How to Turn Your Lipstick Matte

Matte lipstick has been all the rage lately, but finding your favorite in matte can be difficult or costly. And honestly, who wants to search all over when you have that perfect shade in your makeup collection already? So why not turn your already excising lipstick matte with one easy and cheap step? And I'm pretty sure 90% of you already have this magical ingredient in your kitchen as we speak. I'm of course talking about cornstarch, which is a treasure trove of beauty applications if you take the time to do some research. Or you can wait till I cover them all on this blog of course.

To do this tutorial you need your lipstick of choice and a little bit of cornstarch. That's it. Easy peasy. This post was originally suppose to have pictures of my lovely face but I woke up sick and less than lovely so you get hand swatches instead sorry.

Red Carpet by ELF Cosmetics

First, apply your lipstick. I'm assuming if you are reading this blog you know how to apply lipstick.

See how my Thumb Jamberry wrap is already messed up? Not happy.

Now, dip the tip of your finger into the cornstarch lightly. Don't collect to much or you'll end up with white powdery lips.

Matted Red Carpet. Should have applied a thicker swatch.

And the magical step, gently PAT (not rub) the cornstarch onto your lips, making sure to evenly cover the lipstick. The light layer will turn that shiny lipstick into a soft, matte beauty that actually has a bit more lasting power than just the straight lipstick I found. The real key is just getting it even and not applying too much or too little.

Black Cherry by Mary Kay

Matted Black Cherry. Matted well, did mute color a bit.

Midnight Red by Mary Kay. A great Marsala color

Matted Midnight Red. Stayed pretty true to color

Midnight Red again, half regular half matted

I tried this with three different lipsticks and all were successful. I did see a little bit of muting with my brighter shades, but overall there was not a lot of color change. Applying a smooth base is the key I did notice and the darker the color the better the matte looked in my opinion. But for those looking for more matte options this is a great little trick to know.