Swatches: The new Revlon Super Lustrous Luscious Mattes bring bright shades back in style

Product photography by Perkin Gotohio

This story is brought to you by Revlon

The big news flash of my life these days is that I’m getting married next month. I’m starting to plan my makeup already, which is exciting, because I have so many ideas! I’m going to do my own makeup, of course. Better put all my beauty kung fu to work, right? Initially I was thinking of doing the classic bridal look - very natural and neutral on the eyes and lips - but right now I’m considering a big bold red lip. I’m so torn! What do you think? The lipstick will really determine what I do with the rest of my face.

Speaking of lipsticks, I’m happy to introduce the Revlon Super Lustrous Luscious Mattes Lipsticks (P350 in Shopee and Lazada). I know that we don’t get to wear lipstick as often as we used to these days, but there are still so many occasions online and off where a great color can help us look new and confident and fun. So! The Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick is really an icon at this point in its decades-long history, but there has been a recent addition to the line in the form of the Luscious Mattes. These mattes are different because they’re not thick and drying. They’re quite emollient, actually, even buttery, and they feel quite thin on the lips with a silicone slip.

The catch with these modern comfort-centric mattes is that they’re not quite 100% matte. These lipsticks are satiny upon first application. They look more matte as they dry down and settle (say about 15 minutes or so), but this particular formula is not going to end up looking like a flat, powdery matte. Which is great! This doesn’t dry my lips out, and I didn’t even need lip balm after swatching 16 of these in one sitting. Of course, if you have very chapped lips, you may need lip balm.

As for the staying power, it’s a decent 3-4 hours on my lips. The Revlon Luscious Matte will fade after eating (as with most bullet lipsticks) but will survive drinking easily. Retouching is not a problem as this fades cleanly and without a pilled residue. This will definitely rub off a mask, so best to wear it when you arrive to where you’re going, or at home for meetings.

On to the colors: there are 16 shades available here in the Philippines, 15 of which I’ve swatched for you. I recommend Pick Me Up for that pretty warm nude, Shameless for a dusty rose MLBB, and Crushed Rubies for a striking retro red. It's important to note that iconic Super Lustrous shades are also available in this line: Cherries In The Snow and Fire & Ice. These are bright pink-based reds that are showstoppers, and have been since the 1960s! I’m actually quite excited to have these back in my collection!

There are some meh colors here, too. Make It Pink is very pale, almost lilac, and won’t work for Filipina skin tones unless you’re going for an avant-garde effect. I was actually excited about Onyx, a black lipstick, but it ended up quite patchy on my lips. I think I’ll need a proper dark/black lip liner to get this as opaque as possible. After Hours is a pretty oxblood red, but was also patchy upon application. Untold Stories was also uneven.

Nevertheless, I think there are a lot of colors here to delight lipstick lovers. At only P350 a tube, you can pick out a shade for any occasion. Right now, I’m seriously considering either Crushed Rubies or Cherries In The Snow as my wedding lipstick. I don’t know yet, we shall see! What do you think? Sound off in the comments!