Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink, From Mabel's Lashes to Your Lips

Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink, From Mabel's Lashes to Your Lips

Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink is the liquid lipstick that made a hundred-year-old Chicago brand a lip-color name again. This edit follows the four shades, the other SuperStay formulas and the liners, gloss and balm that go around them.

The Maybelline story starts with a sister. In 1915 in Chicago, a young Thomas Lyle Williams watched Mabel use Vaseline and coal dust on her lashes, and he named his company for her. L'Oreal bought the brand in 1996, and it now works out of New York. More than a century later, the lipstick I think of first is Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink, which Allure dates to 2017. It is a matte liquid lipstick with a flat arrow-shaped applicator, and the brand says it wears up to 16 hours. Allure reported in 2019 that Pioneer, a classic red with blue undertones, sold every six seconds in the United States. Pioneer is the first shade in the grid. Dancer is a warm brick red, Lover is a mid-tone mauve pink, and Founder is a cranberry. They run from the boldest to the easiest to wear, so most people will find a place to start without guessing, and the arrow tip makes the edges easy to draw on the first try.

Twelve boxes on a pale gray page, one for each product in the first three grids of this edit, each with its brand and name printed below: Maybelline New York SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick Pioneer, Maybelline New York SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick Dancer, Maybelline New York SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick Lover, Maybelline New York SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick Founder, Maybelline New York SuperStay Vinyl Ink Liquid Lipcolor Cheeky, Maybelline New York SuperStay Teddy Tint Wild at Heart, Maybelline New York SuperStay Teddy Tint Coffee Date, Maybelline New York SuperStay 24 2-Step Liquid Lipstick All Day Cherry, Maybelline New York Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liner Gone Griege, Maybelline New York Lifter Liner Lip Liner On It, Maybelline New York Lifter Gloss Pearl and Maybelline New York Lifter Glaze Oil Balm Caramel Glow.
Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink

Four shades of Matte Ink

Other finishes, same SuperStay name

SuperStay is a name that Maybelline has stretched across several finishes, and the second grid shows how far. Vinyl Ink in Cheeky is a rose nude with a glossy, wet-look shine, and the brand says it wears up to 16 hours. The two Teddy Tints, Wild at Heart and Coffee Date, are plush and lighter on the lips, with a soft matte finish and wear the brand puts at up to 12 hours. SuperStay 24 in All Day Cherry is a two-step, with a color coat followed by a moisturizing balm, which is the one I would pick if matte formulas tend to feel tight on you. Try the color coat first, let it dry for two minutes as the brand directs, then add the balm. I find the two-step is the most forgiving in a bag when you cannot check a mirror.

Four more SuperStay lip colors

The lip kit around it

Grid three is the supporting cast. The Color Sensational shaping lip liner in Gone Griege is a nude with a self-sharpening tip, made to stop color from feathering. Lifter Liner in On It has hyaluronic acid in the formula, and the brand says it gives a lifted look. Lifter Gloss in Pearl is a translucent shine with silver pearl, and Lifter Glaze in Caramel Glow is a sheer light brown oil balm that reads as glazed. Line the edge lightly, fill in a little, and finish with either the gloss or the glaze on top. What I would skip is pressing your lips together right after a matte formula. Give it a minute to set, and skip a second coat, because a thin layer of ink dries down faster and tends to stay put better than a thick one.

Liners, gloss and balm

A lip color that asks for one thin coat

I treat a lip color like a small commitment, and the ones that ask for thin coats and a little patience are the ones I keep. That is the whole trick here. Exfoliate gently and blot before you start, and keep an oil-based balm nearby for the end of the day. Take the pieces that suit your mouth and leave the rest, since none of this needs to be worn all at once. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Maybelline Foundation and Maybelline Serum Lipstick and Other Lipsticks That Feel Like Balm.

More long wear lip color and liners