Yesterday, I introduced OCC Lip Tars ($12.50 each) to you. I showed you eleven shades of color — and what do you know? Last night they added two shades to their line up: Plum and Vintage! Lip Tars are made to be mixed and less so to be worn alone (especially the primary colors!), so I had a little mixology session last night where I made twelve different shades, just playing and experimenting with adding different amounts and shades together.

The best way to mix colors is to use small jars. I use clear, 5 gram sample jars that I’ve long since purchased from eBay. These come in handy for a variety of things – sampling out pigments, travel size containers for creams, cleansers, etc. They’re a good thing to have around the house.

Temptalia as a Mixologist

Step 1: Squeeze out the colors and the amounts you think you’ll need into the sample jar.

Step 2: Take a toothpick (or a plastic spatula, if you have them!), and then mix vigorously. Make sure to swipe the sides to really get as much color mixed as you can.

Step 3: If it’s the color you’ve always dreamed of, then it’s done. If not, add more of a shade or another shade to change up the color.

Tricks I Learned

• If you’re really into mixing up your own lip colors, I highly suggest picking up two tubes of white. I found I used white quite a bit, relative to all of the other shades.
• Go easy on black. It really will darken up your lip color INSTANTLY. Like a little will do ya!
• Adding clear gloss seemed to add more “bulk” – stretched out the color, but it didn’t dilute it or sheer it out.
• Thinner application to lips results in a very satiny finish. A second or third layer adds more glossiness and feels more comfortable on lips to me.

Overall, I had some fun experimenting. I know some of you were concerned about having to mix up colors everyday and the like, but it doesn’t need to be. You can mix up colors every so often, and you can fill up your sample jar with that color. You’ll get plenty of uses out of it before you have to think about mixing it up again.

I do recommend using lip liner and a lip brush when applying Lip Tars during real application. (I didn’t use lip liner since these are swatches–quick and dirty–and I think it is important to show each one’s potential to bleed. For example, black bleeds the most, and all of them bleed more if you have a thicker coat on.) I took pictures of the mixing process, so as to not to overload the page, I’ll share four custom mixed shades at a time!

See four shades I created…

“Sunset Boulevard”

Mix it up!

Finished!

“Sunset Boulevard”

“Lady Pink”

“Lady Pink” started with Pageant and Feathered

Mix it up!

Finished!

“Lady Pink”

“Sunrise Creme”

“Sunrise Creme” started with Safety Orange and Feathered

Mix it up!

Added Traffic and Pageant

Added Feathered and Pageant

Finished!

“Sunrise Creme”

“Dark Mistress”

“Dark Mistress” started with Tarred and NSFW

Mix it up!

Finished!

“Dark Mistress”