Glossy lips might be the dominating look of the moment, but matte lips are having their own mini revival, based on the bevy of matte lipstick launches lately.
Having dry lips, matte lips aren’t my go to everyday look, but I do love a matte lip for when I want my lips to be the main star of the show, and I love using matte lipsticks for a more blotted lip look. I want a matte lipstick to apply evenly, smooth out my lip lines and dry spots, and wear for a few hours without drying my lips out. Matte lipsticks by nature are not going to add moisture to my lip, and with naturally dry lips, the best I can hope for the best of matte lipsticks is to maintain the level of moisture I had in my lips before I apply the lipstick.
So how do these all measure up? Which lipstick is least drying, most smoothing, and most long-lasting? I tried 6 recent launches to find out:
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Nuit Blanche –
These new Chanel lipsticks are not a new formula, but they are new shades and come with limited edition packaging that I couldn’t resist. The Luminous Matte formula is an iconic matte lipstick that I actually haven’t tried before, but if any brand were to make an elegant matte formula, Chanel would be it.
The formula glides on effortlessly and immediately delivers medium pigment, which can be layered easily to full opacity without any patchiness. It has a smooth comfortable feel, almost like a cream or satin lipstick, but the formula stays exactly where you put it and lightly smooths over any lip lines or dry spots. As with any matte lipstick, I wouldn’t apply this lipstick on chapped lips, but I’m very prone to have some flakiness that doesn’t go away even after a lip scrub, and this doesn’t emphasize my drop spots. The formula also stays where you apply it, so it won’t bleed out or smudge somewhere down your chin in a few hours.
The immediate finish is exactly as the name suggests – a luminous matte – and the luminosity almost fools you into thinking that this isn’t a matte lipstick, but after a few minutes, the luminosity settles into a natural matte look that isn’t too severe. The initial luminosity also gives the formula some moisture so that the formula starts comfortable and stays comfortable through its entire wear, which is about 3 hours before it starts to fade, and up to 6 or so hours before the pigment is completely gone. I would say that out of all the formulas I tested for today’s review, this one is one of the most moisturizing ones.
Chanel makes exceptional lipsticks and this formula is no exception. It’s a joy to wear from start to finish, and the slightly luminous finish to start makes this one of the more comfortable lipsticks to wear everyday. I have this in shade 06:00, which is a beautiful berry-brown shade. There is no scent or taste to these lipsticks. I applied it in this Instagram reel:
Hourglass Soft Matte Unlocked Lipstick –
I loved the original Hourglass lipstick formula, and the Currant shade caught my eye as a deep berry shade. The formula feels thinner than some of the other matte lipsticks in this comparison, but it still has a very soft and smooth feel. Even for this deeper shade, the thin formula still distributes the color evenly across my lips, leaving a nice soft matte finish.
Because the formula is so lightweight, it is very comfortable to wear and virtually weightless through its 4ish hours of wear before I need to touch up the color. However, also because it’s so lightweight, I also found that in those 4 hours it could start to sink ever so slightly into my lip lines. Because the layer of lip product is so thin, any type of migration or sinking into lip lines becomes more obvious, but it was also very easy to just dab the product back into place. For this reason, I do have to make sure my lips are properly moisturized before I apply this lipstick.
Still, I think this formula is notable for just how lightweight and thinly the product applies while leaving behind a beautiful soft matte color . The formula doesn’t feel slippy or noticeably drying, and the deeper shade that I have still applies evenly, which is not always the case with thinner formulas. There is no scent or taste with these lipsticks.
(p.s. please excuse the very frizzy just-rained-on hair in this photo!)
Merit Signature Lips Matte
The original Merit Signature Lips formula is one of my favorite lipstick formulas on the market (previously reviewed here), so the launch of the matte lipsticks was highly anticipated. I’ll tell you right away that Merit has once again managed to set itself apart with their lip formulas. This matte formula is a really natural and effortless approach to matte lipsticks, and feels almost like a balm, much in the way their original lipstick formula feels, but in a very different way than those lipsticks.
My friend Sandra (@ssnard on Instagram) described these as a mixture of the Nars Soft Matte Tinted Lip Balms, and the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick formulas, which I completely agree with. I have both formulas and love them both – the Nars Soft Matte balms have a smooth and moisturizing balmy feel with a soft matte finish, and the Matte Revolution formula is one of the more hydrating matte lipstick formulas with a really flattering blurring effect.
The Signature Lips Matte formula has that smooth balmy feel with some of the grip and texture of a lipstick formula, and I find the formula to have a nice soft blurring effect. It’s not quite as moisturizing as a balm, but I don’t find it particularly drying either. I find that it holds the hydration level and the look of whatever my lips were at before I applied this lipstick, which is to say that if I’m having a dry lip day with some dry spots, this will show those dry spots and my lips will feel dry after just an hour of wear. However, if my lips are feeling moisturized and smooth, the lipstick will smooth out my lips even more and feel comfortable for hours.
But what I love most about this lipstick is the finish – it maintains that really lovely blotted natural look that the original formula has, just in matte finish. The shades just blend in and mesh so naturally with my lips that it could almost fool someone that my lips were actually the color of the lipstick. The color isn’t fully opaque so it inherently gives a little bit of a blotted look, which is the kind of finish that I love.
The only thing that isn’t a complete 10/10 about these is that there are fewer shades in this line that I naturally gravitate to – and that is strictly just preference for me. I have the shades Classic, a neutral pink, and Maison, a mauve shade, (both applied below) and I also want to try Court, a muted brick red shade. But while I wanted and now own nearly every shade of the Signature Lips formula, the other shades in the matte formula don’t seem to be quite as flattering.
Otherwise, the formula of these is what I’d recommend if you’re looking for something with a softer finish and more comfortable wear. Like the other Merit lipsticks, these don’t have any scent or taste.
Prada Beauty Monochrome Hyper Matte Lipstick
Prada Beauty has 2 lipstick formulas, and the Hyper Matte formula is the fuller coverage version with a completely matte finish. I bought my lipstick online before they were available in any retailers and the shade B05 Fauve is admittedly not the most flattering orange or coral shade for my skintone, but I was still able to wear it to test it out.
The formula feels light going on, though not completely airless, and delivers medium coverage with one swipe. I find that these lightly smooth over some dryness but will be more prone to show any texture just because of the higher pigment levels. I also don’t find this formula particularly drying, but it has a drier feel from the start compared to other formulas, so my lips need to be well prepped before applying it. Of all the lipsticks in this post, this one has the most truly matte finish.
What this formula does really well is that it has excellent lasting power because the color sets down slightly after a few minutes. I could easily get 5-6 hours of wear out of this, and would probably get more wear with a deeper shade – which I would love to try since I really like how this formula wears. Anyone who is sensitive to scent should probably stay away from this – all of Prada Beauty’s lipsticks have a floral scent and a floral taste.
Prada Beauty Monochrome Soft Matte Lipstick
The Soft Matte formula is the softer, lighter, and more sheer counterpart to the Hyper Matte formula. This is the one that feels light as air and almost has a balmy feel going on the lips. The coverage is more of a buildable light coverage to start, and it can be built up to fuller coverage.
This one also gives more of a blotted lip look and I find this formula to be much more blurring and forgiving of any dryness or texture. The finish is not quite like a powder matte finish, but it has some of that blurring effect and a hint of powderiness to it. I get about 4-5 hours of wear with this lipstick, and I find it to be decently comfortable to wear even if I’m having a dry lip day, and very comfortable to wear on a good lip day.
Of the 2 Prada Beauty lipstick formulas, I prefer this one for daily wear because it feels much more effortless and more comfortable overall. This one is also scented and has a taste, like the other Prada lipstick.
The shade I have is B105 Tonka, a muted mauvey brown that has a slight muted quality so that it is deep without being too bright or too intense.
Westman Atelier Lip Suede Matte
The new Lip Suede Matte formula from Westman Atelier is the newest and most interesting matte lipstick launch lately. In addition to its weighty packaging, that while completely in line with the rest of the brand’s packaging, is bulkier than most lipsticks out there (it’s exactly as wide as a Make Beauty lip serum, by the way), the formula is really interesting.
These are fully opaque matte lipsticks that really do have a velvety suede finish while also feeling very lightweight on the lips. They have a light vanilla scent that isn’t overwhelming to me.
Of the lipsticks in this post, this one is probably the most pigmented from the first swipe, and with the many vibrant and deeper shades in this line, these are great for a statement lip. The velvet suede finish is really interesting because I actually find that it can initially emphasize texture and lines in my lips, but once the formula starts to settle in it transforms into more of a stain that actually gets more hydrating than it initially feels. When I first tested this, I was a little disappointed at how dry it made my lips look, but as I kept wearing it, I noticed that the formula started to smooth out and look more flattering. However, the initial texture means that I wouldn’t go near this if my lips looked or felt dry.
For my personal tastes, this formula is both a little too finicky and too opaque – unless I blot the product on – for me to reach for everyday. I think that Westman Atelier generally has well thought out formulas, and I think that these would be exactly what some people look for in a matte lipstick, I just tend to prefer something with a little lighter coverage and more forgiving. I bought the shade Je Reve, which is a pink mauve shade that is a very flattering and easy pink to wear for my skin tone:
I can’t help but compare this to Chanel, because they are both a hefty $50 each, and if I were to buy one, I much prefer the Chanel formula. It’s my favorite matte lipstick formula out of the ones in this roundup, with the Merit Signature Lips Matte being a close second option – though Merit is what I would reach for more in terms of an everyday lipstick shade. My third choice would be the Prada Soft Matte formula, which is also comfortable and long-lasting, plus the shade Tonka is so flattering and unique.
What do you think of all the new matte lipstick launches? Which ones are your favorite?
As always, thanks for reading.
Beauty Unhyped 