Beauty Brickthrough MAC Guide: Matte and Gloss Lip Tips for You
An educational guide from the Beauty AMZ research team. No hard sell, just what you need to know.
How Matte Lipstick Works
Matte lipstick uses high pigment with low shine ingredients. It absorbs light instead of reflecting it. This creates a flat, velvety color effect. Modern mattes include moisturizers to prevent dryness. Powder Kiss uses a blurring formula for a soft-focus finish. Matte lasts longer because less oil means less transfer.
How Lip Gloss Works
Lip gloss uses oils and shine polymers for reflective color. It makes lips look fuller and more hydrated. Modern glosses like Lipglass Air avoid the old sticky feeling. Botanical oils nourish the lips during wear. Gloss gives sheer to medium color payoff. It needs reapplication but feels very comfortable.
Choosing Brick and Warm Red Shades
Brick shades mix red with brown undertones. They look warmer and more muted than true reds. Warm undertones in skin pair naturally with brick. Cool undertones can still wear brick as a statement. The muted quality makes brick office-friendly. It reads as polished rather than dramatic. Test brick shades in natural light before buying.
Pro Lip Application Tips
Exfoliate lips weekly for a smooth canvas. Apply balm ten minutes before color, then blot. Use lip liner to define the shape and prevent feathering. Apply lipstick from the center outward. Blot and reapply for longer wear. Clean edges with a small concealer brush. These steps make any lipstick look professional.
Making Lip Color Last
Layering is the secret to long wear. Apply liner all over as a base. Add lipstick in thin layers, blotting between coats. Set the first layer with translucent powder through tissue. Finish with a final color layer. Avoid oily foods that dissolve lipstick. Carry the product for quick touch-ups after meals.
Recommended Products
These are the products our research team rates highest in this category.
Best for: Moisturized matte brick-red lips
MAC Powder Kiss Velvet Blur Slim Stick in Brickthrough
- Up to 12-hour velvet wear
- Moisture-infused matte formula
- Brickthrough brick-red shade
Pros
- Weightless matte feel
- Hydrated lips all day
- Iconic MAC pigment quality
Cons
- Slim stick wears down fast
- Transfers to cups
Best for: Glass shine without stickiness
MAC Lipglass Air in Frosting
- Non-sticky gloss formula
- 7% botanical oils
- Up to 8-hour hydration
Pros
- Comfortable high shine
- Nourishing oil blend
- Layers well over lipstick
Cons
- Sheer color payoff
- Reapplies often
Ready to Choose?
See our top product picks for brickthrough mac lip picks, or jump straight to the head-to-head comparison of the two most popular options.
Gloss Wear on Mature Lips
Mature lips change the gloss calculation: vertical lip lines give gloss a channel to feather into, thinner lips lose the natural fullness gloss used to amplify, and product can settle into lines instead of smoothing over them. But gloss is not off-limits, it is often kinder than matte on mature lips because it does not emphasize dryness.
The techniques that work: line the lips first with a liner close to your natural tone, which dams the feathering; choose glosses with a slightly thicker, cushiony texture that sits on top rather than running; and blot the inner lip lightly to reduce migration. Avoid ultra-thin, runny glosses and irritant plumpers, which punish lined lips. A comfortable formula like MAC Powder Kiss Velvet Blur Slim Stick in Brickthrough worn over liner gives shine without the bleed. Sheer and tinted glosses tend to flatter more than opaque ones on mature lips. For applicator choices that give more control, Best Brickthrough MAC Lip Picks for Warm Matte Lips Now breaks down the options.
Applicators: Doe-Foot vs Brush vs Squeeze Tube
The applicator changes the application more than people expect. Doe-foot wands are the standard: they carry a good amount of product and suit medium to full lips, but the flat pad offers limited precision at the edges. Brush applicators give the most control for thin lips and defined edges, painting product exactly where wanted. Squeeze tubes with a slanted tip are the most hygienic and portable, good for reapplication on the go, though they deposit product less evenly on the first pass.
Hygiene differs too. Doe-foot wands double-dip bacteria back into the tube with every use; never share them. Squeeze tubes avoid this since product flows one way. Brush applicators in tubes have the same double-dip issue as doe-foots. For thin lips, the precision of a brush applicator with MAC Powder Kiss Velvet Blur Slim Stick in Brickthrough prevents the over-application that makes gloss migrate. For full lips, a doe-foot covers efficiently. For fixing gloss that migrates despite good application, MAC Powder Kiss Brickthrough Vs Lipglass Air: Which Wins covers the troubleshooting.
Fixing Common Gloss Failures
Gloss has predictable failure modes, each with a fix. Migration outside the lip line: line first with a matching liner, and switch to a thicker formula, thin glosses travel. Gloss breaking down matte lipstick underneath into a patchy mess: apply gloss only to the center of the lip, not edge to edge, and let the matte set fully first. Transfer onto teeth: after applying, put a finger in your mouth, close lips around it, and pull out, removing the inner excess that causes smears.
Removing long-wear gloss without scrubbing: oil cleanser pressed on for thirty seconds dissolves the film binders, then a soft wipe. Hair sticking to lips in wind: a slightly tackier formula actually resists this less, the fix is pinning hair back, not changing gloss. If MAC Powder Kiss Velvet Blur Slim Stick in Brickthrough migrates no matter what, the formula is too thin for your lip shape and a cushiony texture will behave better. For layering gloss over lipstick properly, MAC Brickthrough Guide: Warm Lipstick Tips and Shade Ideas covers the technique.