Today, these amazing lip tars from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics landed on our desk, and wouldn’t you know it, our entire office is in love.
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics is a cult brand based in New York that’s known for their ultra-bright lip colors. These hyper-pigmented shades, which are 100 percent vegan & cruelty free, come in a wide range of hues like seriously neon pink, true cyan blue, and even neon orange. Some of us, (here’s looking at you, Meredith and Rachel) are obsessed with their extra-bright pinks, which are the first we’ve found that really give a magazine photo-like pop to our puckers.
True to it’s name, lip tar goes on like a liquid lipgloss, but they have a completely matte finish and stay on your lips for hours. Take note, the colors are best applied with a lip brush and you really only need a couple drops of the tar to coat your entire pout. Click through to see Birchboxers model lip tar!
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When I was in high school I once had a professional peel that took off half my face and left me patchy, tomato red, and very very sad. It was a decade before I tried another peel. I was happy to find that during my peel hiatus the technology had gotten light years better. Though they sound incredibly intense, peels are actually just chemical exfoliation treatments that dissolve the layer of dead skin to uncover the fresh, healthy stuff underneath. My latest obsession is Dr. Dennis Gross’s Extra Strength Alpha Beta Peel.
This two-step at-home treatment is the mother of all peels. You’ll see results, and fast. The combination of powerful glycolic acids and soothing ingredients evens out the texture of your face, lightens any hyper-pigmentation, and generally makes you look brighter and healthier. Best of all, there are no ouchy side effects. Once I tried these I quickly became addicted - I even got into the habit of taking a little work break every afternoon to do my peel at my desk (anything for procrastination, huh). My skin felt a little tingly for a couple minutes but I barely turned red and I never had any peeling or irritation. I even got Lorelei, one of our most sensitive-skinned team members, to try it and she had no problems. Now that I’ve worked my way through my entire 30-day package there’s only one thing to do: get more! There’s no turning back once you’re hooked.
Learn why exfoliation is so unbelievably important (including why your expensive creams can’t do a darn thing if you don’t exfoliate).
Try the Alpha Beta Peel for yourself! Pick it up in the Birchbox Shop.
While I’m waiting for my lashes to grow (see: RevitaLash grow-off), I’ve been using YSL’s newish mascara, which is designed to make you look like you’re wearing fake lashes (in the ‘wow, they’re so dramatic’ way, not the ‘wow, you look like a transvestite’ way). The brush is kind of ragged and rough so that instead of just sweeping your lashes to make them longer, it grabs and coats each lash with formula to make them fatter, darker, and longer at the same time. The formula is on the drier side, which is great if you curl your eyelashes — it acts as a fixer to help hold the pretty curve. But the best part about this mascara is that it’s rich enough to just use one coat!
Want to give false lashes a shot? Read our guide.
Looking for a different kind of mascara? Check out some of our other favorites in the Birchbox Shop.
Let’s start with the bottle, shall we? Marc Jacobs Lola comes in a shapely vial that is topped by a twist of gold a riot of emerald, cobalt, violet, and red petals. It’s excellent decoration for your vanity, and nearly as lovely as the scent itself. As with Marc Jacobs’s previous scents, Lola is both playful and sophisticated. Here’s a fruity floral that knows it’s sweet but has enough wit to cut that sweetness with layers of rich musk and spicy pepper. The result? A cheerful, sophisticated scent that I can – and will – wear year-round. Coupled with that stunner of a bottle, I’m smitten.
