Fun fact: I’m completely obsessed with the upcoming weather. Why? Because it provides the best excuse to rock a bold, matte lip. Most leave the glossy, flirty, pink lips for summer, but as soon as winter approaches, bring out the vampy, seductive matte lips.
As much as I love rocking matte every day, my lips need to be prepared before the application. Matte lipsticks contain silica, a common mineral that fills your lips and provides smooth, long-lasting coverage. While lip-glosses have silica as well, their formula contains more oils, like beeswax, to give you a glossy finish and moisturizer.
Without oils acting as a counterbalance, silica tends to dry out the lips, so applying matte lipstick can be tricky. If you follow my master, fool-proof plan, you’ll spend all day rocking that matte lipstick you’ve been eyeing at the beauty store.
The first step is to exfoliate your lips. Cosmetologists suggest we exfoliate three times, ideally. You don’t want to over-exfoliate lips because it can dehydrate them.
A homemade recipe of mine is to mix a teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit on your lips for about 10-15 minutes and wait for the product to absorb onto your lips. Exfoliating your lips will get rid of dead, peeling skin. If you don't exfoliate, your lips could end up with a textured, uneven canvas.
Typically, lips come last in the process of applying makeup. I strongly recommend applying a moisturizer, like Chapstick or Vaseline, to your lips in the beginning to let them soften - right after moisturizing your face. By the time you are done glamorizing your face, remove the moisturizer off your lips with a clean cloth. Unfortunately, if you leave it on and apply matte lipstick, the product will slide off easily before the end of the day.
Also, lip liner is your best friend! Think of it as shaping your lips and acting as a guideline.
Most beauty gurus will advise ladies who enjoy over-drawing their lips to map it out so they can avoid any huge mistakes. After you’re done stenciling, fill in the rest with the matte lipstick. It’s basically a foolproof plan for readers out there who spend hours carefully drawing with the matte lipstick itself.
Lastly, in case of a mistake, don’t panic. One trick I use is applying my shade of concealer on a small, precision brush and cleaning the edges of the lips for a flawless finish! Also, don’t forget to set the concealer with a translucent powder, a powder with no color, to avoid a cake-y finish and prevent your concealer from gliding off.
For all my matte lipstick lovers out there who have struggled with caked, dry lips, hopefully following this master plan will allow you to explore more shades and embrace the festive, seasonal trend.
The makeup artist applies the finishing touches by carving out the lips with a small precision brush.
