Apart from the two Crème Colour Concentrates that I bought from my last OCC purchase, I also got three lip tars and a concealer (more on that later). Because of a Black Friday Promo, my cumulative purchases earned me a complimentary tube of my first OCC Lip Tar Stained Gloss in Little Black Dress.

Each of these little lip things come in a small resealable vinyl bag, which I think is a little wasteful—but I guess I get what it’s for—and a small lip brush. Lip Tars are highly pigmented lip colors that come in a little tube that you have to kind of paint on. I have two of these already and I always find them inconvenient to use if I have a long day out and would need to retouch. I mean, where do you put the lip brush? The bag solves this problem, but I’m surprised at this move by OCC, since it doesn’t seem to be a sustainable solution.

I don’t believe my older lip tars came with them, which is why I am noting it here now! There are two types of Lip Tars, as far as I know—matte and metallic. Black Metal Dahlia is a metallic lip tar, and both Anita and Annika are matte lip tars. Little Black Dress is a Lip Tar Stained Gloss.

L-R, swatched: Black Metal Dahlia (blended, unblended), Anita (blended, unblended), Annika (blended, unblended), Little Black Dress (blended, undlended)

LIP TAR: MATTE™ Product Description: “A liquid matte lipstick with unparalleled pigment intensity and wear time. Only the smallest amount is needed for opaque coverage. Contains Organic Hemp Oil & Soy-Derived Vitamin E, for a finish that feels as good as it looks!
Paraben-Free courtesy of refreshing Peppermint Oil. 100% Vegan & Gluten-Free.”

LIP TAR: Metallic™ Product Description: “Infused with state of the art hi-resolution metallic pigments, the unparalleled opacity of Lip Tar has gone high-voltage with an intense shimmer finish. Contains Organic Hemp Oil & Soy-Derived Vitamin E, for a finish that feels as good as it looks! Paraben-Free courtesy of refreshing Peppermint Oil. 100% Vegan & Gluten-Free.”

LIP TAR: Stained Gloss™ Little Black Dress Product Description: “Little Black Dress’ Stained Gloss, OCC’s newest colour innovation, imparts high-impact shine and subtly defines lips with a sheer veil of black pigment. This unexpectedly wearable shade creates the perfect neutral lip colour, while hydrating and softening lips and maintaining a slick, glossy finish that lasts throughout the day.”

Black Metal Dahlia is described as a blackened burgundy with red pearl. I thought it would actually be much deeper than it is, but it’s still rather pretty. This shade stood out to me the most, while trawling different blogs, and made me want to buy it, stat! It pulls quite hot red on me.

Anita is a browned burgundy and is something that I DID NOT at all think I would ever want to purchase, but I’m so glad I did. It is so lovely. I don’t have a color quite like it, something like a brown brick red. It is gorgeous.

Annika is a pale neutral peach, and it is something that I strangely love on myself. It’s pretty bright for a pale color, which normally would put me off, but I found it so pretty as I was putting it on.

Little Black Dress is a sheer glossy black. I think its main purpose is to tone down or deepen lip colors.

Along with Strumpet and Lydia, I think I have a nice collection of lip tars so far. There are a bunch of other colors I have my eye on, but these is quite a good range already, I think.

I have Black Metal Dahlia on here:

As you can see, it’s bordering on pink. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, but that’s not the color’s fault. Formula is beautiful and the stain it leaves behind is absolutely gorgeous. This shade is the most prone to feathering. I have a natural “barrier” so lipsticks don’t usually feather on me, but I just thought i should note.

Here, I have on Anita. The direct lighting makes it look shiny—but it’s mostly matte, maybe a little on the satin-y side. This is beautiful, but I have to figure out what to wear it with, in terms of eyes and such. I really like this one, but I have to be careful because I can’t seem to draw inside the lines.

Annika is a bold yet light color that I really, really like on myself, surprisingly. It reminds me a little bit of a slightly less pink version of MAC’s Betty Bright.

And here’s the effect of Little Black Dress in action:

On the left is the stain left behind by Black Metal Dahlia (told you it was pretty), and on the right is what it looks like topped with Little Black Dress. The difference is subtle, but it makes a world of difference, I think. I really like the effect and I’m glad I got it for free because I never would have picked this up for myself.

On the whole, this purchase has convinced me of the merits of lip tars. I was not convinced after my first purchase, so I’m glad I gave them another shot.

OCC is vegan and cruelty-free. I bought these on OCC’s official website.