For years, glosses, glazes and luscious oils have dominated the lipstick category, but this is all about to change. Matte is making its comeback, so we’ve tapped the experts on how to modernise the look
The year is 2015. The world is obsessed with contoured full-coverage finishes and Kylie Jenner has just launched her first lip kit. It is an era we were keen to leave behind come the 2020s (block brows and overlined lips included) when the makeup world turned to glowier pastures. The new stars of the show came rapid-fire, with Dior Beauty’s Addict Glow Oil selling out the second it hit TikTok, our patron of glaze Hailey Bieber introducing us to the world of Rhode in 2021, and ‘Glass Skin’ becoming part of our beauty vocabulary in 2022.
That said, it seems the beauty winds have changed with formerly gloss-addicted brands launching matte makeup at dizzying speeds: Dior Beauty foregoing oils in lieu of velvet bullets, Byredo introducing nostalgic liquid matte lipsticks, and the Queen of Glow Gucci Westman launching powdery products for Westman atelier.
“I think the glowy shades will still stay, but my shift to the matte texture is more about an evolution from the previous vinyl collection to explore Liquid Lipstick with a new angle,” says Lucia Pica, creative image and makeup partner of Byredo. “I didn’t want to create another powdery dry matte lipstick,” she continues. “I want something more modern that doesn’t dry out the lips.”
And it is true, these new launches aren’t your dusty and dry Kardashian-era concoctions. This time, the formulas are brimming with nourishing lip-loving ingredients to help your lips stay hydrated. Take Chanel’s new Rouge Allure Velvet lipsticks, fronted by Margot Robbie, as an example. Lasting all night long, there’s no crust to be found at the end of the night thanks to the boosted blend of shea butter and jojoba oil.
“The biggest change over the past years is the comfort aspect,” notes Dior Beauty’s Nordic MUA and trainer Tanja Balsgaard. “Since technology has developed, we have now succeeded in combining the two opposite features: matte and long-lasting with creamy and comfortable.” It makes her confident when she says, “Matte lipsticks are definitely here to stay.”
As for modernising the look of matte lipsticks, Balsgaard taps the blurred-out ‘cloud lip’ trend. “It uses a technique where you overline your cupid bow, diffuse the lip contour and blend the matte lipstick primarily in the centre of your lips with your fingertips,” she says. Perfect for the makeup novice, the beauty of the blur is how easy it is to maintain. For Pica, the ‘90s lead the way – with muted brown tones and tonnes of lipliner. “My go-to shade for every day is Calmer,” she says. “It is this nineties brown with orange undertones.”
So, where is the world of lipsticks headed? In summary, it seems that glow is going steady, but in today’s micro-trend climate and with individualism becoming a north star on the beauty map, there is plenty of room for glosses and mattes to co-exist in our bathroom cupboards.
