Matte, satin and glossy lipsticks differ far more in their base than in their pigment. The finish, the wear time and the feel on the lips are all consequences of one set of formulation choices.
The base is a balance of wax and oil
A conventional lipstick is a solid suspension: pigment dispersed through a mixture of waxes that provide structure and oils that provide movement and shine.
More wax makes a firmer bullet that deposits less and sits drier on the lips. More oil makes a softer, more slippery product that glides and reflects light.
Every finish along the range from matte to high shine is produced by moving that ratio, before any consideration of colour.
Shine is a question of surface smoothness
A glossy surface reflects light in one direction because it is smooth at a microscopic scale, and oils and emollients create exactly that surface.
A matte film scatters light in many directions because its surface is broken up by fillers such as silica and treated powders.
Those fillers absorb oil as well as scattering light, which is why a matte formula both looks flat and feels drier than a satin one of the same colour.
Liquid mattes work by evaporation
Liquid matte formulas suspend pigment in volatile solvents, usually light silicones, that evaporate after application.
What remains is a film of pigment and film-forming polymer bonded to the surface, with very little of the oil that would allow it to move or transfer.
That film is the source of the long wear and equally the source of the tight feeling, since it has removed the flexible component that would keep it comfortable.
Wear time and comfort pull in opposite directions
Anything that keeps colour in place also resists the natural movement of the lips, and lips flex constantly through speech, eating and expression.
A comfortable formula moves with that flexing and therefore transfers and fades. A durable formula resists it and therefore feels stiff and shows dryness.
Formulators work at the compromise between the two, and most product development in the category is about shifting that compromise rather than inventing a new mechanism.
Pigment load changes behaviour independently
A high pigment concentration gives opacity in one pass but also makes the film thicker and more prone to settling into fine lines.
Sheer formulas carry less pigment in more emollient, which is why they feel comfortable, wear briefly and rarely show texture.
Understanding a lipstick as a ratio rather than a shade explains why a favourite colour behaves so differently across formulas from the same brand.