Raise your hand if you remember the Kylie Lip Kit craze of 2016. Everyone was trying to get their hands on the latest launch—it was a cultural phenomenon. The Kylie Lip Kit craze also jump-started something else: a major obsession with matte liquid lipsticks.
For the better part of 2016, gloss seemed practically outlawed. Liquid lipstick was the moment, and the more matte the better. The problem with the liquid lipstick formulas then mostly had to do with the formulas. Matte liquid lipsticks of yesteryear were often drying, flaky, and even chalky.
Now, matte liquid lipsticks are having something of a renaissance. Don’t worry. They’re not like the formulas we used to cake on. This year, matte liquid lipsticks are being made in ways we’ve never seen before. Think comfortable, non-drying formulas that don’t flake off or look too matte—just the perfect amount. Keep reading for our favorite launches this year.
Glossier G Suit is a far cry from the mattifying, drying formulas of liquid lipsticks past. It feels comfortable, doesn’t dry out lips, and doesn’t settle into fine lines or cake. The colors are blurring and don’t dry down right away (the formula itself is semi-matte), which means they’re extremely forgiving and easy to switch up.
Glossier G Suit comes in eight shades.
Charlotte Tilbury is the queen of lipsticks, so it only makes sense she would come out with a blurring, easy-to-wear lip formula before everyone else. With a unique diamond-shaped applicator, these Lip Blurs allow for the most precise application possible. These lipsticks are matte, but they’re also moisturizing, which means that the overall effect is airbrushed. The lipstick sits flawlessly on lips, and hyaluronic acid helps plump and hydrate them as you wear it.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Matte Lip Blur comes in eight shades.
This creamy, pillowy formula glides on effortlessly to lips. Squalane, hemi-squalane, a post-biotic blend and a fermented botanical complex work together to create a formula that’s moisturizing, firming, and smoothing. This liquid lipstick is highly pigmented, and it has a soft matte finish that defines lips but keeps them blurred.
Rose Inc Lip Cream comes in 12 shades.
Valentino’s newest lip product doubles as a blush, so you can practically use it everywhere. It’s infused with peony extract for the most comfortable, hydrating formula imaginable, but it still gives tons of high-impact color. This matte formula is also made with Roma-Light Complex—color-boosting pearls that give a slightly radiant finish. It’s the ideal multitasker.
Valentino Liquirosso 2 in 1 Soft Matte Liquid Lipstick & Blush comes in 12 shades.
