Archived Post

Rant & Rave: Matte Lipstick

Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Matte Lipstick!

my answer: A lot what I don’t like is about how they feel on lips–dry, clingy–and that they can be very drying! I love that they’re long-wearing, though.

50 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Lena Avatar

I don’t like that they’re not as matte as they should be sometimes. I want a matte that is like MAC’s retro matte, but the matte we usually get is still somewhat shiny. 🙁

Geesh Avatar

I too love that matte lipsticks are long wearing, but I also love how easy they are to wear. There’s so much less maintenance than with a glossy lip. I hate the dry formula but lip balm usually takes care of that.

xamyx Avatar

Matte lipsticks have been around for decades, so they are far from being something “new”. While they can look unflattering on some, others can pull them off; certain lipstick shades look “most unflattering” on some, so should we do away with those, as well?

tova Avatar

Dry matte lipsticks are the wooorst! But if you have well moisturised lips, they’re the best. I just think matte finish is the prettiest.Also, long lasting and that’s so practical when I’m in school. It’s just not always appropriate to leave class to touch up your lipstick…

patsyann Avatar

For me, there are no raves. Matte lipsticks dry out my lips almost from the moment I apply them. Then, I have dry, peeling lips…not a good look. Also, I find matte lipsticks to be aging except for the very young.

DT Avatar

I almost exclusively wear matte lipsticks! I love the staying power and how pigmented they are. One application in the morning usually lasts till I get back home from work at night, even with lunch in between. I’m lucky because I’ve only come across one matte that I hated; MAC Smoked Purple. The formula is a patchy mess and the staying power is terrible.

Joli Avatar

I love matte lip color. My favorites are NYX soft matte lip cremes. I personally don’t like sticky or slippery products on my lips so I love that matte color moves less and I don’t have to worry about smearing it. Plus I just prefer the look of matte lips. I think it’s easier to wear bolder colors when they are matte.

Chi-Chi Avatar

I love matte lipstick….I can’t explain why, but the flat, velvety look of a well-applied matte just always looks so chic and pretty to me, especially when combined with more unusual colors.
It is a huge pain trying to take care your lips when you wear mattes because they are so drying and the slightest crack or patch of dry skin stands out like crazy, but the end result is worth it for me.

Carol Avatar

I find it curious when people say that matte lipsticks are too dry. Some of them may be dry, yes, but MAC’s matte formula is not that dry…well, I don’t think so. I wear Kinda Sexy and Please Me very often and I never have to apply a lip balm before.

Irene Avatar

Matte is my favorite finish for lipstick (Ruby Woo being my holy grail), but as someone with dry lips, I struggle to keep them moisturized and flake free before and after wearing matte lipsticks 🙁 some mattes can feel very uncomfortable on the lips too, but thankfully Ruby Woo is absolutely weightless and feels like wearing no product at all for me.

Amalia Avatar

I love matte lipsticks, I think wearing a matte lipstick, you look confident. You can also pat it light on your lips and put a gloss over it. Also as a stain. So it is a multi task product.

xamyx Avatar

I don’t find mattes any more “drying” than any other finish, simply because it’s matte… For me, it comes down to actual, specific ingredients/perfumes, which some brands (particularly HE/Luxury) inherently use. Whether it’s shiny, glossy, matte, satin…, it simply comes down to individual irritants, and most brands use the same ones in all their lip products; if need one formula irritates, there’s a good chance they all will.

I personally really like matte lipsticks; they work better for layering with gloss/sheer lipstick, and can be real workhorses in my stash, allowing me to find many combinations with fewer products!

Lisa Avatar

I have tried so many matte lipsticks and I really wanted to like them because they really do stay on the lips, but they are so drying and uncomfortable on my lips that I can’t wear them.

Lotus Avatar

I’m finding it amusing that the world is acting like this is a new thing for lipstick. It’s always been there.. It’s OK to not be trendy and look around.. Would half of the people talking about this even care if wasn’t “cool, and, “in,” .. It is these things that I find distressing about creative people waiting for others to make the first move. BE YOU. Guess what? Even though a big celebrity might not be rocking it, others do and it could make your day, so one never knows.. Go with what you want a finish to look like, or use what you need to in order to get what you’re looking for. Please don’t feel inclined to stay within E News parameters. I swear, a Kardashian does something and its huge. My guess is that them doing something is whats really something at all. Brutal, but true in my opinion.

Amare Avatar

Matte lipsticks make my lips look fuller and makes me look more mature. I’m 28 but I look 21 so I actually like how it ages me… It a best way possible. Also, I love that I don’t have to worry about whether or not the lipstick as smeared onto my face or in my teeth. The con: I have dry lips so I have to prep my lips and put lip balm on periodically throughout the say.

Maddie Avatar

I prefer matte (or satin) type lipsticks to full on glitter or shimmer. If i want to add a little shine, i can always add a balm or gloss on top 🙂 so i tend to gravitate towards these colours (especially the dark burgundy and purple colours!)

Toni Avatar

The ones I’ve tried have been really pigmented and long-lasting; however, they can obviously be drying. I have to make sure to primer beforehand and sometimes still follow up with a gloss later in the day!

Denise Avatar

Nah, can’t say that I’m a great fan of matte lipsticks as I do looove some moisture on me lips! Nothing worse than having your lips look like peeling paint (which mine do) and feeling like the bottom of a budgie cage when wearing a matte lipstick. Give me shiny/moisturising lip products any day.

Johnna Quick Owens Avatar

I love the look of matte, I feel like you can see the actual color, not just the shine of glossy lipstick. I don’t like the drying effects, although I usually use a good balm underneath and that takes care of the issue.

Jade Avatar

Mainly rave for me! It’s my favourite lipstick finish. I love how polished a matte lip looks, and I find that even a bright, bold colour never looks overdone when it’s matte (but can do when it’s glossy or shiny). They rarely feather on me too, which is a bonus as I can skip lip liner (I’m always so loathe to take the extra step of lip liner!). I dislike how they can be drying, but I just pat liquid lip balm (MAC Lip Conditioner works beautifully with their mattes) over the top when I feel the need.

Chandrea Avatar

I love the staying power and minimal transfer but I hate when it gets super dry and ball up on your lips. Mac’s retro matte( although I love it) made me really appreciate the regular matte lipstick.

Alyssa Avatar

Matte lipsticks are my absolute favorite formula for a lipstick. Mostly because if I’m wearing something more glossy I tend to constantly rub my lips together until all the product disappears. Matte lipsticks last forever and I love that it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing anything. Some formulas are a bit too drying though (MAC retro matte). Other than that, I’m a huge fan!

Kat Avatar

I’m pretty sure everyone will have the same answer here: drying/long-lasting. I also like that they’re a way to brighten your look without looking too much, especially during the day. I’m sure that answer is just as common.

Sylirael Avatar

So… the only mattes I own are from the Revlon Matte Balm line, which limits my experience, but there’s a reason for that:
My rant is that matte anything in makeup tends to make me feel overdone and unnatural. Now, I’m by no means saying that this is the case generally, it’s just a personal quirk 😉 As such, I’ve never really been into matte formulae.

On the other hand, I love how smooth and velvety the matte balms feel on my lips, and it’s true there’s true silver screen glamour in a proper, bue based, matte red lipstick 😉

Laura Avatar

I don’t necessarily like how they look on the lips for the most part, as I find they emphasize lines or any tiny bit of dryness. I also find they wear off in a way that leaves a ring on the inside of my lips and clings in odd places, and my lips feel drier for wearing them.

With that said I think they can be good for vibrant and deep colors because they don’t slip around and can make them look more sophisticated (as long as your lips have zero issues).

Maddie Avatar

I like matte lips and I cannot lie, you other ladies can’t deny! lol
I love everything about them! I just don’t enjoy glossiness, slipperiness or anything that moves or makes my hair stick to my lips. Sure they can be drying, sure they cling to the lips, but some of us are masochists lol

Joanna Avatar

I love matte lipsticks! I’m pretty picky when it comes to anything with a shine on my lips, so when there’s a new matte lipstick line (hello, Maybelline Colorsensational Creamy Mattes!), I stock up on a lot of colors! I used Touch of Spice yesterday, and while the long wear time was great, I don’t like having to go back after my makeup remover and scrub out the excess that seeped into my lip lines. But that’s the trade off for having an otherwise amazing lipstick 🙂

Shayni Avatar

I think matte lipstick looks very “formal”, in Black Tie way. The thing I dislike about it, is every single line with matte lipstick seems to have basic, one-dimensional colors: Nude, Coral, Peach, Red, Plum, and Pink. (i.e. Clinique’s new line of 9 colors that don’t look any different from the La Creme line Too Faced released a couple of years ago; or the recent lines discontinued by BeneFit; or Becca’s Ultimate Mattes; even MAC’s Mattes look similar to every other line). There may be different tones of each shade, but they are still one-dimensional and that makes them not visually interesting for me.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!