Product Review: OCC Lip Tars

OCC lip tars have been all the rage on YouTube and across blogs for a few years now. And for those of you like me, who hadn't tried them out yet because you didn't want to order them online without being able to see the colors in person, you are in luck. Sephora is now carrying three popular colors in stores: Anime (neon fuchsia), Gradma (classic coral), and NSFW (true red). As soon as I found this out, I made a trip to my Sephora to pick them up. They retail for $16 each for 0.33 oz. of what I can best describe as liquid lipstick. While that may not seem like a lot of product, trust me, it will take a while to make a dent in these.

Seriously pigmented and quickly spreadable -- all you need are a couple of drops (I mean it, do not go all squeeze crazy on these little tubes or you'll regret it) to cover your pout. No joke, I add it to my lips one drop at a time, and apply more as needed. Otherwise, I make a hot mess. These are pretty great. I can see why so many people raved about them.

They are moisturizing (with hemp oil and vitamin E) and long lasting, which is great because so many long lasting lip products can be so drying. However, you do want to make sure that you moisturize and exfoliate your lips before you apply. They're not lip balm, and will not remedy an already dry and flaky pucker. Put lots of pigment on that, and yuck! You may as well just draw an arrow and put up a sign that says, "Look at my flakes." Not cute.

Here's what I do:

• Apply lip balm, then do my makeup. 
• Wipe lip balm off, then apply lip tar. 

This gives the lip balm time to moisturize my lips. When I wipe it off, I use an exfoliating cotton round (like these), to get rid of any dry flakes, and remove the balm barrier so the lip tar adheres to my lips. Then, with a lip brush (the lip tars each come with a little mini lip brush so you don't have to go out and buy one if you don't have one already), I apply the lip tar one drop at a time.

The lip tars are quite liquid-like -- not as runny as water, but not quite as solid as a gel -- so they will spread easily on your lips. I find that even using my one-drop method, I still need to apply with surgical precision, especially with NSFW. I don't know why, but I can make a real mess with red. Perhaps because it stains so easily when you get it on your skin. So, a word to the wise, these are not for a rushed application. Make sure you have time to apply carefully and have cotton swabs or tissue at the ready to clean up (and concealer if necessary).

The good news is that once you have it on you won't have to reapply for a while, making them well worth the application effort. Upon first application the color will be pigmented like a lipstick and shiny like a gloss. That glossiness eventually fades and dries down (as you sip your drinks and gab away the day) to look like a matte lipstick. Eventually it will fade to a stain, if you don't eat before then. It does not survive these eating test (at least it didn't for me). So, once you finally eat, you'll need to reapply. Unless you eat right after you apply, you can easily get a few hours of wear from your first application. Let's say you apply after breakfast and before work, you likely won't have to reapply until after lunch. Not bad.

Another pro: they contain peppermint oil, which is antibacterial and antimicrobial and gives them just a hint of a minty scent. I have nothing against minty freshness on my lips.

Check out my swatches below.

According to Temptalia.com Anime and NSFW should be available in Sephora stores nationwide through November 3, at which point select stores will be making more colors available. Check out here post here for more information.  For now, you can get additional colors on Sephora's website or directly from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.

Have you been curious about OCC lip tars? Will you be trying any of these colors out for yourselves?