look more polished and natural than using a bunch of glitter.
I like them for the crease, I feel like they add more depth than shimmery shades. I also like matte or satin shades for my brow highlight.
I always use mattes in my crease for a finished look. My favourites are the Inglot mattes, they are so smooth that you almost mistake them for cream e/s, but they’re not.
My fave eye shadow colors are dark colors because I love darkness and especially ‘smoky-ness’ around the eyes. Although I like the look and idea of matte shadows, I’ve read that shimmery, not glittery, but shimmery shadows would show up the best against my skintone, and I think I’ve found that to be true.
For instance MAC Contrast is dark and shimmery and one of my fave shadows ever. But when I just want to line my eyes, I still prefer the matte, perfect blackness of a pencil like the Feline Kohl Power pencil. It just really shows up well.
I never realized how great matte eyeshadow was, and I really regret buying so many shimmers that I *never* use! For my almost 2-dimensional eyes, mattes give them believable depth and allow me to add color without ruining the contours or looking over the top.
I love matte shadows & satin finishes! I don’t mind shimmery finishes either. I always have to have a matte finished eyeshadow as a highlight’ never a shimmery one!
My favorite matte shadows are
-Corduroy, Cork, and Blanc Type {By MAC}
-Naked & Buck {By Urban Decay}
i love them if i want a neutral look..but they can get boring !
I LOVE mattes! Mac Yogurt and Quarry are my two go-to shades for a natural everyday look. I also like UD Abc Gum with Heist in the crease for an everyday look.
I don’t love matte eyeshadows, but one of the ones i do like in Mac’s Cork Eyeshadow 🙂
Love love love matte shadows. They’re so retro.
I think that I also like Satin shadows better than just matte, Urban Decay e/s named Narcotic is considered a matte shadow but its so silky soft and pigmented. Some matte shadows don’t have a good color payoff.
I just recently discovered them lol. I used to be all into shimmery ones, but mattes give such a natural effect and full, deep color. They are a bit harder to work with, but gorgeous! I love combining them with shimmers also, and my browbone highlight is always a light nude/beige matte!
I love them and as I grow older, I realize that matte eyeshadows are easier to wear. Glitter eyeshadows have never been a apart of my life, but I find wearing shimmery eyeshadows (esp. on my lids) kind of ages me so I have “tone down” the look with matte eyeshadows.
MAC’s Veluxe shadows were/are very similar to MAC’s Matte[squared] shadows. Very similar in texture.
I love love love mattes but usually not by themselves. I always find myself pairing it with something that has at least a lil shimmer. My fav matte shadows are MAC carbon & heavenly naturals cappuccino.
I just really don’t like matte shadows. They’re harder to work with and I find they typically don’t give good color payoff. I’ve been experimenting with mixing textures however and have found a shimmer/frost on the lid with a matte/satin in the crease works and looks good 🙂
I love matte eyeshadows! I’m in high school so i don’t like looking really shimmery and fancy but matte eyeshadows give a nice touch.
matte eyeshadows are the only eyeshadows i can wear since shimmers and frosts etc irritates my eyes. i also like mattes becuase i find that shimmers and frosts make your eyelids look oily on your lids idk am i the only one 😛 i’ve been dying to take a look at the new toofaced matte palette! is it good?