Hoochie Lip Tar - Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

I have been digging on Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics for a while now. My latest purchase was another lip tar. Hoochie. A most vibrant and beautiful magenta-ey purple. OCC's lip tars are vegan! I read somewhere in the last year that the average woman eats four to seven pounds of lip product in her lifetime. Ummm, gross. I don't take such immaculate care of my body that I don't batter it with copious amounts of dark chocolate, pizza, whiskey, cigarettes, and other random things probably better left unimbibed. However, the thought of eating a bunch of random chemicals, dyes, etc. just kind of skeeves me out a bit. Lil bit. And of course those crazy hipsters just love their organic/vegan/green/tofu swag, don't they?

Moving on - the look and staying power of this lip tar is AMAZEBALLS. See? It's so awesome that I just threw down an amazeball. I have a mad obsession with buying far more cosmetics than I could ever wear - sometimes I just buy stuff because it's so darn pretty (I held onto some purple glitter Anna Sui lipstick back in the 90s because her packaging was so beautiful and bold! I kept it for years, even though it actually hurt to apply)! Having said this, I have a mad hoarde of lipstick, lip balm, gloss, butter, creme - you name it: I have it in multiple shades. Though - I hate to wear this stuff! Seriously, I hate lip gloss. Perhaps it is my perpetual thirst (otherwise known as cotton chops), but the stuff just balls up and lies on my lips. Lipstick wipes away/smears too easily. I have tried many of the lipsticks which are supposed to stay bold/fresh for 18+ hours. Sure, they worked. Though these lip paints must be applied very carefully with a clear top sealing coat which in turn means I must literally exfoliate my lips harshly to try and get the stuff off of my lips, by then it's smeared a semi-permanent Leigh Bowery/clown smile around my mouth. Super hawt.

Anyway, the lip tar goes on in a liquid manner like a gloss/lipstick. However, it dries into an absolutely striking dry matte. No feathering. Ever. And this stuff stays! I can drink coffee, brush my teeth, make out with a random stranger, whatev - and it is there. Sometimes I'll grab my lip brush and wipe it across my lips (without even applying more tar to the brush as there's usually plenty still within the hairs of the brush to give me a nice bold re-application) after 6-7 hours just to brighten it up as I am perpetually drinking while I chainsmoke. And it truly feels weightless -- sometimes I forget that I am wearing it out and occasionally people look at me and comment on my AMAZEBALLS lip tar and I'm like, "Oh yeah -- it IS badass, thankyaverymuch!"

Though the tubes are kind of small (which doesn't bother me because I carry a few in my purse as this stuff is great to layer/ombre!) - I usually only use 2 tiny dots on a lip brush. A seriously tinylittledot for each lip. I have had my Digitalis for many a month (4-5) and used it at least 4 days out of every week and I think I am just barely halfway through the tube. So it's really a steal at $16/tube. And as of 2-3 weeks ago - Sephora now sells the lip tars and then they come with a small lip brush and a plastic case so there is an added bang for your buck!

Also, their palette is divine. I have been waiting for something this fantastic for a long time. They have swampy green, bold blue, mustard yellow, black, white! I really hope to amass a nice set of tars so I can get some funky ombre going on. I really would love to do a bold black & white lip!

Bottom line: trample your best friend to get this! Seriously, buy one --- methinks you just might buy a second before leaving the store (or if you're like me -- get off the couch, because my shopping addiction became exponentially more severe when I began the obsession which is online shopping back in my teens!! Oh my goodness, and now I can buy stuff from my phone -- I have totally ordered makeup while stopped at a red light...) As usual, I digress; but this lip tar is just divine and OCC is sure to carry a shade you'll dig, or three, or forty! Go try it out and I dare you to tell me you aren't madly in love, or shouldn't I say OBSESSED with it!!

It was a long camel train.

Ridiculosity. I have thought for over a decade I needed to write a blog. Actually, a few blogs--and a vlog. . . or two. I am rampant with chaotic details. My train of thought derails often; so expect incredible bursts of randomosity [and verbiature you never knew existed]. I have already set the bar too high for this late night drunken rant. Though I digress: I finally started a beauty blog a month or so ago after receiving my first VoxBox.[If you are interested - you can see my video and post about all of the items I received - don't judge me, it was the first time I had ever posted a video of myself where I didn't have either a guitar or piano to safely guard me. Also, I already hate myself more than you ever could so spare me your negativity.]

Those that know me personally know I am a bit of a hoarder slash whore. What I mean by this is I am a label whore, a shoe (specifically TOMs) whore, a clothes whore, a nail polish whore, a green glass whore. . . I could go on for days. I have lived in my self-made excess my entire life. I just really love stuff. This may sound incredibly material and shallow. However, I *really* love my stuff. I also really feel that I'm a pretty decent human being and I don't collect things to try and outdo anyone or make anyone else feel inferior; I am just happiest when surrounded by pretty things I like; whether it is clothes, books, perfume, vintage ashtrays, or Bust/Nylon/Vice magazines from 2006 that I have hauled across multiple state lines multiple times. I don't think I am so egregiously self-indulgent when people love Instagram and Pinterest --- ELECTRIC HOARDING, PEOPLE!! And vanity --- please?! You better believe if I catch 1 picture out of 250 that I feel is worthy of allowing another human being to see it - I'm gonna post that shit. With a vengeance. I am a girl - we already have body issues. If you're a girl who has evolved beyond a size 6, you can guarantee those body issues have been exponentially exacerbated. [Seriously, I had to listen to a bride-to-be declare how "fat" she was while she was having her Size 0 (yes: size ZERO) wedding dress taken in. What is with you skinny, bitches? Maybe YOU should eat a truffle and not go to the gym three times a day. Wow, now I am really ranting - I don't care what you do, but if you wanna tell me what a pretty face I have, I'm gonna tell you where you can put your face. I guess I went on this diatribe to attempt to explain that though I could fill a blog with daily posts of my latest beauty finds and obsessions - there is a plethora of other items/genres/things/feelings that I will probably end up writing/ranting about.

So there you have it, welcome to my little piece of electric real estate [wow, that was lame]. There may be the occasional dull review of items that have been sent to me gratis with an expected video/review and you will see my true nerdist come out. However, I hope to entertain you or get your mojo flowing about a cool nail polish, or album, new Toms design, my latest non-meltable spatula [which I will prove otherwise] or whatever may be the topic at hand. I may forget about this for a few weeks, I may do multiple posts in an hour. Maybe we'll hit on some key issues, maybe we'll be friends, maybe we'll discover a cure for bad fashion and bible-beaters. If nothing else, I hope we can keep each other company and just maybe share a snortle.

I shake my fists in the air with my "VIVA LA FISTS" face squint while thinking "Gosh, I hope no one who actually knows me ever finds this!" while realizing that if they don't, this blog will most likely remain unseen.

Conundrum.

Influenster

Influenster

So -- I have finally joined Influenster. I had been receiving e-mails from them for the last year or two -- but quickly deleted them before ever seeing the first bit of content from them as I had just assumed it was another spam e-mail from all of the crazy stuff that falls into my inbox. Thank goodness I finally opened one of those e-mails one evening and found out that I had been missing out on this AWESOME opportunity for so long! I was quick to sign up and I now I am determined to qualify for as many Vox Boxes as possible!

Influenster is a site that allows you to earn Vox Boxes. Think Birchbox. . . but you don't have to pay for anything and the items you receive can vary from dog food to tech gizmos to beauty products to all-natural cleaning products (and beyond)! They have different campaigns which run and depending upon your profile, your interests/demographics, blogs, opinions, reviews, and more - you may qualify to receive a box full of products within the genre of the current campaign.

Last month I received my first Vox Box! It was the All-Natural campaign. This means that the products which I received were all natural (or of a high percentage of natural ingredients). The products within really blew me away! I do receive Birchbox as well as Beauty Bar boxes monthly. I pay between $10-15 every month for each subscription. Then I am excited to receive 5-7 samples of beauty & health products. Granted, some of them are "deluxe" size samples (I received a whole 2 oz bottle of Murad cleaner - yay! I've recently taken it on a few different road trips across the south and midwest!) -- but with Influenster -- you don't have to worry about tiny semi-use samples! Granted, you may receive a few packets of a natural sweetener or a single individually hand sanitizer wrap, etc. --- but you may also receive a full-size bottle of multivitamins worth $17.99, a completely new/packaged premium razor or even a full-size dish drying mat! Yes, most of the previously mentioned items came in my Vox Box or a similar campaign. You get a medium-sized box jam-packed with products sure to please!

They have recently remodeled their website. You can now see your Influenster score (I'm working on bringing up that 74 right now!) which reflects your score based upon your reviews, submitted blogs, Q+As, etc. It is really simple and clean - which I think we can all appreciate.

If you haven't joined yet, go to www.influenster.com and start filling out your profile to see what amazing swag you can score! Now of course, this is INFLUENSTER - thus, to continue in the program - you have required reviews you must give about your received products. BE HONEST! There are some things that I didn't think were so great -- you can list pros, cons, and verdicts beyond your normal grading system and description. The new redesigned site makes it uber-easy to figure out what mandatory tasks are required for each received Vox Box.

Get to it -- and while I am at it, here's the video (my very first video review EVER) I posted upon the receipt of my All-Natural Vox Box. Thanks kindly Influenster!

www.influenster.com

Influenster Natural Voxbox Opening from Amy Maus on Vimeo.

CleanWell Natural Hand Sanitizer Wipes

I received the recent All Naturals Voxbox from Influenster. Included in the box was a Cleanwell hand sanitizer wipe. I tend to buy Burts Bees hand sanitizer which is in a spray bottle. I was totally stoked to get to enjoy a sample of this individually wrapped wipe. It smelled lovely, did the job, and I can shove a few of these in my purse and it won't weigh it down like the little bottles. Verdict: Loved it!