This is such an excellent subject to discuss, right? I am always curious about the various finishes are for MAC lipsticks. I know some lipsticks have a shimmer or matte finishes but are they named “shimmer finish?” This kind of question will be answered now, so keep reading. Just like eyeshadows, the lipsticks have a finish too. MAC lipsticks have nine different finishes. In the list below, I am going to tell you the difference of all the eleven MAC lipstick finishes.
1. Matte
I am going to assume that you already have the knowledge on the matte finish in lipsticks. It means no-shine and an excellent color payoff, but they also manage to dry out the lips the most. The matte finish, while one of the complicated to work with, definitely delivers the best color payoff and is the most long-lasting of all the various finishes. However, the drawback is that it will reveal every dry crease in your lips so, stay far away unless your lips are in smoking hot situation. Also, these lipsticks tend to be drying and take forever to get off. They are excellent for nights out when you don’t want to reapply your lipstick over and over, and have very slight bleeding or feathering. General wear time for me is between four to six hours.
– Mattes Include – Russian Red, Viva Glam I, Please Me
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon or simply click the photo below
2. Satin
The satin lipsticks are my personal favorite. They are long-lasting and give high opacity without denoting as drying as their matte equivalent. Satin finishes are still considered to be quite matte, but have a slight semi-matte sheen and are less drying on the lips, I find these a dream to apply and have a good opaque coverage.
– Satin Lipsticks include – Snob, Sail La Vie, Brave, Myth
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon or click the image below
3. Glaze
The glaze lipsticks are the sheerest of all the lipsticks. These are detailed and easy to use, because of the lack of opacity and the glossy finish. Most of the girls go-to everyday color, Hue, has a glaze finish. It’s an amazing pinkish-nude color that goes with every single look. They give sheer pigmentation which has a decreased wear time, but they are very real looking.
-Glaze Lipsticks include – Hot Tahiti and Hue
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon or click the photo below
4. Lustre
This finish is similar to the glaze finish, even though I notice that the lustre lipsticks appear in many more colors and are ever-so-slightly more opaque. Relatively sheer but easily buildable with a nice glossy finish. Expect a 3-4 hour wear from them. Think more pigmented Glaze.
– Lustre Lipsticks include – Syrup, Plink, Jubilee, Hug me, Spice it up, Cockney
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon or click the image below
5. Frost
This lipstick gives medium wearing time, medium gloss and medium coverage. What makes them stand out is that they are all shimmery and provide a frost-like finish as the name suggests.
– Frost Lipsticks include – Barcelona Red, Viva Glam Rihanna, New York Apple
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon or click the photo below
6. Cremesheen
A beauty girls’ favorite, Cremesheen lipsticks pack a hell of a lot of colors into a small bullet, they don’t wear for very long as they combine the pigmentation of the lipstick with the glossy texture of a lipgloss, and so suffer greatly on wear time. They aren’t as pigmented as the other lipsticks but are by no means sheer. They are quite hydrating because of the creaminess which is not that very long-lasting on the lips.
– Cremesheen lipsticks include – Lickable, Speak Louder, Creme Cup, Shy Girl
7. Cremesheen Pearl
These are quite new, and apparently, combine the shimmer particles found in a frost lipstick and the glossy texture of a creme sheen. As far as I can tell, I don’t own any, so apparently not all that appealing to me!
– Cremesheen Pearl Lipsticks include – Speed Dial, Modesty, On Hold
8. Amplified Creme
Amplified Creme Lipsticks have a great creamy, glossy finish, they have a short wear time for this very reason, but do pack a punch while they are on! They sadly are known for bleeding and slipping around your face! So be careful!
– Amplified Creme Lipsticks include – Violetta, Vegas Volt, Girl About Town
9. Amplified
This formula gives a massive opaque coverage that is similar in opacity to the Matte formulas, Light Sheen finish. Great color pay off!
– Amplified Lipsticks include – Cosmo, Red Balloon
10. Retro Matte
Although similar to the original matte formula, it is MORE drying and can be difficult to apply due to the lack of emollients used. Provide flat opaque coverage. They have been said to be more long wearing than original Matte formula
– Retro Mattes Include – Dangerous, Riri Woo, Relentlessly Red
11. Dazzle
Think Glitter, only on your lips. This is perfect for the ones that like very obvious lips. You will see micro-glitter bits left on your lips once it’s worn off.
Well done for making it this far and thank you so much for reading. I hope this could be a help to you. Let me know in the comment section below if you have something to say or you want to further discuss. 🙂
