OCC Lip Tars

 

 

I discovered these OCC Lip Tars awhile ago online but now that Sephora carries them, I was finally able to try them out. As far as I know, Sephora is the only store you can find them in and if you are unfamiliar with these, definitely go in and check them out - they are only going to become more popular and already have a huge cult following. This is what Sephora says about the company:

"Founded in the New York City kitchen of makeup artist David Klasfeld, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics began in 2004 with only two shades of lip balm. Since then, the brand has grown into an entire range of innovative, professional-quality makeup. Best known for Lip Tar, a high-pigment liquid lipstick collection, OCC is cruelty-free and PETA-certified as 100 percent vegan."


These are the two colors I picked up:

                                                                        Grandma & Memento                                                                              

Purchased individually, these Lip Tars come in their own plastic pouch with a mini lip brush.

Normally I never use lip brushes but after the first time I tried applying this just with my fingers, I understood why one comes included. This is not something you can apply haphazardly and you want to be careful not to 'go outside the lines' when applying this. I accidentally did the first time I tested it in store and it was very hard to remove.      

Even though it is not a stain, it definitely has long lasting color like a stain. Applied with a gloss on top, I was able to wear it for many hours and only needed to re-apply after eating. Once the product begins coming off, my lips still retained the color.                                                          

Memento is a midtone pink plum that was lighter then I thought it would be once applied but I consider that a pleasant surprise. Grandma is a classic coral - a beautiful bright color. While Grandma is the brighter of the two, they are both totally wearable. To tone the color down, after applying the Lip Tar, go over it with a gloss. To tone down Grandma, I put a nude colored gloss on top. It's amazing all the different shades you can get out of these by playing around with glosses or even layering the Lip Tars over one another.                                      

First picture is Memento, second picture is Grandma in natural light. You can build upon it to make it even brighter. 

Grandma & Memento in natural light

Soap & Glory gift set

It's getting to that magical time of the year - - gift set time! As we get closer and closer to the holidays, brands will begin releasing some amazing collections that you can't find the rest of the year. I have such a love for gift sets because they allow me to try new brands and products that I might not be able to otherwise afford. Also, it's hard for me to commit to products long term and actually use them up, so trial sizes are really a blessing to me.

My first gift set of the year is this Soap & Glory set called 'The Best Things in Life are Three'. I bought this because I am completely unfamiliar with this brand and wanted to give it a go. I feel like I saw this brand in Target years ago (or maybe I'm crazy) but recently have been reading very good reviews on it now that it is sold in Sephora, which is where I purchased it for $25.

This comes with their three classics that contain their original pink scent. I ordered this based on reviews, without testing or smelling it. Let me warn you that this is not for people who have trouble wearing fragrances. It has a very strong smell and I can tell you that it smells exactly like the perfume Miss Dior Cherie by Dior. Right now I am loving it because I have and love the perfume, but I can see myself wanting to skip wearing this lotion some days just because it is strong. As for the quality and texture; they both are amazing. Unlike some other lotions that are heavy on perfume yet drying, this lotion and body butter are very moisturizing. 

This kit include:

- Good size travel case that can fit all of these products and much more

- The Righteous Butter body butter (this is huge! over 10 oz)

- Hand Food hand cream which is a perfect purse-sized lotion

- Clean On Me travel shower gel

Final Thoughts:

To me, this is a very good deal if you can handle the scent. Normally I carry a purse-sized lotion by L'Occitane which costs me $10 and use body butter from The Body Shop that is the same size as this Soap & Glory one but for $18. Just those two products already put over the total price of this set. Again, the only downfall for me will end up being the strong fragrance. 

illamasqua autumn wish list

I am pretty sure that you can never just 'browse' the Sephora website. While attempting to do just that (unsuccessfully) I found two new Illamasqua polishes that I am loving. The first one is called Vice which is a deep cerise color (means moderate to deep red. Totally had to look that up. Why so serious, Illamasqua?)  and the second is the one I love the most, Kink. 

I love hunter green in general and have been searching for a polish in this color that doesn't seem too costume-y and I think this one will be the winner! 

This is a different polish from the other Illamasqua ones that I own. These two supposedly have a rubber-like finish to them that dries matte and is more chip resistant. Color me curious! This brand is great because their polishes don't contain parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals or anything toxic like that. Let's save the environment and have cute nails at the same time. Join me. 

And naturally Sephora is sold out of the two colors that I want, so I will update when I finally get my hands on these. 

Peachy Purity

It's such a dreary Sunday here! While watching Bridezilla re-runs (like a car crash, I just can't look away) I decided to change my nails to something bright and cheery. I like to do things a little unexpected and wear all the bright colors in the Fall and Winter and darker colors during the warmer months. Not life changing but it makes me happy :)

This color is Purity by Illamasqua which I grabbed at Sephora for $14. Normally I would not pay that much for nail polish unless it was a unique color - which I think it is - and good quality. During the summer I had seen a lot of colors like this but they were more of a sorbet which I liked but didn't love. I wasn't sure what version of the color I wanted exactly until I saw this one, which is more of a peach. (I did a base coat and two coats of the color. I didn't bother with a top coat since I'll probably change it in a few days but it has amazing shine without a top coat). Normally you can find a 'steal' version of the more expensive colors but to this day I still have yet to see one for less that is similar to this shade. Sometimes it's okay to splurge if you love it!

What's in your makeup bag?

I may just be really weird, but is anyone else ever curious about what other women carry around in their makeup bags? Okay, it may just be me. Maybe it's because I'm so product obsessed; I'm always on the hunt for the 'perfect' lipgloss, etc and I feel like if I could just see inside someone else's bag, they may have it and my life would finally be complete. But I'm big enough to know and admit that that would never happen - there is no 'perfect' product (even though sometimes I think that I've found it, the feeling is only fleeting and then I'm on the hunt again).

 But anywho, these are the products that have temporarily ranked high enough to earn a spot in my makeup bag. Next week could be a different story entirely, though.

Voila! This is my current makeup bag. It's a leather L.A.M.B. bag that I picked up at a Last Call by Neiman Marcus store for about $100. I must have been temporarily blinded by its beauty to pay that much but I've had it for years and has well withstood all the torture I've put it through. 

From left to right:

- e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder, $3 at Target
- NYX Matte Blotting Paper, 50 sheets for $3.59 at Ulta (they always send out coupons, though)
- e.l.f. Kabuki Face Brush, $6 at Target
- tarte Smooth Operator Micronized Clay Finishing Powder, $28 at Ulta
- Sephora Lip Attitude in Glamour, $14 at Sephora
- tarte LipSurgence tinted pencil in Moody, $24 each at Ulta but watch around the holidays when  
  they sell sets which is how I purchased mine
- Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, $6.49 at Target
- L'oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss in The Mystic's Shine, $6.49 at Wegmans Supermarket

I have about a million lip products but I try to carry a variety with me; nothing like realizing you have 6 similar pink colored lip glosses and nothing else. 

The one on the left, the L'oreal Colour Riche gloss is the newest one for me. It's part of the limited edition Project Runway collection. I went to Ulta and they were sold out of this color but actually found it while I was grocery shopping later that night! For hard to find items like that, think outside of the box because while Ulta's shelves were bare, Wegmans looked like they hadn't sold any of the Project Runway stuff. This is a really cool gloss, it looks kind of crazy in the tube but it is a sheer glittery lavender color. Sounds weird, but try it! (I promise you won't look Halloween-y)

The tarte LipSurgence chubby pencil I acquired last year when I was uber-obsessed with these. So now I own like 15. Sigh. They are nice but tend to be a bit drying so therefore they are not my true love.

I love the Sephora Lip Attitude!! Go to the store and try these immediately if you have not already. This is the one product that if I forget my chapstick, I could put this on and be good to go they are that moisturizing. And the color is awesome - sheer but buildable. The Glamour color that I have is a cool Barbie pink but because of it's texture, I don't look like Barbie but instead have an amazing soft bright pink lip. 

Lastly is the Revlon Lip Butter which have been all the hype lately. These are nice because they are decently moisturizing but you need to be careful because they do have glitter in them. Before applying, I make sure that my lips aren't chapped or dry. If they are and you apply this, it looks chunky and just not nice. 

The other products are pretty self explanatory but the e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder deserves a pause. This contains four powders - yellow, blue, green and pink. If you have bad skin, you know how these colors can help balance out your skin color. This isn't a be-all end-all but it's still nice to have. I have horrible acne scars that I have waged war with, so when I am more self conscious about them while I'm out, I'll swirl the kabuki brush in the green powder and dab that wherever I need it.