Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market’s most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.
The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors’ honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we’ll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors can’t shut up about. This time, I’m highlighting this incredible satin lipstick, Makeup by Mario’s SuperSatin Lipstick ($28).
I’ll just come right out and say it: I hate wearing lipstick. And this hatred mostly stems from feeling like I have to stare at myself (much more than I already do) to ensure that it stays in place and looks fresh at all times. Wearing lipstick means constantly asking if there’s lipstick in my teeth, taking out my compact mirror to check if I have any smears or smudges, and reapplying constantly to avoid cracked edges or color fading. I would never lie to you and say that I’ve been on the hunt for a lipstick that doesn’t force me to do all of the above. In fact, I avoid lipsticks entirely and almost always go for lip glosses, lip stains, and tried and true lip balms.
I’ll end my rant there and add the caveat that I do love the way my lips look when I’m wearing lipstick. So when Makeup by Mario created a satin lipstick that gives the look of lipstick but feels light and balm-like, I gleefully hopped off the lipstick hate train to give this one a try. Please note that I’m only making this exception for a brand that can do no wrong in my book. Makeup by Mario hasn’t made a single product that I don’t like, and I’m happy to report that the SuperSatin Lipstick passed the test.
Lipstick was the first beauty product Mario Dedivanovic sold while working at Sephora in New York City as a teenager, so it’s a major full-circle moment for him to create these creamy satin lipsticks inspired by New York. You can see the love and passion that went into these 18 tubes. The keyword that Dedivanovic kept coming back to when describing the product development process was “grip.” The goal was to create a formula that could grip the lips with ease and feel comfortable without slipping or smudging. And I can confidently say that this goal was achieved. Unlike other lipsticks, it only takes one swipe or a few light dabs to get your desired color. I walked around the city in the depths of winter knowing that my lipstick was locked into place without the need for several touch-ups.
Prior to the launch, I had the opportunity to meet Dedivanovic and get a touch-up using the SuperSatin Lipstick in the shade Central Park. The makeup artist highly recommended using the UltraSuede Sculpting Lip Pencil, which is dual-ended and allows for precise carving. He sculpted my lips using the pencil end and then followed up with the brush to blend and blur the color to perfection. The last step was dabbing the lipstick onto my lips. I adopted this method when applying Tribeca, a beautiful apple-red shade, on my lips at home.
Dedivanovic is known for creating beautiful signature nude shades, but don’t sleep on his deeper and bolder hues. I tried on every shade with a dark brown lip liner just to outline my lips and make sure that each color faded nicely into my skin tone. Uptown Girl and Downtown Girl were the most out of my comfort zone, but I love that this collection features enough range to give us multiple everyday lip shades and colors that feel like a risk. I have a deeper skin tone, and trying on most lipsticks feels risky, but I went into this collection knowing there was a variety of shades suitable for my melanated skin.
I promise I’m not being dramatic when I say that this lipstick is in a different lane. On the rare occasions that I do put on lipstick, I’m constantly reminded of it. But when I’m wearing the SuperSatin lipstick, it feels buttery soft and like I applied a thin lip balm before jetting out the door. In reality, I was able to glide a swipe of color onto my lips from this luxe matte black tube without any fuss or fight. Sometimes I find that lipstick builds up in the corners of my mouth after chatting all day or spending lots of time outside, but I can’t say this was my experience.
As a gloss girl, I naturally put a clear gloss over this lipstick for that glossy finish. To my surprise, the lipstick stayed put and I was able to layer these products without making a mess or completely removing the initial color the lipstick gave me. I now have Dumbo sitting in my purse along with my everyday glosses to get me through the winter, and I don’t see this changing anytime soon. I just might become a lipstick girl in 2024, and if I do, I’ll have this SuperSatin lipstick to blame for that.
What makes this satin formula different from the other lip products that you’ve launched in the past?
Mario Dedivanovic: We’ve had a nice collection of matte, liquid, and glossy formulas but didn’t have a classic creamy lipstick, which is what I’ve always used the most. This satin formula is classic yet modern in that it glides and grips the lips with super comfortable wear. The color story is also unique because the shades are inspired by and pay tribute to NYC, where I was born and raised.
What are your best practices for applying lipstick? Should you always wear a lip liner? Should you wear a lip balm underneath?
You can pair SuperSatin Lipstick with my UltraSuede Sculpting Lip Pencil, especially if you’re trying to re-create my signature Lip Lift technique, but the formula works beautifully by itself if you want to skip the pencil step. Lately, I’ve been into a blurred/stained lip, so I start by using less lipstick to get the look.
What advice would you give to someone new to wearing lipstick and trying to find the right shade for their skin tone?
Start by finding a shade that resembles your natural lip color since no color will be more flattering than the one you were born with. This will be a perfect everyday go-to shade that looks good with everything. Most important, though, is choosing a shade that makes you feel good and that you find most flattering. I say let your intuition guide the process. You’re drawn to what you like for a reason.
What’s your favorite shade in this collection?
All the shades in this collection are special to me, but my absolute favorite is Bronx Baby. I grew up in the Bronx and wanted to name my favorite shade after the neighborhood I’m from. The shade reminds me of a soft, warm rose lipstick my oldest sister Vicky used to wear and is an easy, simple way to wear nude every day.
