Sleek Pout Paints v OCC Lip Tars

I know this post is a little late (ok ok very late, I have been meaning to publish it for over a year now!) but how and ever, better late than never...

For anyone who doesn't know, OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) are a cruelty-free all-vegan cosmetics store who make a bunch of different cosmetic products and tools - but their pièce de résistance are their Lip Tars.  Ostensibly a pro product, these are great for anyone who likes to play with makeup.

Sleek Makeup (a drugstore/budget makeup brand that I absolute love) have released (oh, back in 2011 I believe) their version - called Pout Paints.

Here follows my compare-and-contrast.

One of the big things I love about Lip Tars is the scent - they are heavily peppermint-tasting, which is all fine and dandy if you like that, but it's a bit much if you don't.  The scent fades slightly over the course of wear (I personally like it, actually, for me it's a nice break from vanilla- or rose- scented lippies, or - heaven forbid - fruity-flavoured lipsticks, yeuch).  Sleek doesn't have that OTT OCC peppermint smell.  Score this one in accordance with your preference.

In terms of appearance, the Lip Tars dry down to a satin (semi-matte) finish that categorically doesn't budge, and the Pout Paints are more of a slightly-glossy finish.  This one is also a matter of preference.

With respect to wear, the Lip Tars probably last a little longer, but care is needed when applying Lip Tars - too much will cause feathering.  Score +1 and -1 for Lip Tars for these reasons :-)

As far as pigmentation goes, the Lip Tars have extreme pigmentation - a dot of this product will do for entire lip coverage.  The Pout Paints are quite pigmented, but nowhere as good as Lip Tars.  Lip Tars 1: Pout Paints 0.

The full suite of OCC Lip Tars

What about colours?  The Lip Tars also have a lot more colours; at this point in time there are 46 shades (at the time I purchased, I believe there were 18!) and feature weird and wonderful shades of blues, greens, black, white etc., making them a real artist's tool, as other shades can be created by mixing.

Sleek Pout Paint - current shades (April 2013)

The Pout Paints colours change from time to time - at present they come in 7 shades, all (bar the blue) are pretty ready-to-go day-wearable.  There used to be a white shade for mixing, but at the point of this post, it didn't feature on their website.  Lip Tars 2: Paint Pots: 0.

In terms of wearability and "last-ability"; I find that most of the Lip Tars wear nicely, and fade uniformly to a stain... rather than gradually in bits and pieces.  The Paint Pouts didn't fade quite as uniformly, but they are not bad either (better than most lippies for eg).  Lip Tars 3: Paint Pots: 0.

The big down-side of Lip Tars?  The product separates in the tube - nothing a good shake can't fix, but still a little annoying (and from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, they do not look good in your kit!)  Lip Tars 3: Paint Pots: 1.

Price-wise, at retail price, the Pout Pots (£6.99) are considerably cheaper than Lip Tars (£12).  Lip Tars 3: Paint Pots: 2.

Would I buy again?  Hmmm... given that I have a Pro card and can get Lip Tars (the real deal for me) at more or less the same price as the Pout Paints, probably not.  But I wouldn't object to recommending them.  Or to using them if I don't have Lip Tars to hand.  Or to buying them completely on a whim if I happen to be in a Superdrug (not often) and I just "need" that exact colour.

More information on Pout Paints here.  More information on Lip Tars here.