OCC Lip Tars Now Available at Sephora.com!

OCC Lip Tars Now @ Sephora.com

OCC at Sephora!? What a lovely surprise! And what is that pictured next to the tube? A lip brush? Sweet!

For all of you Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics lovers out there, starting at the beginning of this week, Sephora is now carrying the full line of Lip Tars on the Sephora website and in-store at select Sephora locations. Now you can gain some Beauty Insider points each time you purchase a Lip Tar!

For those of you that don't know what Lip Tars are, they are the most pigmented lip colors on the market. They combine the color and longevity of a lipstick with the application of a gloss. They dry down to a matte finish (which I find a bit drying, so I always mix them with some clear gloss). They are highly popular among the online makeup community as well as makeup artists all over the world.

OCC Lip Tars have come a long way since their original launch a few years back in 2009 starting out with a range of 12 fairly basic colors, to the now selection of 40 amazing shades.

OCC Lip Tars have had a few packaging makeovers over the years, and a price increase along with them. Originally, the lip tars were 10 ml for $12.50. Then the tubes were downsized to 8 ml with the same $12.50 price tag, then they increased slightly to $13, and now with their new packaging design they are back to the original 10 ml, but are now $16 each.

Sleek Milkshake and Minx Pout Paint Review, Swatches and Comparison to OCC Lip Tars!

Sleek Milkshake & Minx Pout Paint

Sleek Pout Paint ($6.49) is an intense lip pigment, with the consistency of a lipgloss, and the pigmentation and finish of a lipstick.

Sleek Pout Paints are available in (11) shades: Minx, Cloud 9, Mauve Over, Lava, Peachy Keen, Rosette, Port, Pinkini, Milkshake, Peek-a-Bloo and Pin up.

I got my hands on two of the shades; Milkshake and Minx. Milkshake is a vibrant coral-pink and Minx is a neutral beige-pink.

Sleek Pout Paints launched at around this time last year, and I remember when everyone was talking about them and comparing them to the very similar OCC Lip Tars. I love my OCC Lip Tars, but admittedly, I reach for my traditional lipsticks before my lip tars because they are more convenient to use.

Sleek Pout Paints and OCC Lip Tars alike need to be applied with a lip brush because the color is so opaque, you only need a small drop to coat your lips. If you don't own a lip brush, you can use any small brush (concealer brush, etc) or the wand of one of your lipglosses.

Milani Quick Flash Haute Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Lipgloss Review!

Milani Quick Flash Haute Flash Lipgloss

Milani Haute Flash Lipgloss ($7.49) is a new lipgloss range from Milani providing full coverage color with an extra shiny finish. It's non-tacky and won't won't feather; meaning, it will stay on your lips and won't travel outside your lip line.

There are six (6) shades available: Hot Flash, Flashy, In a Flash, Star Flash, Golden Flash and Quick Flash. A couple of the shades caught my eye, but I was the most drawn to Quick Flash.

Quick Flash is a light-med pink (I can't decide whether it's a warm or cool pink, it's somewhere in between) filled with a mixture of white and pink shimmer. If you don't like shimmer, steer clear because these contain lots of shimmer.

Some of the shades in this range are more pigmented than others, and Quick Flash happens to be the sheerest. I was a bit disappointed because with the claims of being "full coverage", I was expecting a liquid lipstick type of gloss, and it just didn't deliver. It's very buildable though, and with two coats, it provides a nice medium coverage on my rosy lips.

Milani Quick Flash on my lips.

NYX Natural Xtreme Lip Cream Review!

NYX Natural Xtreme Lip Cream

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream ($5.99) is a "liquid lipstick" - it has the coverage of an opaque lipstick, but in a creamy lipgloss form. It delivers intense, long-lasting color with a shiny finish.

I just reviewed Nude Peach Fuzz in the previous post, and now I'll be talking about the other color I have, which is the shade Natural.

Natural is a light, pinky-beige nude. It's a shade that'd work best on light to light-medium and medium skin tones. It may look too pastel on darker skin tones, but those with darker skin tones may like this lip gloss to mix/tone down dark and/or bright lip colors. For reference, it's not as light as MAC Myth Lipstick - it's much more wearable. I'm around MAC NC25 right now, and it's not lighter than my skin. (See swatch at the end of the post) In my opinion, a must-have if you're a fan of the nude lip.

NYX Natural Xtreme Lip Cream on my lips

NYX Nude Peach Fuzz Xtreme Lip Cream Review! My FAVORITE lip product right now!

NYX Nude Peach Fuzz Xtreme Lip Cream 

If I could leap in the air and click my heels without falling flat on my face, I'd do it right now in salutation of one of my new favorite lip products! Wait... What? What is that? Is that the sound of angels?

I've gone through so many lip products that it takes a lot to woo me nowadays, but this lip cream sure makes me swoon.

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream ($5.99) is a "liquid lipstick" - it has the coverage of an opaque lipstick, but in a creamy lipgloss form. It delivers intense, long-lasting color with a shiny finish.

There are eleven (11) shades to choose from: Dolly Girl, Candy Land, Spicy, Buttery Nude, Bonfire, Pinky Nude, Absolute Red, Skin Tone, Strawberry Jam, Natural and Nude Peach Fuzz.

Nude Peach Fuzz is a warm, light peach tinged pink. If you generally like peachy-pinks, watermelon/flamingo pinks, coral-pinks - all that jazz, you'll like this one. I like the fact that the peach tone isn't overbearing, so there isn't a trace of orange on my lips. Even though the color is light, it doesn't wash me out - it actually brightens up my face. It reminds me a bit of a lighter and brighter version of MAC Kinda Sexy Lipstick.

NYX Nude Peach Fuzz on my lips

NYX Nude Peach Mega Shine Lip Gloss Review! Love this gloss!

NYX Nude Peach Mega Shine Lip Gloss

NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses ($5.49) are ultra creamy lipglosses that deliver loads of color and shine. There is zero stickiness, and the formula doesn't leave your lips begging for hydration. You'll be sure to find a color you like, as there are 50 shades to choose from! 

I've owned a few of these glosses in the past, with the shade 'Smokey Look' being one of my favorites. Well, I've found a new favorite, and that is a little gem by the name of 'Nude Peach'.

Nude Peach is a vibrant melon pink with subtle shimmer. If you like warm pinks and pinky-corals, there's no doubt in my mind that you won't like this gloss. It's especially nice on warm and tan skintones. When I'm tan, I always opt for shades like this. When I'm a bit lighter, I gravitate towards slightly cooler pinks.

I like wearing this lipgloss alone, or layered on top of any pink lipstick. I like wearing it over MAC Viva Glam Nicki, Shygirl or Creme Cup. It adds a little vibrancy to the color.

NYX Nude Peach Mega Shine Lip Gloss on my lips

Essence My Favorite Milkshake Stay with Me Lipgloss Review!

Essence My Favorite Milkshake Stay with Me Lipgloss

The Essence Stay With Me Lipglosses ($2.29 each, Ulta) are a small range of color-intense lipglosses, that leave your lips with creamy, long lasting color - and no sticky trail behind!

There are currently six (6) shades to choose from: Me & My Ice Cream, My Favorite Milkshake, Candy Bar, Kiss Kiss Kiss, Deep Rose and Hottest Pink.

I already own and have re-purchased the shade Me & My Ice Cream on a couple occasions, and when I spotted My Favorite Milkshake, it looked like a perfect natural lip color I can wear for on-the-go.

My Favorite Milkshake is a light, warm, natural pink with medium opacity. I think it's a shade that can work on just about anyone. Despite it being "warm", it's not overly warm and doesn't look yellow or orange on my lips when my skin is lighter. When I'm tan, this color still works perfectly, without washing me out like some pale pinks tend to do. It actually brightens my face up a little bit!

The consistency is a bit thick, but surprisingly moisturizing (kind of like a thick balm) and isn't sticky. The only lipgloss formula that's similar that comes to mind is MAC Cremesheen Glass, or MAC Lipglass without the stickiness. Because of it's thicker texture, the wear time is pretty good with these, but because this shade in particular is pretty light, the color sheers out after a while of wear.

My Favorite Milkshake on my lips

Bonne Belle Strawberry Parfait Lip Lites Lipgloss Review!

Bonne Belle Strawberry Parfait Lip Lites Lipgloss

You all know me by now, and I love finding a good makeup bargain. I'm not one that really likes to invest in a pricey lipgloss - as I always feel like I could find something similar at the drugstore for less than half of the price.

Take Bonne Belle Lip Lites in Strawberry Parfait ($3) for instance. A light, creamy, bubble-gum pink that is said to be a close duplicate for the ever-popular Nars Turkish Delight Lipgloss ($24). Both lipglosses will pretty much give the same effect to the lips, but Bonnie Belle costs 1/8th of the price of Nars at a mere $3 per tube.

The formula is creamy, non-sticky and feels great on the lips. The color pay-off is pretty good for a gloss - a couple of layers will give you that baby pink pout that everyone loves.

Bonne Belle Strawberry Parfait Lipgloss on my lips

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Bubble Babe, Super Girl and Nude Candy.

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss

I've purchased Essence's XXXL Shine Lipgloss in the past, and I was pretty impressed. I can't really call it a drugstore brand, because in the USA, it's only available in ULTA, but it's one of my favorite bargain brands for lip products. (*edit - there may be other locations depending on your area. The location finder on the Essence website only shows results for those living in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I have only seen Essence at ULTA in my area.)

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss is available in twelve (12) shades: 01 Pure Chic, 03 Timeless Beauty, 04 Rising Star, 05 Super Girl, 07 Big Night Out, 08 Glamour to Go, 09 Party Connection, 14 Bubble Babe, 15 True Love, 17 Fabulous Fuschia, 18 Sparkling Papaya and 19 Nude Candy.

Super Girl is a very sheer watermelon pink with bright pink shimmer.
Bubble Babe is a very sheer, cool cotton candy pink with cool pink and white shimmer.
Nude Candy is a creamy pale pink, reminiscent of Nars Turkish Delight Lipgloss. The color applies fairly opaque in comparison to the other two shades.

Super Girl and Bubble Babe work best applied over a lipstick to add a little bit of glossy shine, as alone, they don't provide much color.

One of my favorite things about the XXXL Shine Lipgloss, is the brush design. It's not your average sponge or doe-foot applicator. It's longer, and flatter than your standard doe-foot. What's nice about the shape is that the applicator picks up the perfect amount of product, and in one sweep it applies the product evenly across your lips. You'll rarely ever have to double dip.

READ MORE!

Victoria's Secret Hot Pink Dazzleshine Lipgloss Review, Photos and Swatches!

Victoria's Secret Hot Pink Beauty Rush Dazzleshine Lipgloss 

It's always hard to resist those tempting bins they have strategically placed near the cash register, so you can rack up your total while anxiously waiting in line. After talking myself out of unnecessary purchases and patting myself on the back for my awesome will-power, I always manage to sucker myself into something glittery I don't need, in those very bins. My recent trip to Victoria's Secret was no exception. 

I'm not sure how new these glosses are to the Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush line, but I believe they are one of their newest additions.

Victoria's Secret Dazzleshine Lipglosses are available in six (6) dazzling shades: Wine, Hot Pink, Cherry, Nude, Opal Shimmer and Pink Rose.

I chose Hot Pink because I thought it would pair well with some of my fuschia lip colors. It's basically a very sheer bright pink filled with bright pink/purple glitter flecks. The glitters are very fine, so you don't feel the grit on your lips. 

They retail for $7 each, or you can purchase 2/$12 ($6 each) or 4/$20 ($5 each).

I actually expected them to be squeeze tubes by the looks of it, but they actually have a doe-foot lipgloss wand. That can be a good, or bad thing depending on your preference. For a cream formula gloss, I like a doe-foot. But, for a clear, glittery gloss, I prefer a brush applicator - kind of like MAC Dazzleglasses. They seem to apply a little more product to the lips.

They all have different scents, ranging from citrus to "dazzling daiquiri". Hot Pink has the dazzling daiquiri scent - It smells like a sweet rum, but faints once on the lips. I'm not big on scented glosses, and kinda wished it would be scent-free, but I guess we can't win them all, right?

Chanel Bagatelle Glossimer Review, Photos and Swatches!

 Chanel Bagatelle Glossimer

After walking away from the MAC counter empty handed, I went over to the Chanel counter to check out their Spring 2012 Collection. The only products that really stood out to me were May Le Vernis, what seemed like the perfect, creamy pink nail polish, Blush Horizon De Chanel; a soft pinkish-coral face powder, and Bagatelle Glossimer.
I ended up getting only the Glossimer from the collection, as I knew right away that it would be the perfect layering gloss for most of my favorite lipsticks.

Bagatelle is a light-medium Pepto-Bismol pink, filled with fine gold shimmer. The gold shimmer gives the pink gloss a bright, warm pink with a hint of peach appearance. From swatches I've seen on other blogs, the lipgloss looks fairly pigmented - Although it may be slightly more opaque than the others in this collection, or Glossimers in general, it's still pretty sheer. When applied heavier, the color is more opaque, but it seems to sheer out pretty soon after.

Applied to my lips, it brightens, with adding a sheer pink hue and lots of shine.

Illamasqua Indulge Intense Lipgloss Review, Photos and Swatches!

Illamasqua Indulge Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Indulge Intense Lipgloss ($20) is a bright hot pink, highly pigmented and non-sticky full coverage lipgloss with a super glossy finish.

In the tube this shade looks a little deeper - almost like a slightly reddened neon pink. But once applied to the lips, the shade is a lighter, milky neon pink. Think Betsey Johnson or Barbie pink.

I've been wanting to try Illamasqua's Intense Lipglosses for what seems like forever. I always imagined they would be like a toned down & more moisturizing version of OCC Lip Tars. What sealed the deal was seeing Temptalia's reviews for them over and over in bright, gorgeous hues, which of course built up my "need" for them even more.

The formula is a little thick and gooey, but not sticky. It feels nice on the lips, and has good lasting power because of the thicker texture. It has very good pigmentation for a gloss, so a lot of product isn't necessary. I've found when I applied too much, it looked thick on my lips, felt heavy and even ended up on my front teeth - not a pretty sight! A few drops is all you need.

Chanel Santal and Ming Rouge Allure Laque Review, Photos and Swatches!

Chanel Santal and Ming Rouge Allure Laque

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Discover the pure indulgence of liquid lip lacquer, a colour innovation that could only come from CHANEL. Intensely rich colour and shine last for hours -- and the temptingly creamy formula conditions as it hydrates lips. All this, with full coverage, in eight stunning shades.

Like mentioned, there are only eight shades available: Coromandel, Imperial, Dynastie, Dragon, Ming, Santal, Phoenix and Mandarin. The two most wearable shades are Santal and Ming, which is why I chose both!

**NOTE** I purchased product TESTERS. So the packaging will differ when purchased at a counter. Click HERE to view more details on the Chanel website.

READ MORE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SWATCHES!

Chanel Mica Glossimer Review, Photos and Swatches!

Chanel Mica Glossimer Lipgloss

Chanel Mica Glossimer is a very sheer pink with fine bright pink, purple and green sparkles. It reminds me a little bit of MAC Like Venus Dazzleglass, but it's more subtle and warm. 

Even though the formula is very glittery, it's not at all over-the-top. The glitters are so fine, that it doesn't scream glitter and it catches the sunlight beautifully. I'm a fan of anything that glistens (with the exception of MAC Dazzleglasses - hate the formula), so this was a winner for me. The color is sheer, but can be built easily. When worn alone, it's not at all drying to my lips - in fact, it's fairly moisturizing. It's a great shade to layer over any peach, beige or pink lipstick.

"Gorgeous shimmer and a high-shine glow is delivered effortlessly to lips with just one stroke of this best-selling lip gloss. A wide range of shades, from sheer and natural to sparkling and rich, look beautiful on their own, or over your favorite lipstick. Equally beautiful: the conditioning formula's comfort and long wear."

Chanel Glossimers may be used over your favorite lipstick formula to enhance shimmer and high-shine glow, or on its own for an ultra-glossy and comfortably hydrated result.

Essence Nude Kiss XXXL Nudes Lipgloss Review!

Essence Nude Kiss XXXL Nudes Lipgloss

Product Description: Ultimate shine for your lips! The XXXL shine lipgloss pampers your lips without leaving behind a sticky feeling. Contains vitamin e and panthenol to prevent your lips from feeling dry. Available in eleven trendy shades.

Nude Kiss is a sheer, warm pink with very fine pinkish white glitter reflects. The formula is smooth and thin - no stickiness what so ever. It also isn't a gloss that just sits on my lips.. it actually feels somewhat moisturizing. It has a faint fragrance to it - kind of plasticy? But it doesn't bother me. I love the sponge applicator. It's a somewhat large, flat brush that coats your lips with one sweep.

Can be purchased at ULTA for $1.99 each.