Review: OCC After Dark Stained Gloss Set

I Bought This

The OCC obsession continues! After I bought Pink Prism and Batty, I wanted to get more. The Stained Glosses had be hooked on release, but I never got around to buying any. The After Dark set fixed that!

BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER, consider what you want: a liquid lipstick or a sheer to opaque, staining gloss? People have confused these with the Lip Tar formula, which Stained Glosses aren't intended or designed to be anything like the original Lip Tar. At all. 

The After Dark Stained Gloss Set comes in a zip pouch much like the full-sized Lip Tars and Stained Glosses along with a mini-OCC Lip Brush and little pockets for the Glosses to sit in. While I do love the packaging because it's convenient, it's a bit problematic. The brush has it's own little pocket, which can make it hard to remove. Just one little gripe.

Yes, my brush needs to be cleaned.

OCC Test Tubes are minis of full-sized shades, with Test Tubes being 0.08 oz vs the full-sized tube of 0.33 oz. The shades are Hedonist (the Dune Generation Collection from Summer 2014), New Wave, Jealous, and Little Black Dress, a limited-edition "top coat" to deepen the other Stained Glosses or Lip Tars. Most are simply sheer with a gorgeous pop of color.

Hedonist

Hedonist is "neon pastel pink" according to OCC. It's very similar to Mannequin Lip Tar: very light, blue-based, bubblegum-y pink but sheerer and glossy. This is one of the more opaque shades in the Stained Gloss line but does bare the glossiness the way the rest of the line does. It can look a bit thick on lips, and it leaves a faint stain. I don't 100% love the shade, but topped with Little Black Dress, it's better for me.

New Wave

New Wave is "glassy neon pink." I love this color. It's brighter than Pretty Boy, which is also darker; Pretty Boy almost looks like a dark magenta next to New Wave! Compared to Pretty Boy, it's very red-pink, but on it's own, the blue undertones are visible. I love it.

Jealous

Jealous is "popsicle pink/red." You know those red popsicles? That's what this is like. It's exactly like if you ate a red popsicle. It's very warm and red, but there's a hint of pink to it. Surprisingly I like it. Its rare that I like a warm red, but the little bit of pink makes it wearable for me. Of course, it also doesn't clash with my current hair color: a mix of red and pink, with a few drops of purple for a very orchid-like shade. (There'll maybe be an update about it.)

Little Black Dress

Little Black Dress (from here on, called LBD) is "sheer, wearable black." It's very sheer, which makes some people crazy. It's a bit hard to swatch because of that! It's not so much black as more of a cool gray. As a top coat, it's great. On it's own, you might find it more lackluster. It sort of makes your natural lips look gray but it tones down the color. Applied on top of a shade or mixed with it, it alters the base and adds a darker tone to it. For example, using LBD with Hedonist changes the shade from pale pink to a slightly gray-lavender. It makes Hedonist much more wearable for me.

L to R: Hedonist, New Wave, Jealous, Little Black Dress, LBD over Hedonist. Bottom image is same order; LBD + Hedonist together leaves much less of a stain.

Despite being a gloss formula, these aren't sticky! It does lead to a shorter wear--I know the stain will wear pretty easily from eating and drinking but 3 to 4 hour wear of the gloss followed by the stain? I can live with that just fine. Most shades do stain quite nicely, but Hedonist is so light that it doesn't leave a stain as quite as vibrant on lips but it does stain skin. LBD doesn't stain at all, really, but I actually like that it doesn't stain. Jealous and New Wave on the other hand stain very nicely! New Wave leaves a nice, bright pink pop on the lips and Jealous leaves a more red-orange stain. I love the staining effect of both.

Overall, I'm personally pleased with what I bought. It certainly helped that it was on sale at the time (down to $10 from $29!) but I did also want to get New Wave and this gave me an opportunity to try shades I normally wouldn't have bought. You can find OCC Stained Glosses at Sephora and OCC's website.

SPOOKEHDOOM