DIY Lip Tar Hybrid

Lip Tar, in case you were unfamiliar, is a super pigmented liquid lipstick. It's made by a company called Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, and they are pretty committed to cruelty free, vegan makeup that kicks major ass. You want a loud lip color, you go see them. I have never had a long-wearing lip color that was as comfortable as this stuff.

I love them desperately, but I'm still a bit shy about wearing bold lipsticks out and about (which is what the whole #30daysoflipstick is about on Instagram). I found this tutorial on YouTube, by EnKore Makeup, for turning Lip Tar into a more manageable lip balm style. I was inspired! Maybe I could tone my Lip Tar down a little and bring it back into my comfort zone. It was super easy to do, too. I spent maybe thirty minutes total on the whole project, including the setting time! That is definitely my kind of DIY.

The Supplies:

Lip Tar (I used Queen)

Oil Diffuser (you can do this in the microwave, but I don't have one in the house)

Candle and Lighter

Lip Balm base (you can buy a tube of your favorite balm if you don't have a tub of base laying around)

Pipettes

Alcohol (for cleaning the bowl)

Tiny spoon for measuring (I used a 1/4 teaspoon)

Empty lip balm tube (if you used a ready made tube of lip balm, just save it for this. Recycle! Just remember to turn the little pushy thingy back to the bottom)

my supplies...and my kitchen counter.

If you are using a big tub like me, then scoop about about a half a teaspoon of base on put it into your bowl. If you are using a ready-made tube, just empty the whole thing in there. Let it melt, and stir it. Once it's melted you can add flavoring oils if you have any, and those can usually be picked up at craft stores.

I used a small pyrex bowl and an oil diffuser. It worked really well.

Once it's completely melted, add a healthy dollop of Lip Tar. The video says to use 2 grams for one tube, but I wanted a much more sheer version, so I kinda eyeballed the measurement.

A dollop of Lip Tar. 

Stir everything well. You want to make sure the color is smoothly incorporated into the base. It takes about 30 seconds of constant stirring to get everything mixed.

All mixed together. At this point I wasn't sure how sheer this
was going to turn out.

Using pipettes (or just pour it), fill your lip balm tube slowly. You don't want any air pockets in there.

messily filled. But finished!

Here it is swatched on my hand. It's still pretty pigmented, but nothing compared to the original formula. I'm not real crazy about this base, it's pretty oily for my tastes. But it's here and I have to do something with it.

L: Original strength Lip Tar. R: My hybrid tar-balm

On the lips! I'm so happy with how this turned out! It gives me a sheer wash of color, but it hasn't lost the fun pop or the staying power of it's original form. I put this on last night around 6pm, and I woke up with fairly pink lips this morning. I am definitely going to try this with other Lip Tars, as I get them. The great thing is, because you only use a dollop, you still have plenty of full strength Lip Tar left over. Projects like this make the hefty price tag a lot more palatable. I would love to experiment with mixing colors and pigment levels. I just have to save up for more of these!

top: Lip Tar in Queen/ bottom: Queen Lip Tar Balm