Get Familiar With Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics’ Unknown Pleasures Lip Tar Collection

If the name of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics‘ new collection, “Unknown Pleasures,” feels salacious and seedy but somehow simultaneously titillating and intoxicating, then you’ve got enough edge to appreciate the intense, dangerous, bold, almost nefarious yet incredibly stunning hues being introduced this season. The collection includes three nail lacquers and two lip pencils, but the main attraction in this fashionable freak show (and I mean that in the most adulatory manner) lies in the six Lip Tar hues (($18 each at OCCmakeup.com).

Whereas most OCC collections include Lip Tars in highly original derivations of familiar pink, red, and neutral tones, the Unknown Pleasures array consists primarily of unconventional hues like blackened purple and indigo blue. The six new Lip Tar shades introduced for Fall/Winter 2014 are: Lament, a neutral beige shade with slightly rosy undertones; Covet, a golden buff color; Manhunter, a vermilion shade with gold shimmer; Technopagan, a blackened, metallic purple with blueberry-esque undertones and blue pearls that give the color an alluring sheen; Pagan, a blackened eggplant purple; and Vain, a deep dark indigo with teal undertones.

All the Lip Tars are 100% vegan and paraben-free, formulated with organic hemp oil,which contains fatty acids that penetrate the outer layers of skin on your lips, thereby effective moisturizing them from within; soy-derived vitamin E, which conditions lips and protects them from free radical damage; and peppermint oil, which cools and nourishes the pout while creating a plumping effect.

I tried three of the Lip Tar shades in the collection: the two metallic hues (Manhunter and Technopagan) and one of the two neutral matte tones (Lament).

Below, you’ll find swatches of these hues, as well as photos detailing what they look like when applied to lips!

First, let’s check out what the Lip Tar hues look like when swatched on skin:

As you’ll hopefully see, the Lament shade is completely matte (while still having that wet-looking finish that makes Lip Tars so irresistible) and it’s an antique rose color with beige tones. Manhunter, meanwhile, is as fiery a vermilion hue as that of the sparks emanating from Katniss’ flaming dress. Its consistency is slightly more fluid than that of other Lip Tars, but the color payoff is just as intense. The base seems to contain equal amounts of orange and red pigments, but it’s so saturated with tiny golden glitter particles that it looks warm, ardent, and blaze-like. As for Technopagan, it’s the least conventional of the three colors but it’s also the most fascinating and arguably the most beautiful. The shade is a deep, blackened metallic purple that reminds me of frozen blueberries, of Maleficent in her dragon form, of the lights in the mothership scenes in The Abyss. But, because it’s infused with blue pearls, the color looks different depending on the lighting: deeper and more purple in dimly lit conditions but bluer and steelier in brighter environments.

Check out the difference for yourself in these pics, in which I’m wearing the Technopagan Lip Tar:

Next,  here are some photos in which I’m wearing the Manhunter Lip Tar. I was slightly concerned that the color would look too sparkly on my lips, making me look as glittery as a pair of Skechers Twinkle Toes sneakers. Luckily, the gold shimmer isn’t over-the-top and won’t create too juvenile an effect. Instead, it gives the red orange hue a bit of oomph and emphasizes its warmth. Check out the pics:

Hey, if pink and turquoise hair is now a commonplace sight, why not indigo and metallic purple pouts? Get ready to venture into the unknown — and love it!