Well....at least you ADMIT you're a slob!!!
(JUST KIDDING!!!)

Seriously, for MOST paints...
THE HIGHER THE SHEEN, THE BETTER IT IS FOR A BATH.
(Thank G*D we had S/G in our DD's bath since day 1 in this house...1996!!)
It's a better builder's-grade of S/G in there, but because it has a higher sheen, there IS NO degradation of finish, and wipes superbly.

Now...that I'm even smarter (;-)) about paints (...groan...!), here's a visual-analogy-description of sheens:
>>> Think of a black dining-room table-top...
>>> The higher the sheen, the tighter/smoother the surface-film resins & smaller pigment-particle size.

* Flats/Mattes: Are a layer of Tennis-balls covering the table.
* Eggshells: Golfballs. Film now getting a little tighter, & smaller pigment size.
* Satins: Marble size now...surface getting tighter & smoother.
* Semi-glosses & Glosses: Down to PEA-size now!!! Tight/smooth surface film now. The MOST resistant to water-penetration, and MOST easily cleaned. Binder-resin is the smoothest here.

Durability here also assumes very good prep...CLEANED walls, PRIMED walls, and a sound substrate not ready to flake off anything.

>>> The better the paint...the more $$$ it is. Simple as that.
(With our new puppy arrival, I STILL haven't gotten the FPE Matte up in MY bathroom!! Yes...in this case, I said MATTE!! BUT...it's FPE. See the Conversations thread about "Callie"!)

Faron

Well, Missy........you already know the mantra.....you can do anything you want, and you should do what works best in your own home for your own lifestyle. I leave my toaster and my coffeemaker and my knife block on my very small kitchen counters, even though decorating rules state very clearly that these things should be put away for beauty. I need my coffee, to reach for a knife, (to kill the rats in my kitchen!) and DH only cooks toast, so he needs that toast-cooker out!

But there are quite a few paints that clean up quite nicely in lesser sheens than semigloss. I have satin on my bathroom walls and really would rather even have eggshell. Love the flatter finish and would rather cope with the cleaning. I don't think you have to do the semi to get a good wall finish. I even like the Ace Sensations Matte flat finish, it is now in my kitchen and wipes off nicely. Of course, I have a real backsplash so don't have to worry too much, but over by my trash can, there can be some cleanup issues where I think my DD probably throws coffee grounds against the wall!
Keep in mind that you have a mess on a flat finish. Even upgrading your finish just a little will relieve that. And you are using mascara. Good for you! I think all is forgiven in pursuit of facial beauty!

Red

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Faron what is FPE matte?
Lkplatow - Thanks for the thoughts on the Duron Velvet and the tip on the Home Depot paint!
Red - Your post made me chuckle.

Some spots of the drywall work in the hall/foyer area is less than desirable so I used Ace Sensations there but haven't had to put it to the test yet. I'll admit even touching flat painted walls kind of grosses me out. To me it's like newspaper or fingernails on a chalk board type thing. Weird I know :) so the more I think of it I'm not sure I should use in the bathroom. lol SG is really shiny and it might be too much in the bathroom but I've had some issues with touch ups flashing on eggshell paint. I will say I don't have a backsplash in the kitchen and am also a slob when I wash dishes. The paint has held up well. I probably shouldn't be too concerned right now with this in my main bath since nobody really uses it. Even if DH and popped out a kid tomorrow, assuming it was a girl, I won't have to worry about the mascara issue for a long time. But I do hear how kids can be messy. :)

I'm sure I'm putting too much thought into this.

If you scrub hard enough, you can damage any paint. I have gently wiped a velvet matte sheen paint (Ellen Kennon Paint, mixed by ICI Dulux) and removed soil from it without damage. I was removing mud and dog fur oil/dirt from my dog's favorite sleeping wall.

Duration interior or California 2010 Super-scrub ceramic. I've had good luck with both. Actually, the C2 eggshell is great also.

I used BM Satin for my powder room and laundry area. It's washable with a slight sheen. For my other bathrooms, I will likely use SW Duration Satin, which I've heard is similar to other paint manufacturer's eggshell finish. I used it in my living areas and it has only a slight sheen.

This was a compromise between DH and I - he wanted semi-gloss in the bath and laundry but I just did not high gloss walls. SW Duration Matte is supposed to be washable but I've never used it.

We did Duration Matte in the basement and I've had to scrub some spots and there was no damage.

Had to laugh, though, about your description of the weird sensation of touching flat paint. You are not alone--I hate it too. Creeps me out big time! (as does newspaper and the old Pfaltzgraff dinnerware my grandmother had. Blech. Cringing about it now...)

Sheesharee have you tried those pads from Mr. Clean? I can almost guarantee they will get your walls clean. They are called Magic Erasers. You can get them at the grocery store. I have boys and the door trim and walls were always gross. I was so giddy running around the house washing with these pads. They really do work, and on things you wouldn't think - like makeup!

We used BM Aura paint in matte finish in several rooms/hallway in our home in the past year, and we love it. It takes a hard scrubbing (w/ blue scrub sponge) without losing color or geeting all splotchy or streaky. I've had to scrub at least a few spots already (some with plenty of elbow grease!) and I'm amazed at how well the paint/finish fared.

I normally love flat paint but in my household a bathroom is one area where I will not use it. A semigloss works well for me in there. I have 3 boys and 1 girl and mascara is the least of my worries at this point. Now it is more cheetos (from hands that were not washed thoroughly clean), marker, soap from the dispenser that shot too far, pollen from tomato plants, in other words no matte here.

BTW, I did actually find some things (courtesy of my lovely children) that even magic erasers don't take off. There have been too many crises since for me to remember what though.