OCC Lip Tar Stained Glass - Meta

A while back I bought an OCC sample pack that had 4 mini original OCC lip tars.  I like the original lip tar finish but for a regular school day, I feel like they are a bit high maintenance.  That's why when I decided to buy a full sized lip tar, I went for the stained gloss type which give a glossy finish (and in my opinion, much easier to wear on a daily basis).

Sephora $18

Packaging:

I forgot to take a picture of the original package this came in, but all lip tars come in a plastic pouch which includes the lip tar tube and a lip brush.  For the normal lip tars, I would recommend using the lip brush, but for these, you can use our fingers for a more casual lip stain kind of look.  I like the concept of the lip tars, but I do think they are hard to carry around for touch ups.  Especially if you want to bring your lip brush, the brush doesn't come with a cap so you need to be careful about throwing it into your makeup bag.

Color:

I bought the color Meta which is a bright pink/red but there are 13 colors in total which ranges from nudes to plums.  The one I have is very pigmented (all of the lip tar colors I own are very pigmented) but that may differ depending on what color you get.  This color is a creme finish but I did see some that had shimmer particles in them.

Scent:

The scent isn't fruity/sweet at all, all the lip tars that I've tried have a slight minty scent to them.  The mint scent doesn't sting your lips like the Burt's Bees Lip Balms, it just lingers for a little bit after application and it doesn't bother me at all.

Staying Power:

After the glossy effect wears off, I notice that this stains my lips a little bit which makes the color stay on longer.  The color probably lasts me about 5-6 hours (ish). Sometimes I feel like this dries out my lips a little so when I apply a lip balm over this, the color doesn't last as long.  

Swatches:

You really don't need a lot of product.  I actually put too much on for the swatch >_<

Overall:

This is a great summer lip color!  I love the juicy finish that it gives my lips.  The color reminds me of my Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Flamingo Pose (reviewed here).  Compared to the original lip tars, I think the stained gloss series are low maintenance and are a great alternative to the lip gloss/lipstick hybrids that seem to be very popular recently.  I haven't even come close to finishing this package so I don't think I'll be buying more of these soon, but if I were to choose, I would pickup another bright summer-y color :)