I am thoroughly impressed. I have noticed the OCC Lip Tars develop a cult following across the beauty blogging community, and when one of my friends came back from her holiday in Hawaii with the Lip Tar in NSFW as a gift for me, I could not be more excited. (as I live in Australia, a lot of products that may be readily available in other countries, are quite hard for me to get my hands on.)
I do love a red lip and this product seemed to advertise everything anyone could ever wish for - amazing pigmentation with only a minimal amount of product being necessary (which makes it sound like one of these 10ML tubes could last me for quite a while) and long lasting power.
On the Sephora website, the Lip Tars are advertised as "a liquid matte lipstick with unparalleled pigment intensity and wear time. Only the smallest amount is needed for opaque coverage.", and they have made no claim that the product has not lived up to. It goes on smoothly with the help of the #010 Precision Lip Brush that comes included with the product, and once you get a handle of the application process you can obtain a perfectly defined lip in no time. I have read of other beauty bloggers claiming that the product dries out their lips, however, in my opinion as long as you use a soft scrub on your lips once in a while and you keep them moisturised, there is nothing to worry about.
NSFW is a balanced red, which means that all skin undertones can pull it off, whether warm, cool or neutral. This is great for me as I am warm toned and can rarely find a red lip product that suits my skin tone without making my teeth look yellowy. This shade has traces of both yellow and blue undertones, so it is like a blessing for all skin-toned red lip lovers. It is simply a perfect red.
Probably my favourite thing about the Lip Tar however, is the Matte finish (don't mind the photos, it does dry matte I was just not patient enough to wait for that-blotting does help shorten the process though). I did not experience any bleeding either. Once you put it on and you let it dry, you've got yourself a classy, flawless red lip that will last for hours. If you don't put it under too much strain that is. I am sorry to say but the product did not survive when I hungrily devoured a burger after a long, long train ride. I am definitely not bagging its lasting power, however do not expect miraculous product that does not budge while you savagely dig into your long awaited meal like I did. My lips did remain stained so that must account for something, however the bulk of the product had been worn out.
The only warning one might need regarding this product is the its intensity. If you are looking for bright colour intensity these are for you. The colours are very opaque, which means that once applied, you have a strong pop of colour on your lips. However if you are one that shies away from a bright lip colour, you might want to swatch and try them out before paying the $18 price for which they can be purchased in Sephora.
What do you think of the Lip Tars?
Are they wearable enough or are they just too bright for you?
Are there any shades you would recommend?
