Ever been asked “What kind of lipstick are you looking for?” and dumbfounded? If you have ever wondered what ‘Matte’, ‘Lustre’ et al mean, just get your lipstick lingo right and you will never have to face this dilemma again.
There are more than half a dozen finishes in MAC lipsticks. But first, what exactly does ‘Finish’ mean? Finish is the texture of the lipstick and how it appears when applied. Pigmented or not, depends on the finish of the lipstick.
Here’s the list of MAC lipstick finishes:-
- MATTE: Highly pigmented, no sheen, no shimmer, no glitter
Matte finish is the only one which gives you an intense colour on your lips which you can’t be achieved with any other finish. The lipsticks which have a matte finish to them have the longest staying power. You get the desired coverage without any shine or any glittery effect whatsoever. However, they also happen to be the ones that tend to dry your lips out the most. QUICK TIP: – Moisturize your lips before applying any lipstick that has a Matte finish to it.
- SATIN: Semi-matte texture, rich in colour, somewhere between flat and glossy
A lipstick with a Satin finish is pigmented with a little bit of a glossy-shimmery effect to it. In terms of colour pay off, Satin is next in line to Matte. A lipstick with this finish will definitely last longer on your lips than any other (except Matte ofcourse). As compared to Matte, Satin is less drying as it has a conditioning formula. So, if you want full coverage without drying out your lips and don’t mind a bit of a satiny shine, then Satin finish is the way to go.
- AMPLIFIED CRÈME: Colour rich formula, creamy, glossy
Quite similar to the satin finish, the only difference is that Amplified crème is glossier, shinier and creamier than Satin. As far as the colour pay off is concerned, it definitely gives a good coverage but as I mentioned earlier, it is very glossy and because of this, it doesn’t have as good a staying power as a Matte or Satin finish.
- FROST: Medium coverage, frost-like shimmer, glittery, gives a colour that is between sheer and intense
A lipstick with a Frost finish gives you a good colour pay-off with glittery and shimmery finish to it. If you are looking for colour intensity, then Frost finish may not be the right choice for you, as it is not as vivid or intense as Matte or Satin finish is. They can be just a tad drying as well.
- GLAZE: Very hydrating to the lips, more of a gloss than lipstick, short wear-time
Glaze finish has to be by far the sheerest of all. If you usually look for a lipstick that gives you a good coverage then Glaze finish is not for you. It will only give you a tint of the colour in the stick and not its true colour. You can choose whatever bold colour you want in Glaze finish but it won’t be over-powering or heavy.
- LUSTRE: lip glossed look, demi-sheer coverage
A Lustre finished lipstick gives an effect of wet-looking lips. The colour pay off is not very good as it has an almost-sheer coverage (not as sheer as a gloss would actually be). So if you like to apply gloss over a lipstick, you might as well purchase one with Lustre finish to it as it would mean lipstick and gloss in one. It does wear off pretty easy though.
- CRÈME-SHEEN: Creamy, glossy, decent coverage
One of my favourite finishes is Crème-sheen. They tend to be creamy and give you a decent colour pay-off. As far as pigmentation is concerned, this finish is pretty pigmented. Crème-sheen lipsticks glide on smoothly and you wouldn’t want to add a lip-gloss to it because this finish gives the effect of the same. A lot of MAC crème-sheen finish lipsticks are vibrant in colour but they don’t look as bright on the lips.
So, have you bought one for your pretty pout yet? 😀
xx
Stylefried 