A quality lipstick can add color and definition to your lips, putting the finishing touch on your look. While matte lipstick is meant to be long lasting, many formulas can leave your lips dry or have color that disappears too quickly.
MAC Cosmetics claims their velvety-smooth Matte Lipstick will last for up to 10 hours. The no-shine, ultra-matte finish comes in a wide variety of colors for defining, shading and showcasing your lips.
To see whether MAC Matte Lipstick not only stays all day, but also helps define and showcase lips, we put it to the test. Here’s what we found.
We used MAC Matte Lipstick in place of our usual matte lipstick for several days. Our tester is highly familiar with matte lipstick and prefers products that can be worn often, don’t flake and leave their lips feeling hydrated. We used the shade Velvet Teddy, which is a deep nude.
MAC Matte Lipstick is a classic bullet lipstick as opposed to the newly popular liquid lipsticks. Bullet lipsticks are generally easier to apply and remove, while liquid lipsticks take longer to apply but are not supposed to budge once dry. MAC Matte Lipstick is considered a creamy matte finish with full-coverage color. It’s not glossy or shiny, but instead gives that flat, lipstick matte look.
MAC recommends using a lip primer before applying matte lipstick. Lip primers can hydrate your lips, lock in color and form a smooth base.
You can then apply MAC Matte Lipstick directly to your lips or use a lip brush for more precision or shading. Wear it alone to get the matte look or add a gloss over the top for shine. Because it is a long-lasting lipstick, you’ll need makeup wipes or another makeup remover to take off the lipstick fully.
There are three key features of MAC Matte Lipstick.
If you’re looking for other comparable matte lipsticks, here are a few worth trying.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Lipstick
This bullet lipstick offers full-pigment lip color with a smooth, ultra-matte finish. It is available in 32 colors so everyone can find their perfect shade.
Sold by Ulta
Huda Beauty Power Bullet Matte Lipstick
Huda Beauty’s cruelty-free lipstick is highly pigmented and delivers strong color. The plush-matte smooth formula comes in 24 shades.
Sold by Sephora
MAC Matte Lipstick retails for $19. These MAC lipstick colors come in 31 shades.
MAC Matte Lipstick is available at Ulta and Macy’s.
MAC Matte Lipstick is easy and quick to use. It slid over our lips smoothly and gave us a rich color in just two coats. We liked the slanted surface on the tip of the lipstick and thought it allowed for precision when applying.
Overall, MAC Matte Lipstick stayed on our lips reasonably well with a few reapplications throughout the day. We thought it was one of the most hydrating matte lipsticks we’ve tried in a while and appreciated that our lips never felt tight. Matte lipstick is characteristically dry, which helps it achieve that matte look, but the Mac lipstick remained smooth and never flaked off or got crusty.
While we thought MAC Matte Lipstick lasted longer than other matte lipsticks we’ve used in the past, we still had to reapply throughout the day to hold onto that rich color. However, it was small enough to keep with us at all times and easy to reapply.
Even though MAC Matte Lipstick was hydrating enough for our lips, some wearers felt the formulation was dry. A few users thought it was too dry to apply quickly and precisely, while others felt it made their lips dry and flaky. Some also thought the colors they received didn’t match the colors online.
Based on our experience, we felt MAC's Matte Lipstick delivered on its promise to help define and showcase our lips. It’s a long-lasting matte lipstick, but it doesn’t quite make it from sunup to sundown without a reapplication. Our lips felt hydrated all day long, which is impressive for a naturally drying matte formula. We recommend MAC Matte Lipstick to anyone looking for a long-lasting lipstick to showcase or add a little definition to their lips.
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Bre Richey writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.