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What type of lipstick finishes work best on you?


What type of lipstick finishes work best on you? Share!
I like something slightly glossy with a little shimmer. I always like the way the look best on me, and they’re the most comfortable for me to wear.

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keG Avatar

I am usually happiest with a matte finish-it looks the most professional. I love shiny lipgloss also,so I guess it is one extreme to the other-depending on the occasion.

breyerchic04 Avatar

No shimmer! I’ve often gone for sheer to semi sheer colors like Clinique Black Honey almost lipstick, MAC hot tahiti and plumful, but now I’m liking more opaque shades, the UD revolution lipsticks, mac up the amp, and I did buy my first retro matte, all fired up, that I LOVE.

ShannonE Avatar

I like slightly to moderately glossy, with a nice texture. Love me some shimmer, but do not want it to feel sandy on my lips! A matte is ok, provided it is a vibrant color. Pale colors make me appear ill.

Lisa Avatar

Sheer & glossy.

I actually really really loved the MAC huggable lipstick formula. I have lips that are extremely prone to peeling so I can only handle lipsticks that feel like chapstick.

xamyx Avatar

For regular, everyday wear, I find a natural, MLBB shade with a cream or satin finish is most appropriate, so by default it’s what works best. That said, for special occasions, or certain events, anything goes! It really depends on the rest of my look. If I go shimmery on the eyes, lips are creamy; conversely, if I go matte on the eye, I like sparkly lips. It’s really all about balance for me.

I do tend to buy matte/cream lipsticks most since I find them more versatile. I can always change it by adding gloss, or wear it as it is.

Helena Avatar

Hmm. Speaking purely in terms of comfort, suitability, and what’s most flattering, I’d say something satiny but on the hydrating side, I guess like MAC’s Amplified Creme. Not too matte, so as to not emphasize texture, but not too creamy and shiny, which I find uncomfortable and likely to fold over itself where my lips meet. My aesthetic preferences are always for the extreme, though–very matte, or super-glittery and glossy!

megan zacc Avatar

Hi I recently bought a blush compact that has three seperate color blocks in it. The package says that it is conturing blush. I assumed since it was in the same colkr family that one shade would be ths color one the darker shade to contour n the third the luminating highlighting color. I’m not sure how to use this compact becUse they are all colors do u have any advice

xamyx Avatar

If all the colors are in the same family, that’s most likely what it’s designed for. Contouring shades & highlighers *don’t* have to be “fleshtones”, and sometimes it’s actually more foolproof to contour/highlight with color! HTH

zainab Avatar

Mattes (provided they’re not horribly dry), anything opaque without too much shimmer and frost usually looks okay. I’m not a fan of sheerer lipsticks because on me it never seems to look intentional- it just looks like I haven’t bothered to reapply it.

Kat Avatar

Mattes, unfortunately. I think they’re the most comfortable and look the best on me, but no matter how much I moisturize, my lips dry out like crazy. I don’t like gloss; it’s too sticky, and I almost always wear my hair down.

Rachael Avatar

Matte..most definitely….even then the kind that go on liquid and actually dry. I have like 200 lippies and have bought some many that aren’t thinking I can add some silica powder over them and make them matte but when it comes down to it they really don’t get wore often because of the up keep through the day that comes with that.

A Name Avatar

Very creamy – like Urban Decay Revolution or Mac Amplified Creme – if my lips are more dry, so especially in the winter, but more matte/semi-matte/satin is preferable at other times.

Less creamy lipsticks, especially if they have shimmer often look awful, grainy and dry on me – I unfortunetely had this problem with the Chanel Rouge Coco and Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color.

Cecilia Avatar

I’m all about matte lipsticks! I love a long lasting lipstick, and for that matte formulas are the best. I have quite full lips, so sometimes it looks a little too much if I wear a glittery or glossy formula. I also love a matte lipstick because it’s such a statement!

I’m pretty new to this amazing site, so I’m not really sure how these “Temptalia Asks”-answers should be 🙂 Thanks for a fabulous blog!

Plurabelle Avatar

I prefer lipstains, lip creams and liquid lipsticks to the traditional lipsticks, because the latter always seem to sit too heavily on my lips, and looks like an additional layer masking the real texture of my lips.

But I found my holy grail lipstick formula in Catrice’s lipsticks. I don’t know how or why, but they’re so lightweight and moisturising that it feels like there’s nothing on your lips when you wear them. They don’t need a balm underneath, and they are very pigmented, last a long time and never bleed or feather. They’re all quite glossy/creamy-looking (not too much), however, and I prefer the matte look. The matte lip creams I’ve tried from Essence have been amazing, but I still haven’t found my holy grail matte lipstick formula. Until then, I stick with satin lipsticks, which are more comfortable to wear.

Valene Avatar

I think a cream finish looks best on me. Something with a little sheen or shine to it, but no shimmer or sparkle. Those are fun too, and I also love a good matte, but if I could only pick one finish to wear for the rest of my life, it would be a nice cream.

Sarah M Avatar

I have really uneven lip colouring so I like my lipsticks to be quite opaque and true to the colour they are in the tube. I kind of like all finishes – matte, shimmery, glossy, etc. I guess it just depends on how dry my lips are that day, my mood and what I think will look good with the rest of my makeup.

Clio Avatar

I admit I look best in a satin or medium-shine finish, but I can’t keep myself away from mattes. They’re like the bad boys you know you shouldn’t date, but you just can’t help yourself; the heart wants what it wants.

Veronica Avatar

I generally prefer my matte and semi-matte finishes, with satin being the one I like most on me. I figure a good gloss can give any shine to the finish if I want. I own a few glossy lispticks, but the big drawback is that I find that they tend to have higher maintenance wear.

brenda Avatar

I think I look best in a satin or velvet – not quite matte- finish, or I actually really like MAC’s Lustre finishes. Nothing too shimmery, frosty or glossy for me.

Sarah Avatar

I have to say the Satin formula by MAC Cosmetics is my most loved on myself and even on others! It gives that semi-matte look without being drying! I find them super creamy and easy to work with therefore I think its one of the best for my lips!

liz Avatar

super-matte, a) because I LOVE how mattes look on me, b) I have fine lines around my mouth (at 21!! UGH) and anything glossy just goes freaking everywhere and c) because I’m so lazy and hate touching up through the day. MAC mattes stay put on me for HOURS.

I’m gonna give the Retro Mattes a shot pretty soon I think. I have my eye on flat-out fabulous!

artemis Avatar

oh and shimmer-less….the opacity can vary but the only sheer ones i’d like would be bright and dark ones…and the lighter the color, the more opaque it should be 🙂

Layo Avatar

Matte finishes because it means that I don’t have to worry about it for most of the day, also they’re much more pigmented than a lot of other finishes. I hate the way glossier textures feel on my lips plus I feel they make my lips look bigger and more out there!

Quinctia Avatar

Is “somewhat translucent” a type of finish? My lips are really pigmented, and most brands’ opaque lipsticks end up looking patchy and weird, especially the creams. Urban Decay’s new formula and Lip Tars work fine at high opacity.

Overall, though, I like lipsticks that are a little bit translucent best, with either that wet sort of shininess, or some shimmer to them. My favorite formulas are Milani Advance HD (I own all of them) and UD’s old formula, actually. And I nabbed a LOT of UD when they were in the process of changing their lipsticks.

joyce Avatar

Sheer to semi-sheer, preferably with a glossy finish – my lips are always dry! Matte, satin and even cream lip color ends up sinking in and making my lips look chapped.

kastehelmi Avatar

I love a satiny creamy finish that doesn’t have too much slip. And shimmery lipsticks that have no grit.
Favorites are MAC Satin, MAC Cremesheen, Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color, Shiseido Lip Perfection and Revlon Super Lustrous…

kitkat989 Avatar

same here! Amplified is what i have most of..im still on the hunt for that Gold lipstick too, shiny not glossy. Btw do you have that new YSL GOLD GLOSS VOLUPTE?

Rosie in Brooklyn Avatar

I am with you on this one Chris I love Shimmer Lipsticks because I love sparkly things of course. Matte aint my style at all.sorry matte girls this is a shimmer fiend.

Rosana Sayuri Avatar

I have very dry lips so I love the mac luster finish “hug me” lipstick but it has lanolin in its ingredient list so I found the perfect “lanolin-free” dupe: Revlon ColorBurst “blush” lipstick. The colour is so beautiful but the Revlon lipstick isn’t as moisturizing as the mac one. To sum up, I love sheer, translucid and also slightly glossy.

Anne Avatar

Matte or semi-matte, then cream, then satin. Anything glossy looks awful on me because I have oily skin, and shimmers & frosts look bad because … I don’t know. They just do.

It’s interesting how many people also said they like mattes or matte-ish. I have a theory that sparkly color cosmetics sell well because they look so pretty in the pan, but people don’t wear them.

Veronica Avatar

I like it all, except shimmers that leave little glitter pieces on my lips and I am distrustful of stains. What limits me is moisture. I have very dry lips and they can crisp within a few hours. Trying my first Burberry because of your recs, and a Rouge G is next. 🙂 I would rather have a 5 lippies that I love as opposed to a drawer full.

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