Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Summer 2011 review
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Photos and swatches galore of the line that makes us happy we have a disorder…
Welcome to the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics self-help page. Really, isn’t that why we’re all here? Our love of all things cosmetic has morphed into a support network here at we heart this. There’s nothing wrong with you or me. We are Cosmeticolics and we like it. On top of that, we’ve found that there are hundreds, thousands…millions…of people just like us out there who are learning to live with this disorder (oh, I do hate that term). Amazingly enough, our “problem” has been recognized by the mainstream and—in an apparent effort to thwart the stigma of being a Cosmeticolic—have created a most perfect appellative in Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics lists their mission as developing “a complete line of professional quality cosmetics inspired by makeup artist solutions to on-set challenges, not only for insiders, but for enthusiasts everywhere.” This is a makeup artist’s (emphasis on artist) dream. The colors in all the products for eyes, lips and nails are heavily pigmented and come in a full spectrum of bold and surprising colors. We received a wide range of products from their Spring/Summer 2011 line.
from left: Tone, Analog, Interlace, Lo-Fi, Beta, Reverb
For me the natural place to start with this line is their amazing Lip Tars ($13). These products come in small tubes (that look a lot like acrylic paint tubes) and, like a paint set, are made for mixing. This is not to say that some of the colors don’t look amazing on their own. I tried Beta, a neon orange, by itself, never intending to not build upon it. Surprisingly, I found that a little blotting leaves a nicely pigmented stain. Add a springtime bronzer on my face and Beta is really pretty. I wore a tunic with linen pants that day and told everyone my name was Pieta and that I summer on the Amalfi coast.
a closer look at the lovely Beta
I also received Lo-Fi, a pale whitish-mint green. This cannot be worn on it’s own unless you’re a Little Monster or planning a guest spot on Jerseyicious. What Lo-Fi does do is neutralize red, turning your reddest red into a delightful daytime mauve. Lo-Fi’s best trick is making bright orange Beta nude. I would love to get hold of some Feathered, a pure opaque white, to lighten these newfound shades.
A word of warning: the tiniest drop goes a very long way so squeeze carefully. Also the pigment is so heavy that it difficult to remove if you find yourself applying out of the lines. Use a lip brush. There is a slanted tip on the tube for immediate gratification, but you will need a very steady hand. Lip Tar doesn’t budge and dries with a not-quite-matte-almost-satin finish. This wears until you take it off.
Interlace, Lo-Fi, Tone, Reverb, Beta, Analog
Testers also received:
Reverb – warm fire engine red
Interlace – neutral peach
Tone – grayish pink
Analog – medium tobacco brown
I can’t wait to see what our team did with these!
The Loose Colour Concentrates for eyes ($12) aren’t too shabby, either. Like the Lip Tars, the colors run the gamut from the sweetly expected to the most daring.
I sampled Bitmap, a leaf green/gold. This is a stunning color for fellow brown-eyed girls. Like all loose mineral eye colors, a dry application gives a sheer wash of color; a wet application will provide ultimate pigmentation.
Fallout with the dry application is to be expected. Loose mineral pigments are my eye colors of choice, and I didn’t notice that these wore better nor worse than my other favorites. The unique color selection alone is worth checking these out.
Testers also received:
Flawed – true gold
Hum – orange peach with pink duochrome
Artifact – copper with pink shimmer
Noise – deep pink/plum with blue duochrome
Distortion – steely dark navy with a teal sheen
Finally, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics wants to do your nails. Their Nail Lacquer ($8) is long wearing and come in the now-expected range of fantastic bright and muted colors, with matte, satin, sheer, super-glossy and metallic options.
I received RX, a sheer fluorescent blue. Multiple layers made this sheer pretty opaque and wore without chipping for six entire days. I used this as an accent on a single toe, as well as using it on top of a matte color to create little polka dots and stripes. Oh the inspiration a little color gives!
Testers also received:
Echo – a dark, opaque satin teal
Beta – semi-matte neon orange
Tattoo – faded greenish black (think basic tattoo color) in an opaque satin finish
Flawed – sheer golden bronze
AV – opaque white grey with multicolor glitter
If I haven’t given you all enough creative inspiration to own up to your Obsessive Compulsive disorder, I’ve got one more reason to love this company: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics are 100% Vegan and PETA approved. We heart our animals! So everyone, own your Compulsion; you were born this way!
Testers and readers, are you obsessed with OCC’s take on Summer 2011?
Sherri is co-author of What Would You Do With This Room? My 10 Foolproof Commandments to Great Interior Design, and of course, a wht writer!
Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.
I always want to love Lip Tars but I find that if I want to wear them it has to be on a weekend since the application is so tricky. Too much product and it’s potent! LOL but the colors are so amazing. I do love the nail polish and their tinted moisturizer is great. I bought some at the Makeup Show and you guys sent me some too and I love the stuff. It’s perfection.
Those Lip Tar pigments are intense, for sure. The good thing is that once you apply it, it ain’t going NOwhere! This stuff is even difficult to scrub off. I really would like to own a whole “paint set” of these because–with all the mixing–I could have any shade of lipcolor imaginable. I feel like a kid in art class with these…so much fun.
I got to try the loose pigment in Hum, and I love it. I was scared at first, thinking it might be like the lip tars (I’ve also had the joy of trying one of those) and be super intense. But I found that it can be applied lightly for a sheer wash of color, and it’s very easy to build . I like to apply it to my entire lid and the build it up in the outer corners. The packaging is perfect for a loose powder too, you don’t end up with too much on your brush so you don’t ever feel like you are wasting product. The only problem I would have is with the online description of the color, its called a peach with pink shimmer, but it felt more like a bronze to me. The loose pigments are a great product, and everyone can enjoy them, even people who don’t want a super crazy/intense color. This is a solid 5 star product, great value, easy to use. This is my second experience with OCC and I’m officially a fan and convert. I’ve got Flawed, Clove, and Lafayette on my wish list now.
I have GOT to try a Lip Tar! I’m really into stains right now, so I’d love get Reverb and blot it. And the pigments look great, the duochrome on Noise is crazy!! Thanks for the review, Pieta! ;-)
@lyssachelle (I don’t know your Italian name), aren’t those eye colours awesome?!
I keep looking at Artifact, SUCH a pretty green…
And now I’m going to spend all day imagining my Italian name!! :-)
The colors are remarkably bold in this line! I love it!! And Echo is so gorgeous on you @stef! I must get it for myself!!
OK, seriously, it’s just plain ridiculous that I haven’t tried a Lip Tar yet. Your swatches are killin’ me over here!
I received the OCC Nail Lacquer in AV, which I absolutely LOVE. I have a thing for pale, pale light blues, and even though the description is an “opaque white gray”, I see some blue in this shade and I’m LOVING it. I also love the micro-glitter–it’s such an unexpected twist that you don’t see every day in pale creme polishes (duh, it’s OCC–expect the unexpected).
I thought this polish applied perfectly–two coats for great opacity, and my only complaint (if you could call it a complaint) is that some of the glitter seems to become obscured due to this being a creme polish.
Even with the “peek-a-boo” glitter, I have to give this polish five stars. Why? Because at only $8 (the price of many drugstore polishes!) the array of unique shades, great formula and staying power make these absolutely covet-worthy if you’re a nail polish gal.
I received the Lip Tar in Tone. Using Tone by itself it removes the pigment from my lips and makes a perfect canvas to wear crazy colors like purple and blue to make them vibrant. I have one other Lip Tar in NSFW which is a very vibrant red. I mixed a little dot of Tone into NSFW and it created a really wearable fuschia/hot pink with a hint of rose. The result is gorgeous and stains my lips nicely.
The only thing I would recommend is to purchase a brush or spatula to mix your Lip Tars before using a lipbrush to apply. Very tough to get the stain out of a lipbrush even with several cleanings. But otherwise I have no complaints!
The pigments in Hum and BitMap look beautiful, I’ll be adding those and Lo-Fi and Interlace in the Lip Tars. OCC is an awesome company.
I love the color of those nail polishes. I think I’m going to buy myself some of these next time.
Oooh, Interlace lip tar and Bitmap eyeshadow look fabulous…. I tried their NSFW liptar (primary red) for weheartthis awhile back. Those liptars are INTENSE. Seriously, I used just a tiny drop, and I think I still managed to use to much. It’s definitely a product that needs a lipbrush. The OCC line is great because it has fabulous quality vegan products that appeal to both makeup artists and regular gals. I must get some more OCC…
I’m new to OCC and currently testing their tinted moisturizer. The pigments look beautiful in this collection, Noise definitely caught my eye, and I’m an loving the bold nail colors!
I got to test out Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics nail polish in Flawed. I love this company.. It has great diversity. This nail polish I have is sheer with nice flashy bronze for color. I thought it looked pretty but needed at least two coasts to get that solid bronze to come out. In the sun it really picks up the sun and has great sparkle. It lasted for several days without chipping and I’m always using my hands in the garden, so that says a lot about the product. I thought it gave my hands a real finished look, especially now that summer is here! I give it four solid stars!
OCC makes such fun products! Seriously, who else sells light green lipstick/gloss/etc with such pigment?! Brava to whomever came up with this collection!
My husband is so funny- in regards to OCC he’s always asking “But wait… It looks like lipstick, there’s so much color. But it’s a gloss?” To which I respond “It’s kinda both.” He doesn’t like that answer, hahah!
I got to test the Lip Tar in Reverb and woo hoo! What an intense color!! It is the reddest of the bunch, but has a lot of orange in it, too. It looks more orange on me than in the tube. I actually was able to get it on pretty straight right out of the tube, even using their applicator, but it does highlight every little flaw I have right around the lip area. I don’t find it too sticky or drying actually. It lasts about four solid hours on me and that’s with eating, drinking, and yes bad me – smoking again – boo! I didn’t use anything under or over it or a lip liner with that test, too. It’ll be a great color for summer with a tan and just maybe some mascara and light blush – that’s it, because you really want this as the standout in your look. This really does what it says it will, so I give it 5 stars!
I got to test out the Loose Colour Concentrate in Artifact. It’s like a deep copper penny-type shade with some red to it. The color is gorgeous, but not for my skin tone. I am super fair with dark hair & green-gold hazel peepers, but pretty much ALL copper or bronze shadows or at least ones with this much reddish cast to them seem to pull out a lot of red in my face and eyeballs and I end up looking like a habitual drug user. Like the heavy stuff.
That being said, the color is lovely, just not for me. The shimmer is deep and lovely–the bronze-copper shade is very vivid. I really can only do loose pigments by adding water to them and foiling them or else the travel is too much. This foiled is not for the faint of heart. Overall, I’m giving it 4 stars–it’s very pretty, but just didn’t work on me. Maybe someone with less pink to their skin tone. I bet this would make blue eyes pop.
Those lip tars look amazing, though—a super tinted lip gloss is right up my alley :)
I love OC lip tars, but their eyeshadows look amazing…especially those duochromes. SO COOL.
I have never tried this line, but I am very intrigued!
The pigments in these colors are crazy! I imagine that if you find a color that works for you, you are happy the stain doesn’t budge. I must try the Lip Tar in Reverb!
LOVE that nail color Stef. Must put that on my wish list. I’ve always wanted to try the Lip Tars (more so after reading this.) Amazing colors and so different!