OCC Crème Colour Concentrates
First picture, left to right: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Crème Colour Concentrate in Cthulhu, John Doe
Second picture, left to right: Swatches of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Crème Colour Concentrate in Cthulhu, John Doe
According to OCC, the Crème Colour Concentrates are “smooth, blendable, buildable crème coverage,” and Sephora adds that they are “longwearing,” “intense,” and “fashion-forward.” The product is available in six shades: Trick, a “warm, midtoned beige”; Terra Firma, “terra cotta brown”; Grandma, “clean, classic coral”; Miriam, “subdued, whitened plum”; and the two I tested, John Doe, “pale, ash-toned taupe,” and Cthulhu, “dirty, pale olive.” OCC says the product is “loaded with emollients and humectants including aloe leaf extract, cocoa extract, and vitamin E,” and is supposed to “wear like a dream with a beautiful satin finish.”
I love weird green shades—for anything, from nail polish to eyeshadow—so I was specifically excited about Cthulhu, whereas John Doe is more of my own skintone, so I wasn’t so sure what to do with that. I decided to test them both as eyeshadows, because I feel like these two shades are probably most fit for that purpose (how often would I want my lips to be a “dirty, pale olive,” really?), and I did my typical regimen of putting each on in the morning to see how they fared throughout the day.
Well … they fared, which is a good thing. The colors are very buildable and pigmented, so I only needed a dab or two of each to get a light layer of color, and I then built from there. As I noted before, John Doe is very similar to (only a little darker than) my own skincolor, so it was slightly strange to apply eyeshadow that didn’t immediately seem to do anything. Both shades have very good coverage, though, and lasted about five or six hours; I especially loved Cthulhu, which when used lightly is a nice, spring-inspired color. Too much of either shade, I think, could make you look corpse-like, but in moderation they were quite pretty.
But the biggest issue I found with these was creasing—as in, they creased a lot. I do have oily eyelids, so I’m used to cream products moving around up there; although these stayed put, there was noticeable creasing at around two hours. This was especially, weirdly noticeable with John Doe; since the shade is so close to my own skin, it looked like my eyelids were molting or something? Not a good look. (It should be noted, though, that when I used these shades as a base under similarly colored powder eyeshadow, I didn’t experience the same level of creasing.)
Although John Doe wasn’t the greatest shade for me, I really like Cthulhu (and my nerdy self rejoices because of the geeky name), and I’m interested in trying Grandma and Miriam. Part of OCC’s appeal is those unique shades, so if you’re willing to try something new, OCC’s Crème Colour Concentrates certainly aren’t a bad bet. They’re anything but typical.
VERDICT: B. They definitely crease, but they still have a long wear-time and solid pigmentation.
AVAILABILITY: $20 each at OCCmakeup.com.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The products featured in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog posts are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company, or any other organization unless mentioned.
Photos by Roxana Hadadi.
In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog — and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.
