Cargo Matte Top Coat

When I saw Cargo's Matte Top Coat on Ulta's site, my interest was piqued. The description promises that, "This clear top coat transforms any lipstick into a matte finish." So, when Ulta had a 20% code for Cargo products, into my cart it went.

First off, let me say that the box is gorgeous.

The paper reminds me of  expensive stationary that has a bit of texture to it.

The watercolor scene on the front and side is very different from most other makeup packaging that I've seen lately.

The packaging for the products itself is very chic, too. It's a white tube with silver accents.

The lip product is clear and looks like a lip balm.

I tried this with different lipstick finishes on various occasions. Today, I tried it with MAC Girl About Town. Here's the before:

Girl About Town is an amplified formula, so there's some sheen, but it's not glossy.

Here's what it looked like after I applied the Cargo Matte Top Coat:

It's definitely matte. However, it does take some of the color of the lipstick with it. Here's the tube after I applied it.

After wearing this on and off for a couple weeks, here's what I found. It does mattify your lipstick. However, it will take off some the color with it. It feels waxy on my lips and kind of reminds me of the texture of Chapstick. I can't forget that it's there. After wearing it for as little as a half hour, it starts to cake and ball up on my lips. I can't comment on whether it increased the wear time of my lipstick, because the clumpy feeling drove me so crazy that I wiped it off.

Now, I constantly rub my lips together. I don't even realize I'm doing it. So that might contribute to some of the caking. So, I might not the best candidate for this product. But, for $22, I'd rather cut my losses and put my money toward something else. It just wasn't the magical mattifier that I'd imagined.