During a recent visit to the states I bought a few bits of make up from brands that I do not usually buy from. One of these was a Lip Tar lip gloss from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. I was drawn to these purely because of the array of colours on display in Sephora, there was a tempting range of shades to choose from and I could not resist. The shade I bought is called Electric Grandma! quite a vivid orange/coral colour.
OCC's main selling point is that their products are 100% vegan and cruelty free and none of their ingredients are derived from animals. Personally I like the fact it is cruelty free, but the vegan part of it does not really make much difference to me, I am sure I use other products with animal derived ingredients. Also being a meat eater wouldn't it make me a hypocrite for going mad about beeswax or lanolin content?
The main selling point for me was the strong pigmentation and the unique colours.
The little squeezy tubes come inside a plastic pouch accompanied by a lip brush and a how to apply card. The directions suggest that you should use their clear primer first, I did not buy the primer so I can not comment if that makes application and wearibility any better. I found that the lip tar worked well without it and if I bought another Lip Tar shade I do not think I would need to buy the clear one too. However I may feel different if I actually tried it!
I followed the instructions and only squeezed out a small amount onto the brush. Usually with high pigment cosmetics a little goes a long way, well with this lip tar it actually goes a lot further than I expected. One `tiny bead' was more than enough for one application, but it obviously depends how bold you want to go. It contains peppermint so it makes your lips feel tingly and fresh, I am actually not too keen on this with the Lip Tar, it makes me concious of having something on my lips (if that makes any sense!)
The brush that comes with the tar is actually very good, I am normally not too keen on brushes that accompany cosmetics. However this brush has the right head size to get an even application, and because I like this so much I think I would investigate buying some OCC brushes.
Below are two swatches of the tar, the top being a thick application and the second blended in. Once blended you can really see the glitter that is in this shade, I was surprised because in the tube it looked more like a solid shade without the sheen.
Overall I love the buildable colour, the shades are lush and they make a great lippy for a night out. I also think you could have fun blending colours together if you had a few shades. For just the one shade though, it is still quite versatile & buildable. If you can, I would suggest swatching before you buy and blend on your hand to get the full extent of the colour! like I said I was not expecting this Lip Tar to be quite so glittery as it looks very different in the tube!
Have you tried any of these or an equivalent? what's your thoughts?
