What Heat Does to a Matte Formula
Matte lip colours work by stripping out the emollients, the oils and waxes that give a product slip. What's left behind is pigment, film-forming polymers, and very little moisture. In a temperate climate, that film stays flexible because the air around it isn't pulling aggressively at the water content in your lips. In Indian summer heat, even in October in many cities, ambient temperatures above 30°C accelerate transepidermal water loss from the lip surface. The matte film can't compensate. It contracts as the tissue beneath it loses moisture, and the result is visible cracking along the natural lines of the lip, usually within three to four hours of application.
