Wearing Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Belladonna
Gardening. I’m obsessed with gardening. But not the botanical kind, at least not today. Today, I’m obsessed with Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, and the new Lip Tars from their Garden collection.
It’s easy to get lost in this garden because it’s filled with psychotropic plants, dude (like Kava Kava). And poisonous ones (like Belladonna).
Lip Tars from the left: Pennyroyal, Kava Kava, Ophelia, Digitalis, Belladonna and Chlorophyll
For their spring and summer 2012 Garden collection/harvest, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) is growing six new Lip Tar shades for the company’s permanent line, and all of them are named after plants.
No, not roses and daisies. 🙂 Not this time. You won’t find any ruffles and bows here. This Garden is wicked! — as you can tell by the color names, but most of the shades themselves, which range from pinks, browns and corals to a smattering of edgier purples and greens, are actually pretty wearable.
OCC has a full range of 100-percent vegan and cruelty-free makeup made without parabens and preservatives, but the Lip Tars are probably their most popular product.
Sticking with the botany metaphor, if you crossed a long-wearing, full-coverage liquid lipstick with a gloss, and then squeezed it into a tiny tube, you’d get a Lip Tar, tada! Opaque coverage and out-of-this-world wear time makes them special.
Just squeeze out a tiny bead, and spread it over your lips with a lip brush or finger (yea!). They start out glossy but dry down to a satin finish.
SO pretty!
Of this bunch, I think I like brown Pennyroyal and coral Kava Kava the most. I think they look the most natural/wearable, but some of the others also look fun.
Pennyroyal
Kava Kava
So how long do they really last?
We’re talkin’ hours and hours. They’re total long-wearing rock stars. On my lips, they start looking sketchy after about six hours, when a visible line of product begins to build up along the inner part of my lower lip. No biggie — I just scrape it off.
It’s only after about six hours when they start to fade, slowly and evenly, until they eventually disappear between hours 8-10.
They even last through meals, beverages and repeated kitty kisses (“Give mama a kiss, mwah!“) without migrating or fading at all.
More details…
- Texture: So lightweight and comfortable! Sometimes I forget I’m wearing anything on my lips at all.
- Packaging: On the one hand, the tubes are great. They make it easy to precisely control how much product I use, cutting down on waste, but they aren’t the most elegant products in terms of presentation… Still, I think it fits their personality.
- Flavor and scent: It’s faint in both cases. A combination of peppermint…and wax. I don’t mind the peppermint part so much, but the wax? I could do without. Thankfully, both are very faint and fade in under a minute.
- Hydration: I wouldn’t call them exceptionally moisturizing, but at least they don’t make my lips drier and worse, which is good for a such long-wearing product.
Now, if you’re looking for something funkier than Pennyroyal and Kava Kava and don’t mind a bit more work, Belladonna (a bright grape), Digitalis (a pinkish violet), Ophelia (a pink) and Chlorophyll (a bright green) might be more your speed. I find that I get better results when I use a brush to apply all four of these.
NOTE: The lighter pastel colors appear to slightly emphasize the vertical wrinkles in my lips, and the green shade, Chlorophyll, applies a little patchy.
Ophelia
Digitalis
Chlorophyll
Lip Tars from the left: Ophelia, Digitalis and Belladonna
Lip Tars from the left: Pennyroyal, Kava Kava, Chlorophyll
Lip Tars from the left: Belladonna, Digitalis, Ophelia, Kava Kava, Pennyroyal and Chlorophyll
Affordable, long-wearing and cruelty-free? These Lip Tars are super cool on so many levels, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some knock-offs over the next few years. The hype surrounding these is legit.
PRICE: $14 each
AVAILABILITY: Available now at select stores (see here for locations), including the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics boutique in NY, and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A (if they smelled and tasted a little less waxy, I’d say A+)
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Naomi says
Rocking that garden Karen! I like Orphelia and Pennyroyal
Karen says
Thanks, Naomi! 🙂
EmmyJean says
Ooh Pennyroyal looks so nice on you! I think I’d like Kava Kava or Ophelia!
Karen says
Thanks, EmmyJean!
How are things going out your way in SoCal? Good, I hope!
April says
My favorite on you is Ophelia! Im eyeing that one and Kava Kava for me….
Karen says
Hi April,
Thanks! I like that shade, too.
I remember you mentioning a while back that you got a few NARS blushes at the Sephora F&F sale. I bet either shade would look great with NARS Sex Appeal.
April says
Wow, you have a great memory!!
Tracy says
I must be the only person who hasn’t tried these yet! I should get some then, right? 🙂 Kava Kava looks amazing!
Karen says
Hi Tracy,
Kava Kava would look amazing on you…although I kinda want to see you in that crazy purple!
Chryztyne says
i’ve read that you can mix the colors to create custom shades. thanks for this review, i might get some myself!
Karen says
Hi Chryztyne,
Yup, you can mix and match to create your own custom color. Let me know if you end up getting a few shades…and if you come up with any neat mixes!
Chris25 says
I like Pennyroyal.
Karen says
Hi Chris,
Me too. That’s the color I wear the most!
Emi at Project Swatch says
I love OCC lip tars (and sleek pout paints too!) – they last for so long on me, and it’s fun to mix colors!
Karen says
Hi Emi,
Awesome! What Lip Tar colors have you tried?
Chelsea says
This may have convinced me to try these out!
I was thinking of you, having mentioned that Tabs appreciates Biggie… I was listening to some Biggie last night, and my cat curled up next to my computer, the happiest little kitty ever, and napped.
Karen says
Hi Chelsea,
They are kindasorta awesome! Are you thinking of trying one of the crazy colors?
Aww…I love that Jiji appreciates No-No-Notorious. You know what’s REALLY funny? Listening to Biggie while watching your cat clean. It’s hilarious watching Tabs lick his tum with “I love it when you call me big poppa” playing in the background.
Chelsea says
no crazy colors for me, I’ll probably be boring and get something practical.
Adrienne says
YES! I’m so happy you reviewed these, as I know you always report on longevity and hydration problems. I’m definitely ordering belladonna and another (more “normal”) color!
Do you know if these are limited (“annual” flowers) or are they the type of plants that will stick around for a while?
Karen says
Hi Adrienne,
These are going to be added to the permanent line so you have some time.
Are you still thinking of getting one with your tax refund moolah?
Adrienne says
Most definitely! I have to admit, I haven’t been the mooost responsible with the money, but a lot went to long overdue needed things, so I get some treats the way I figure 🙂
Definitely belladonna, also deciding on the second one I want, looking at Trollop, Anime, Queen, it’s hard to decide!! I’m also curious about the clear, wondering it could be the long wearing gloss that doesn’t eat lipstick/diminish wear time that I dream of but have never found…
Have you ever ordered from allcosmeticswholesale.com? They have some sets of these and other good deals on cosmetics, but their site looks so …poorly made, it sketches me out
Windie says
You can also use some of the shades to brighten concealer. I think gossmakeupartist has a tutorial.
Aloha!
Adrienne says
Be careful with that, OCC says because of the peppermint content you should definitely not use these around the eyes, ouch!
Eve says
I love your earrings! Kava kava looks SO pretty and neutral on you! I love OCC – wish shipping to the Great White North were cheaper, haha! 🙂
Malissa says
Hi Karen 🙂 I just wanted to say that your amazing I love all your posts I just started reading them for about a month now I love how you personalize each post and i think its soo cute how you reply to your comments I hardly see that..
Back on topic these colors are absolutely gorgeous! I fell in love with Ophelia
Sunny @ Mostly Sunny says
If I had a little more artistic talent, I’d be mixing my own lip shades with these! I do think some of these are very wearable on their own though!
Becca says
You pull off the funkier colors surprisingly well, actually! And Kava Kava definitely is a.) my favorite, and b.) is my favorite one on you. It looks gorgeous on your skin tone! I have yet to try the Lip Tars, but Kava Kava may very well be my first. Hopefully it’ll look as good on me…
Nina says
You look great in that purple lip! 🙂
Ive never used these babies but ive always been so intrigued. 🙂 I think im hesitant because im not the biggest fan of using a lipbrush.
Kim says
The lip tars sound really cool and the swatches remind me of vinyl for some reason. I have to say I laughed at your chlorophyll pic because it reminded me of when the kids eat blue ring pops. 🙂
April says
Well, I had to get one! I ordered Memento – not a new shade, but if I love it, I’ll get Kava Kava too. Have you tried Memento?
Adrienne says
I’ve been looking at the colors and swatches online and trying to decide on a color to buy, and one I was considering was Memento… But it looks so different in different pics, so I was afraid to choose it and have it be totally different than what I thought. How would you personally describe it?
April says
It looks like a plum/mauved pink to me, but I haven’t seen it in person, yet. But I’m drawn to this shade in all the photos I’ve seen online!
Cristy says
Hi Karen: Does it worth to buy Feathered? (the white one to mix) What do You think?
🙂