Lip Tar Custom Mixes: Preliminary Adventures

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics make a liquid lipstick called Lip Tar - you paint it on as the thinnest possible layer (about a bead half the size of a pin head) with an included brush, it then dries to a demi-matte finish. It's amazingly pigmented, long wearing and comfortable to boot.

I currently own 10 of them - 7 traditional(ish) lip colours I love and 4 mixing colours:

Vintage, NSFW, Strumpet, Nylon, Hoochie, Lydia, Interlace, Tarred, Rx, Traffic, Feathered

I finally have the time in my life (thanks to being partially crippled due to recent knee surgery) to play creative artist with all my new colours (below are A TON of photos - proceed with caution).

Here's the method I use to apply them:

• Moisturise with lip balm and let it sink in for a couple of minutes
• Wipe off the excess lip balm with a tissue paper
• Apply the thinnest possible layer to give a wash of colour and create the lip shape
• Top up to full opacity with another tiny bit of Tar

That will give you a true to Tar colour which is cleanly and easily shaped and doesn't smudge or feather. To then mix an on-the-mouth colour (as opposed to mixing it on a tray/pot) dab on the least possible amount of your second colour and blend out. If you're trying to add a lighter colour over a darker colour (eg red over blue) remember to blot off the excess dark colour first or you'll have to add too much of the lighter colour thus ending up with a gloopy mouth and wasted product.

So without further adu check out my absurdly colourful mouth:

Bare lips

Two coats of Traffic - you can see it's pretty patchy and not as pigment dense as the others

Tried to get graphic and creative: looked like a mouth-flag

Blended it out

You can really see the texture difference between pure traffic and with Rx blended in

Fully blended out and matching my eyes!

Added more Rx, sad green lipstick doesn't suit me as well as I dreamed it would

You can really see the much smoother texture here

Blotted and added Feathered to get a mint green; quick comparison to Lime Crime's Mint To Be (I wasn't trying to colour match here)

Started a fresh with NSFW which is easily the most beautiful true red I have ever seen - neither orange nor too cool.
I originally bought it for mixing as a primary red, but will now definitely wear it alone.

Magical, majestic, magnificent... I'll stop now. It's just perfect

This is where I start getting bored with my regular facial expression

Created an ombre with Tarred but sadly the consistency was even worse than Traffic

Darkened it more - there's a ton of feathering with Tarred and it's really liquid-y, thus sadly this would not be long wearing orpractical to wear out

Blended it together

Added some Rx

Back to bare lips - a reminder of our canvas' original colour

Rx - the pigmentation and consistency was lovely just like NSFW

Added some NSFW and gave up trying to make a cheerfully neutral facial expression

Blotted, added Feathered

Blotted again, more Feathered

Ok so here you can see an issue I ran into: Rx stained my lips badly, making it impossible to get a true purple.
If you're going to be using Rx in a mix always use it second for on the mouth blending as none of the other colours really stain

Stained lips after about half a dozen scrubs with makeup remover

Attempted to roll with it and add Feathered and NSFW on top of the staining

More NSFW

You can still see the staining causing an inconsistent colour and texture. My custom purple/violet/lilac/lavender  dreams did not come true today, but I will try again soon with NSFW as the base colour

I pretty much had to shed 3 layers of skin to get them back to their (almost) original colour

Feathered. Yes, I am so pale I can colour and blend outside of the lines with a pure white lipstick

Unexpected downside: my pearly whites no longer look pearly white!

Im so bored at this point I barely bothered to blend and pose

Feathered and NSFW

After disappointment with the purples this NSFW+Feathered mix really made my night, somehow this photo doesn't do it justice

Not a custom mix but I wanted to wear purple out for cocktails so settled for plain Hoochie

Obviously this isn't anywhere close to the full creative and colourful potential of my Lip Tars (I've got my heart set on a sunset ombre like my Sugarpill eyeshadow look) but it's a great jumping off point. I'll definitely be revisiting this theme/project with both conventional (reds, pinks, corals, purples?) and off the wall colours and combinations.

Also, shout out to Cocktail Cosmetics for being an amazing UK distributor of Lip Tars (and Sugarpill and Lime Crime) - the owner Julie Burford gave me pretty much the best customer service I've ever encountered and my orders arrived amazingly fast and beautifully packaged.

Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Essential Eyeshadow Brushes 2: The Collection

If you read my last post you'll have some background about the products I'm about to recommend and why, but if not don't worry!

So you want to do fabulous eyeshadow looks right? Well here're the tools I'd recommend based on what you want:

I want one eyeshadow brush that I can do it all (almost) with!

On a budget?

Get the Real Techniques eye shading brush:

Pros:
Inexpensive
Great quality (soft, no shedding)
Great for both packing on shadow and blending
Synthetic bristles (for you vegans)
Smaller head for precision/smaller lid space
Can handle some abuse without the bristles deforming (perfect for on-the-go)

Cons:
Too small for a quick 'all over lid' sweep coverage
Not great for use with cream eyeshadow

Overall verdict:
The superman of the brush world, better suited for getting your crease perfect than giving a smooth wash of all over colour. Great for a no-frills intermediate look, I love that I don't feel the need to baby it so it gets a lot more use. I often do full looks with just this brush. Buy it, you'll love it, and if you don't send it to me and I'll send some love right back.

Want a treat or are you building the below collection?

Get a Mac 239

Pros:
Baby soft
Amazing quality - sources say these babies can last 10+ years
Packs on colour like nobody's business
Great for a simple sweep of all over colour
Looks classy as F
You're one brush into the perfect 3 brush set!

Cons:
Natural bristles (sorry goat advocates/vegans)
A tad pricey
Doesn't handle precision particularly well as the head is rather large
White bristles stain easily (although this could be a pro for telling you when it needs a wash)

Mac runner up: 217

I know a lot of people would choose this as their 'one' brush but I find it far to imprecise for anything other than a general colour wash or blending.


I want a core collection I can conquer the eyeshadow world with!

Mac 239, 217 and 219 (purchased in that order if you're on a budget)

• Use the 239 to pack or sweep colour onto your lid
• Use 217 to blend the edges into a soft gradient
• Use 219 for precision detailing like lining and crease

These brushes all have the same overall pros and cons:

Pros:
Baby soft
Fantastic quality
Looks classy as F
Amazing technical ability

Cons:
Natural bristles (sorry goat advocates/vegans)
A tad pricey
White bristles stain easily (although this could be a pro for telling you when it needs a wash)
Bristle deformation (217 in particular has a tendency to splay out)

Minimal splaying, but this brush is only two weeks old and treated like a princess

And remember: wash your brushes often!

I wash powder product brushes once a week with a wipe down on tissue paper after every use (hence why my brushes are a little colourful - I do a weekend wash). Cream and liquid brushes get a wet wipe down after every use and a shampoo every other day. When I had acne I washed my foundation brush after every use to keep the inflammatory bacteria count down.

I recommend Johnson's baby shampoo as an effective but gentle cleanser (important for natural fibre brushes).


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com