82 Comments

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Cassie Avatar

They accentuate dry lips, and are harder to touch up than other lip products. I love them though! They do tend to stay on longer.

firepail Avatar

hate it! no matter what the product claims, it ends up feathering or making the lips look like a puckered prune! and the little ‘peelies’ that it inevitably forms after a few hours of wear–ugh!

Quennie Avatar

I love matte lipsticks, especially since I work in an office everyday. The only complaint I have is that they do dry your lips. But that is no longer a problem ever since I bought the Lancome Matte lipsticks. I still use a lip balm underneath it, but it doesn’t dry my lips at all.

chibu74 Avatar

i don’t mind matte l/s as i always apply a nude creamy l/s before I apply matte l/s….if I like the shade of that matte l/s, I would buy it

Natalie Avatar

I love matte lipsticks. I was extremely cautious to try them at first. But my MUA at mac was determined to make me try something out of my comfort zone [which at the time was all lustres] She let me try on velvet teddy with Richer, Lusher Cremesheenglass on the top. And it was instant love. Its the perfect peachy-nude lip. It looks similar to one that Kim Kardashian wears often, except made for girls with a darker complexion like me.
Pros: Extremely long lasting, I only have to reapply the gloss over top
Cons: Not really drying to me, but I know can be to some others. Exfoliate your lips and moisturize/condition them first to have a good canvas for the lipstick to set on. [ex. primer and foundation?] Also it kinda sinks into the natural fine lines on lips.

Otherwise, mattes are gorgeous and long lasting. Not all matte formulations are the same, some brands are really different. Even throughout a brand a matte can have a different feel. My ruby woo is more “matte” than my russian red which seems slightly creamier. And if you cant do a matte, Nars has great semi mattes! [*cough* funny face]
=]

Adriana Avatar

I noticed that about Ruby Woo as well. Russian Red kind of slides right on, but I really have to work to get Ruby Woo on the lips.

Kim Avatar

I only have one…it’s the Revlon matte lipstick in Nude Attitude and I really like it!! I’m not sure if i like that sort of finish better than other ones though 🙂

NIKKI Avatar

i haven’t tried a matte lipstick but i would assume that they’re very drying
my lips are normally dry so that’s why i haven’t tried any

Laurel Avatar

Bobbi Brown lipstick is matte, and I *love* it. Some of them I top with a little gloss, but for the stronger colors (Red or Blackberry), I line them carefully and leave them matte.

MissDeeCanada Avatar

I find that on most people matte looks way too dry. I prefer a lipstick like MAC satins. I really like creamy lipsticks that are creme no shimmer!

Rebecca Avatar

I LOVE matte lipstick!

thats actually all I wear as far as lipstick goes. Im always afraid of frosty stuff or stuff with too much shimmer because it will

a) make me look too young or

b) make me look to old.

Frosty lipsticks always look too 1990s for me. And shimmer, well..not for a 23 year old with a job with the government. I love saturated real color!! The newest trends in lipstick have allowed me to feel young and fashion foward and work appropriate at the same time, I love it! My favorite currently is MAC’s Petals and Peacocks.

kheize Avatar

i love please me:) and yep i agree that they can be drying..but for me,they kinda last through out the day.i just put on more lipbalm to minimize the dryness:)

Liz Avatar

Most of my lipsticks are matte or on the matte side, despite its drying qualities. It’s long-lasting though, and if you put some balm underneath, drying should be kept to a minimum too. I don’t even own any lipstick that has frost/pearl in it.

Isheeta Avatar

I love matte lipsticks, specially since they give a very vibrant color!
My two favorites are Revlon Matte Lipstick in ‘Really Red’ and ‘Fabulous Fig’.
The Matte lipsticks are better in a hot and humid environment like my home country (Bangladesh). But here in Canada I cannot wear matte lipsticks alone that often. I usually top it with some creamy similar color lipstick in dry weather here.

Kathryn Avatar

I have never been to Bangladesh, but I do live in Canada and I 100% agree that the dry weather makes it so hard to wear a matte lipstick. I cannot go a day without lip balm or else my lips start to peel

Stephniie Avatar

They are definitely not my thing! They dry out my lips like crazy, or maybe I just got really bad luck and only tried the drying ones… I prefer at least a bit of shine, doesn’t have to be a lot, but I do prefer it 🙂

Maria Avatar

My only matte is Russian Red, but I just love it. It’s only drying after 6-8 hours of wear, the colour is so wonderful, and the staying power is beautiful.

Dusty Avatar

love love love matte lipsticks! mattes and frosts are probably my two favorite textures because they are the most versatile – since i like to mix and blend a lot of my own lip colors i just find mattes to be wonderful! they’re packed with color and wonderful to work with!

Melissa (divinem) Avatar

Matte lipsticks looked fabulous on my 20-something lips when I had a flawless, porcelain complexion (plus matte was very much in style back then). Now it just looks ridiculous and accentuates every 40-something flaw I have. Too drying and unforgiving when mistakes are made.

rashmi Avatar

same as lots of others said ….
russian red is my only matte n i love ittttt
i dont think it is at all drying if used on well hyderated lips…
love the staying power hope mac comes up with more colors in matte range
next on list is honeylove hope it doesnt disappoint me

rashmi Avatar

aah sorry how can i forget VG I its supereb and its a matte finish too … a must have in ur makeup stash …
i would say if u dont like mattes atleast buy this one for a good cause n who knows it might let u fall in love with matte finish …
yeahhh

Andrea Avatar

All I wore in the late 80’s and early 90’s were matte lipsticks especially my favs – Mac Russian Red and Taupe. So, I have very fond memories of matte lipsticks because they always looked very polished. Well, when lipgloss became the “look” it was so nice and refreshing to always have your lips feel comfortable and moisturized. I now have a very hard time wearing lipstick without a little gloss on top so I really feel like I can’t go back to matte even though I love how it looks.

Jayna Avatar

They can be a little drying.. but Viva Glam I is my all time fav, sexy woman Lipstick. It really gives me the ultimate lips, and the money goes to a GREAT cause! I bet I have used 1 tube a year since it was launched. Nothing compares!

Jenna Avatar

My favorite lipstick is a matte shade by Revlon. I love it because it lasts a long time and it looks like it could be my natural lip color. I have “cocoa craving” and it’s a warm brown shade that looks like a reddish-orange shade on my lips It’s so pretty! Sometimes if my lips are dry it can make my lips look leathery but that can be fixed by adding a bit of gloss on top. This color isn’t drying but I have tried 2 other shades in the Revlon matte collection that are really drying.

ak Avatar

I bought the Revlon Cocoa Craving too. I like the MAC mattes alot too. I have VG I, but I really want to get my hands on Please Me and Chili because they’d both be perfect for the summer, the latter looking great on me without a lip pencil on.

When my Velvet Teddy runs out maybe I’ll by Kinda Sexy.

Tawny Avatar

I don’t own any matte lipstick because I’m still trying to improve my lips condition.
the only way we can pull of Matte lipstick is having moist, conditioned lips.
Otherwise they’ll look like dried up paint on your lips…. yuck…

Laura Avatar

I think that is just the way ruby woo is. It seems to be drier than any of the other MAC mattes. Actually with ruby woo you can grab it a pull the lip product out of the tube it is so dry.

AnGeLwInGz Avatar

I own very few lipsticks, all of which are matte. Shimmery ones all look ugly on me for some reason. Glosses, however, are just fine.

Courtney Avatar

LOVE: The look. There’s something very classic about matte lipstick.

HATE: Some of them make my lips look dry and cracked. I tried to hard to love Mac’s Velvet Teddy, but it made my lips look old.

Kalla Avatar

I just got my first Matte Lipstick from Lancome! I was worried that it was going to majorly dry out my lips but it is just lovely. Such a great product.

victoria Avatar

i don’t bother buying any, they accentuate any dry patches, they’re drying and they just don’t look natural on me. i would buy creams with no shimmer.

alex Avatar

I really like how matte lipsticks look, but becuse they are usually drying i can barely wear them.
RUBY WOO is one of those gorgeos 🙂

Sasha Avatar

i think it can be absolutely gorgeous, when worn right. I love matte reds, and just dark matte colors in general. Light colors, i feel, would suit best in finishes that are more lustreous. however, one exception i have in revlons pink pout matte ls- that is gorgeous

Nina Avatar

I tend to go for matte finish with brights because I think it looks more dramatic and gives me that “retro” feeling – I love love love Illamasqua “Box” and MAC’s “Lady Danger”. But for neutrals i prefer a creamier, perhaps shimmery texture because I feel it plumps my lips a bit.

kali Avatar

LOVE the slick, no shine look. It just gives a total different look to your entire face -I usually like pale pink matte lippies. Plus they usually last longer for me.

HATE that they’re 99% of the time so drying, LOOK dry on the lips, and make lips look crusty and cracked. It takes too much work when wearing pale or pastel matte lippies. My lips always look cracked and dry.

monika-luiza Avatar

I love to wear matte l/s in the summer when I actually don’t wear foundation. just a bright red, orange or shocking pink matte lip and lots of mascara. but here comes the problem: I have quite huge (not angelina jolie huge 😉 )lips which sometimes look very strange in matte colors, but I managed to fake a slightly smaller and more heart-shaped lip with concealer and liner.
but the biggest draw-back of matte l/s is that they are drying my lips, extremely! so most matte colors stay in the shelf and wait for days when I know I have to look good but not for long 😉

Jessi G Avatar

I’m oily, so after about an hour, no matter what I do, there is going to be varying degrees of shine on my face. Matte lipstick is great for me, because when everything else is shiny, it’s nice to have control of one area of my face.

RedWeatherTigerD Avatar

I get the whole “matte” concept, but I really need or want a little light reflection going on there. Matte lips make me look and feel older…and I think they make my lips look smaller. Just not really a fan.

cecile =) Avatar

i actually really like them. yes there are some that are really dry looking on your lips, but there are some like the shiseido or lancome ones that look so fabulous and natural. i’m a fan of matte lips haha

Moza Avatar

I’ve always loved matte lipsticks. They stay on a lot longer than a lot of lipsticks with different finishes, BUT, they dry out my lips a lot and I always end up with cracked/dry lips.

Azaza Avatar

Its rare that I finda good matte lipstick since most of them dry out my lips that I usually have to top that matte lipstick with a gloss which defeats the purpose of using a matte lipstick in the first place

alice Avatar

For the most part, they’re not worth the money to me. Most shiny lipsticks dry down matte anyway. The ones worth purchasing are Shiseido’s which aren’t totally matte, and Shu Uemura’s. I tried the Lancome ones and they didn’t apply matte either. But they parched my lips and looked horrible eventually.

Vijaya Avatar

I’m not a fan of matte lips, but I do love the deeper color matte lipsticks give. I always wind up putting clear gloss over them.

Anne Avatar

I love matte lipsticks. They were, for years, the only finish available. (If you look closely at photos taken before the ’60s, you won’t see any frosts, shimmers, sheers, or glosses.) I don’t know what it is about non-mattes that looks so awful on me–it probably has a lot to do with the fact that my T-zone is oily, and sparkle or shine of any kind just adds to the mess.

Another reason I think I prefer them is that I don’t like to look like I’ve got a lot of makeup on, and mattes are just more natural.

Unlike many others, I have never found matte lipsticks to be drying unless they’re really old. And with all the new developments in cosmetic formulas, surely they could come up with non-drying mattes if they set out to. Lancome seems to have done it already with its special edition tubes for Macys.

I’m grateful that MAC has a permanent line of mattes, but not happy with the colors. They all seem to be in the brown/nude range. MAC, please expand your matte color spectrum!

Abby Avatar

I love matte lipstick. It has such a classic vintage feel to it. Like the majority of people have said it can be drying, but then, beauty has its price 😉

Jillian Avatar

LOVE my matte russian red. yum. I think red looks great red. Hot pink or purple too. Bright colors. but light bubble gum pink, coral, nude…all those need at least a hint of shine or gloss or shimmer to look decent I think.

Amy Avatar

I LOVE matte lipsticks! I never liked glossy/shiny/glittery looks on my lips, often times it looks like my lips are oily and that I didn’t wipe them off after eating. So matte lipsticks are perfect for a subtle, pretty, and soft look. I don’t know, my lipsticks always tends to wear off very quickly and my lips always get dry, so I always re-apply by lipsticks, although I do also put on lip balm before that.

Lauren Avatar

Matte lipsticks are too drying for me and I honestly don’t like the look of them. Because I don’t like my makeup to sit in the drawer unused, I still wear them; I just finish them off with clear gloss.

Laura Avatar

Love them, they are so classic. I really love shiseido’s glowing matte lipstick they are matte but are not too dry or flat looking. It is also my favorite formula of MAC lipstick, I love the fact u can wear them matte or dress them up with gloss.

Petra Avatar

I recently bought Honeylove and two Glowing Mattes from Shisheido- I love the look,I can handle the dryness. But I have pretty pigmented lips, and when i talk, the couple hours worn mattes tend to form a harsh line at my inner lip, which sadly translates to a paint-line at the edge of my lip… Anyone have any tips? Or does this mean my lip shape and colour just fon’t work with certain colours and textures? (same happens with sg too nude :()

Christy Avatar

I have MAC Russian Red and Rebel and I like to wear them for the holidays. They are a bit thick and drying to the lips but I like that they have no sparkle and I wear them with a gloss to give them shine.

Keener Avatar

I love matte lipsticks! I don’t have a lot, but what I do have I love wearing. Deep Love is my absolute favourite (of all time, of all finishes) because it makes such a statement when it’s on. I actually can’t find my beloved lipstick anymore but I’m hoping that MAC repromotes it SOON. It’s true, you do have exfoilate and hydrate your lips nightly with a balm before bed, Bourjois Night Balm is my favourite.

Shelby Avatar

I love how they look so classic and gorgeous, but I hate how drying they are! My favorite matte lipstick at the moment is MAC Russian Red Lipstick, so classy looking on the lips!

Dianna Avatar

I love love LOVE matte lipsticks. They’re so retro sexy – makes me feel like I’m some 50s/60s glam queen 🙂 They’re super pigmented and stay on practically all day! MAC Faves are Russian Red, Viva Glam I and Honeylove… I also really like Lancome Stylista & Posh Pink.

Isabella Rabello Avatar

Love, love, love! Matte lipsticks are very beautiful. Some can dry my lips, so I use lip balm beforte the lipstick.

J Avatar

I actually love matte lipstick. I find that since I have dark skin it looks better and bolder than shiny lipstick. I actually only own matte lipsticks– I never used to wear lipstick, but i found that the ones I liked best and looked best on me were mattes. Plus, a lot of people don’t wear mattes, so It’s an added bonus to stick out in the crowd. I LOVE M.A.C ruby woo.

Mattes don’t seem to dry out my lips, but that is because I’m addicted to carmex, so I always have lip balm on. I say put on some carmex first– it’s the best balm you’ll find anywhere– it’s rich and soothing without being too greasy and completely affordable at that.

Mar Avatar

I have a couple of matte ones but I find them tricky to use. I have thin lips and matte colors only accentuates that. They dry out my lips and once you made mistake putting it on, it’s hard to remove.

But for a great retro pinup look, I can’t go without my MAC Classic Dame 😀

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