Gloss

A gloss reflects light in bright highlights, which can make the lips look fuller and makes the colour look lighter where the light hits. Payoff is the part that varies most. A sheer gloss lets the natural lip colour show through, so the shade can read much lighter and more translucent on the lips than its hex. A highly pigmented gloss gives close to full colour, still with the wet shine on top.

Because of this range, the same hex can look very different as a gloss and as a matte or satin. A gloss and a matte with a ΔE near zero are the same colour on paper but different results on the lips. A shimmer gloss adds sparkle on top of the shine.

Gloss is often layered over lipstick, a lip stain or lip liner to add shine while keeping the colour underneath, and it usually wears off sooner than long-wear formulas. On this site, gloss swatches carry a strong highlight near the top left and a bright band along the top edge.