Flat paint is not washable and if you touch them you will probably see the residue left from your hand. On the end of the flat category is matte which for many brands has a little bit of a sheen (almost none) but they are washable and even scrubbable. Keep in mind that tint has a sheen to it so Matte paints with a lot of tint in will look shinier than one with less tint.
• FLAT is great for ceilings
• MATTE is great for people who don’t like any shine on their walls, want to be able to wipe them when needed and great for textured walls or damaged walls because the light doesn’t “bounce” on the imperfections and draw attention to them. I really like matte paint for walls that have a lot of light on them… but that is just me.. I really dislike shine!