My Mom, Grandma, and I All Swear by Kim Kardashian’s MUA’s New Satin Lipstick
The formula feels just as weightless and hydrating on my twenty-something lips as it does on my grandma’s mature skin
There are several differences between my grandmother's, mother’s, and my beauty collections — my vanity full of gua shas, colorful eyeliners, and red light therapy wands would be enough to make their mouths hang open in confusion. But one product that transcends generations and ties our makeup bags together is a dependable, wear-anywhere lipstick — and we’ve collectively found our new favorite.
I, a 23-year-old beauty writer, my mother, a 51-year-old makeup lover, and my grandmother, a 74-year-old hairstylist, all pride ourselves on our inherited noses for high quality. So when one lipstick formula works just as beautifully on all three of us, across varying skin textures and tones, it’s something worth screaming about from the rooftops.
Introducing the Makeup by Mario SuperSatin Lipstick: a long-wear, ultra-creamy, pigment-packed formula in a bevy of natural nude hues, poppy corals, and lusciously dark shades. After years of perfecting his craft with high-profile clients such as Kim Kardashian, Normani, and Salma Hayek (to name a few), Mario Dedivanovic, CEO and founder of Makeup By Mario, realized there was one thing he felt himself reaching for in his kit, yet had never created for himself.
“As an artist, I’ve always loved a creamy, satin lipstick formula, but until now haven’t had one in my lineup,” Dedivanovic tells PEOPLE. “My new SuperSatin™ Lipstick is classic yet modern in that it glides and grips the lips with super comfortable wear.” He goes on to say that it’s formulated to pack on color while maintaining its smooth texture with just one swipe.
Makeup by Mario SuperSatin Lipstick
Since the matte UltraSuede Lipstick already exists, Dedivanovic felt the urge to add a more classic member to the family — which is how this buttery lippie came to be. The product features a satin finish, which leaves a light sheen on your lips in lieu of a powdery matte or ultra-glossy lip — a timeless go-between, which makes it ideal for every age. The lipsticks come in 18 different shades, from baby pinks to deep browns (with a few reds tossed in there), each honoring a different neighborhood or identity in New York City.
"“The collection is a tribute to my life and career in NYC that has led me to where I am today. My favorite shade, Bronx Baby, is a beautiful warm nude and named after the neighborhood where I was born and raised and where it all began.”
— Mario Dedivanovic, CEO and founder of Makeup By Mario"
One key aspect of this formula is the absence of parabens, sulfates (SLS and SLES), and silicones — chemicals that have been thought to interfere with hormones when used in cosmetics. Though silicones in lipsticks are pretty common (and not decidedly bad for you), we like knowing that this extra step was taken when formulating this product. Plus, it’s infused with moisturizing ingredients like castor seed oil and candelilla wax, and it's cruelty-free (always a perk in our book).
Armed with this information, I wanted to put this formula to the ultimate test: my mom, grandmother, and I applied our shades of choice as we flitted around the house on Christmas Day — eating, drinking, laughing — to see how this lipstick held up on one of the busiest days of the year.
Related: The Best Makeup for Older Women of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
How We Tested
It’s simple — my mom, grandma, and I had Christmas Day ahead of us, which meant not much time to pamper and required one lipstick that could get us through the day. So, we each swiped on different shades in the afternoon (“Tribeca” for me, “(917)” for Mom, and “Dumbo” for Grandma), and we went straight into holiday mode: eating, drinking, chatting, laughing, all while wearing our lipsticks to test for longevity, color payoff, and comfort.
We were careful to not smudge or wipe our lips too much to preserve as much of the original application as possible but still ate and drank as normal. After a few hours, we checked back in and observed how the formula stood up to a particularly hectic day. In the days following the holidays, we continued to test the shade range, and we wore different hues to see how they performed on a day-to-day basis.
The Results
The first thing I noticed when I swiped on this lipstick was just how pigmented it was. Whether it was the blue-red hue of my particular tube or the orangey-pink that my grandmother applied, one light layer of this decadent formula was enough to pack a punch. After we smacked our lips together following a satisfactory swipe, we didn’t notice the formula pushing, pilling, or migrating past our lips — something my grandmother pointed out immediately, as this is a complaint she’s had with other products.
All three of us noted how comfortable the moisturizing formula felt on our skin, keeping our lips feeling soft despite the cold Chicago weather. After a while, we forgot that we had anything on at all because of how weightless it felt throughout the night.
Though eating and drinking did cause the pigment to fade and blot a bit past our lips, we wouldn’t necessarily call it “feathering.” In fact, my grandmother said that it was one of the few lipsticks she’d tried that didn’t bleed onto her mature skin — a huge feat given her lifelong affinity for beauty.
My mother felt that her deep pink shade faded a bit more than my grandmother’s, and my red pout became more of a bitten shade of magenta throughout the night. But then again, we tested these on the Olympics of holidays, so we’re offering a bit of grace given that this product doesn’t claim to be long-wearing.
An extra perk: the metal packaging features a magnetic cap so the tube doesn’t accidentally open in your purse — a game changer.
Who It’s Good For
The Makeup by Mario SuperSatin Lipstick is a fantastic choice for someone who’s looking for a dependable, wear-everywhere lipstick that feels as good as it looks (and wears beautifully on both young and mature skin).
Pros:
The vast shade range provides a “your lips, but better” hue for a large variety of skin tones.
Its smooth formula felt weightless and moisturizing on our lips.
The powerful level of pigmentation provided healthy doses of color in one swipe without feathering, even on 70-plus-year-old skin.
Who It’s Not Good For
For anyone searching for a more budget-friendly lipstick, there are certainly other options to explore that tout a lower price tag. Satin lipsticks are a fairly common product, and several drugstore brands make their own versions that appease a tighter price range. However, you may be sacrificing the cleanliness of ingredients, longevity, and comfort level of your lipstick with a lower-budget product.
Cons:
At $28, this lipstick is on the higher end of the price spectrum.
There aren’t many vitamins or nourishing oils leading this formula, which could be a con for some shoppers.
What to Consider Before Buying a Satin Lipstick
Formula
The main thing that we wanted this lipstick to do was look and feel amazing on all three of us, despite the 50-year age difference myself and my grandmother. So when one swipe of the product opaquely coated our lips, moisturized our skin, stayed in place without feathering, and didn’t settle into our fine lines, we had nothing but praises to sing.
To look for a formula like this, you’ll want to keep your eye out for products with ingredients that are equal parts moisturizing and long-lasting, with opaque color payoff to boot. Jadé Marie Chapman, a holistic medical esthetician, makeup artist, and beauty creator, previously told PEOPLE that beeswax was one of the best ingredients to look out for in a moisturizing lip product, as it acts as a shield while nourishing the skin below. She noted that aloe is another ingredient to look for, as it “seals in moisture, defends lips from harm, and also contains vitamin E to restore chapped lips.”
However, another key aspect of Dedivanovic’s lipstick is its paraben, sulfate (SLS and SLES), and silicone-free formula, which is appealing to anyone looking for cleaner cosmetic formulas.
Shade Range
Your favorite lipstick color is as personal as your latte order — unique to you, which is why you’ll want a line that offers a variety of hues — not only in your favorite reds and statement shades, but in a “your skin, but better” color, as well.
“The unique color story features gorgeous shades from nudes to brights that are rich in color and wearable from day to night,” says Dedivanovic. With a variety of hues that compliment pale to deep skin tones, there’s bound to be a shade that fits your fancy among the 18 in the SuperSatin line.
Longevity
The longevity of your lipstick is another factor to consider when looking for your perfect tube. During our testing, we found that this lipstick was able to stay on for up to five hours without fading or feathering (when we weren’t actively eating or drinking during a full meal — snacking didn’t have any effect on the wear).
During our holiday test, we noticed that there was a bit of fading at the center of our lips after a full meal. However, this is nothing that wouldn’t be expected from a lipstick that doesn’t claim to be longwearing.
If you’re specifically looking for a lipstick that can last for hours without reapplication, then we’d suggest looking into long-lasting lipsticks, which usually include silicones and other ingredients that prolong the wear of your product (which this product is noticeably free of).
Related: The 15 Best Long-Lasting Lipsticks of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
Other Satin Lipsticks to Consider
If you’re still searching for your go-to satin lip, then here are a few others you can try on for size:
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick: Similar in finish, this satin lippie features a creamy formula comprised of 80 percent conditioning ingredients, including vitamin E, beeswax, aloe vera, and more. Plus, it’s only $11 at full price, whereas the Makeup By Mario lipstick is $28.
L’Oréal Colour Riche Satin Lipstick: Another drugstore buy that you can grab for a similar look is this $12 tube from L’Oréal, a stay-put product that’s infused with vitamin E and argan oil for an extra dose of moisturization. On top of all of this, the lipstick comes in 34 luscious shades, from similar poppy reds to warm nude-pinks.
MAC Satin Lipstick: If you’re a makeup traditionalist and trust products that have been around the block for a little longer, then you may gravitate towards MAC’s Satin Lipstick. Pumped with castor seed oil, candelilla wax, jojoba seed oil, and more, this product puts moisturization at the forefront while keeping pigment-packed color front and center — at $23.
Merit Signature Lip: The makeup minimalist will love the comfortable slip and one-swipe color of this Merit lipstick. The SuperSatin lipstick and Merit formula complement each other in the way that they both work well with young and mature skin — infused with vitamin C to hide the appearance of fine lines and softened with squalane and sunflower oil for a moisturizing, barely-there feel.
Is the Makeup by Mario SuperSatin Lipstick Worth It?
In my opinion, yes — the Makeup By Mario SuperSatin Lipstick is well worth the money. Not only does it compete with the high-end (and more expensive) lipsticks to come out of Pat McGrath Labs and Charlotte Tilbury (yes, I’ve tried them both), but it costs slightly less than those products while still delivering the same level of quality. If having artist-quality products (especially those vetted by a Kardashian) is something that matters to you, then this satin lipstick is about to be your new go-to. I know it’s certainly now my mother’s, grandmother’s, and mine.
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