So, today I have a bit of a ramble... The main point being that I totally totally transformed a product that I wanted to love, but just didn't. After one small change, I'm in love now.
The backstory: Too Faced just released their Melted Lipstick product, and I didn't want to like it... but I do. You all know I'm a bit of a bargain huntress, and I think there are inexpensive options that are just as good. I'll admit I really like the delivery of Too Faced's product, and the bold bright colors are really amazing. But..... after I actually wore it for an evening it felt a little drying and I had to apply it more than I thought I should. That doesn't mean it isn't a great product...but I probably won't buy another one. Part of what I really like about this product is the delivery system. It is in a squeeze tube with a fuzzy tip applicator... but even that I have a like/don't like relationship with. It is great.... but with color this bright and opaque, I think it should be more precise. (Bonus Mini Review achieved!) Bottom line, I like them, but don't love them.
Of course I started to search the internet for an inexpensive but similar product. I found one by LA Girls, with similar colors, but the review I read said it was more like Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar. And I didn't like the tube it came in...the applicator was just a hard plastic slant with a hole in it. If this product is like Lip Tar... that applicator will just be bad. I know this because I have 8 Lip Tars. (This brings me the long way to the point of this blog.)
I have 8 lip tars... but I NEVER wear them. Why you ask? Certainly not because the product itself is inferior. Not because I dislike the colors. It is because I hate that I have to apply them with a lip brush. While the squeeze tube / brush seems like a good idea... it just isn't. The lip brush lends itself to getting too much product on your lips, and isn't practical for reapplication when you are out and about. Sure, OCC gives you a little plastic pouch to stash the mini lip brush and the lip tar in, so you can throw it in your purse (can you say gloppy mess if you don't wipe your brush off before throwing it in the pouch?)... but we all know that touch ups with a brush are just a pain in the ass. Add a few beers into the mix, and I'd rather go without anything on my lips vs. touching up with a brush. So yea... I never wore them.
I started thinking about the review of the LA Girls product, and how it compared them to OCC Lip Tars.... and it compared the Lip Tars to the Too Faced Melted Lipstick.... that they were actually pretty similar, EXCEPT the Too Faced product had that cool applicator. That's when it really hit me... I didn't "like" my OCC Lip Tars because they didn't have an applicator!!!! I jumped on the interwebs and went over to diycosmetics.com and ordered 8 empty lip gloss tubes with an applicator like this:
And can be found Here:
http://www.diycosmetics.com/lip-gloss-container-matte-silver-top/
For $1.60 each, I figured I didn't have anything to lose.... maybe I'd ruin one of the Lip Tars and throw it away... no biggie for a product I NEVER wore. So I took my least favorite color, Yaoi and squirted it in the tube. It was easy to do, and just took a few seconds. OMG. This changed my life. Having the doe foot wand makes this product SUPER amazing. I excitedly did all 8 and I am totally in love! Putting the Lip Tars into a tube with a wand makes this an AMAZEBALLS product. The Lip Tars (when in a tube with a wand) totally kicks Too Faced Melted Lipstick in the crotch. Ok, maybe not in the crotch... but I like it better... and OCC has SO many more colors than Too Faced's (yawn) 5. Another benefit... the crystal clear tubes let you really see the color. The Matte squeeze tubes don't. Black Metal Dahlia shows it's true glory in the tube. I forgot how beautiful that color is and can't wait for Fall to come back around so I can rock it every day (Seriously, if you don't have this color go order it NOW... with an empty tube and wand too). The Lip Tar's aren't cheap ($18), but I might actually start buying them again.... there just isn't anything out there that can compare to the colors. Don't like opaque color? OCC also has Stained Glosses. Amazing colors but a little sheer... and they stain the heck out of your lips. Oh yea, Lip Tar's are cruelty free and vegan.
I have 8 lip tars... but I NEVER wear them. Why you ask? Certainly not because the product itself is inferior. Not because I dislike the colors. It is because I hate that I have to apply them with a lip brush. While the squeeze tube / brush seems like a good idea... it just isn't. The lip brush lends itself to getting too much product on your lips, and isn't practical for reapplication when you are out and about. Sure, OCC gives you a little plastic pouch to stash the mini lip brush and the lip tar in, so you can throw it in your purse (can you say gloppy mess if you don't wipe your brush off before throwing it in the pouch?)... but we all know that touch ups with a brush are just a pain in the ass. Add a few beers into the mix, and I'd rather go without anything on my lips vs. touching up with a brush. So yea... I never wore them.
I started thinking about the review of the LA Girls product, and how it compared them to OCC Lip Tars.... and it compared the Lip Tars to the Too Faced Melted Lipstick.... that they were actually pretty similar, EXCEPT the Too Faced product had that cool applicator. That's when it really hit me... I didn't "like" my OCC Lip Tars because they didn't have an applicator!!!! I jumped on the interwebs and went over to diycosmetics.com and ordered 8 empty lip gloss tubes with an applicator like this:
And can be found Here:
http://www.diycosmetics.com/lip-gloss-container-matte-silver-top/
For $1.60 each, I figured I didn't have anything to lose.... maybe I'd ruin one of the Lip Tars and throw it away... no biggie for a product I NEVER wore. So I took my least favorite color, Yaoi and squirted it in the tube. It was easy to do, and just took a few seconds. OMG. This changed my life. Having the doe foot wand makes this product SUPER amazing. I excitedly did all 8 and I am totally in love! Putting the Lip Tars into a tube with a wand makes this an AMAZEBALLS product. The Lip Tars (when in a tube with a wand) totally kicks Too Faced Melted Lipstick in the crotch. Ok, maybe not in the crotch... but I like it better... and OCC has SO many more colors than Too Faced's (yawn) 5. Another benefit... the crystal clear tubes let you really see the color. The Matte squeeze tubes don't. Black Metal Dahlia shows it's true glory in the tube. I forgot how beautiful that color is and can't wait for Fall to come back around so I can rock it every day (Seriously, if you don't have this color go order it NOW... with an empty tube and wand too). The Lip Tar's aren't cheap ($18), but I might actually start buying them again.... there just isn't anything out there that can compare to the colors. Don't like opaque color? OCC also has Stained Glosses. Amazing colors but a little sheer... and they stain the heck out of your lips. Oh yea, Lip Tar's are cruelty free and vegan.
Moral to this story? Sometimes products are amazing, but how you apply them just don't work. Don't be afraid to de-pot, repackage, etc. It very well may change your makeup life.
End Notes:
Just FYI, Rimmel's Show Off Lip Lacquer is pretty amazing and very similar to TF's Melted Lipstick, and OCC's Lip Tar (a la Paula) with a much smaller price tag (approximately $5-6). The colors are a little tamer, but they have 13. It is a really good product that I might like better than the TF Melted.
I also want to mention that DIY Cosmetics has mineral foundations that are amazing!! I got a "sample" for $5 which is enough to fill my empty Bare Minerals container.... it is beautiful! The website isn't the best... but I emailed their customer service department and they guided me to a color that was closest to what I wear in Bare Minerals... and it is actually a BETTER color for me. Bargain Huntress strikes again!!!
I also want to mention that DIY Cosmetics has mineral foundations that are amazing!! I got a "sample" for $5 which is enough to fill my empty Bare Minerals container.... it is beautiful! The website isn't the best... but I emailed their customer service department and they guided me to a color that was closest to what I wear in Bare Minerals... and it is actually a BETTER color for me. Bargain Huntress strikes again!!!
