BYS Lip Tar - Barbados Bikinis Swatches & Review

Purchased by me

Hey lovelies,

Here's a wee gem that caught my eye at Kmart a while back! I confess I haven't tried a BYS lip product since the frosty lilac lipstick I proudly wore in my early teens, so it was about time I gave them another spin. And with a name like 'Lip Tar', I couldn't resist seeing how BYS' take measured up to OCC's cult favourite product. I chose the shade Barbados Bikinis, a bright coral.

BYS have been pretty unabashed in their tribute to OCC. Like the original Lip Tars, BYS' version comes in a squeezy tube with a pointed nozzle and a lip brush. (As an aside, I think it's pretty fantastic that they've included a brush, and not a shoddy one either, when the whole set is a mere $6.75NZD at Kmart.) Here's BYS' description:

BYS Lip Tar combines the even coverage of a lipstick and the smooth and easy application of a gloss. With its pigment rich formula, BYS Lip Tar makes it easy to achieve intense and bold lip colour.

Application: Using the precision lip brush, included in this kit, apply a small droplet of BYS Lip Tar to the brush and apply to your lips. Increase the level of application as desired but remember a little Lip Tar goes a long way!

Sounds pretty familiar! But how did BYS' version stack up?

Left: Applied thickly/Right: Sheered out

Barbados Bikinis is a gorgeous bright coral creme with great colour pay off. I ran into a little trouble the first few times I used it as I'd squeeze and squeeze the tube and only the tiniest bit would appear - while you don't need a lot of product, you do need more than I was getting. Finally I grabbed a pin, popped it down the tube and wiggled it around until something shifted or widened and we were away! I'm assuming it was a manufacturing fault because I haven't seen other bloggers mention this problem.

Barbados Bikinis has a creamy, non-sticky, emollient texture that spreads easily and a mint scent which provides a slightly tingling, cooling sensation for around the first ten minutes of wear. After that, I didn't really notice any further sensation and the mint scent faded after half an hour. Barbados Bikinis wore for three hours, losing some of its shine and the colour becoming more faded after two hours. It also became slightly drying around this time. There was a minute amount of feathering, but nothing intolerable, or even visible to anyone not peering very closely at your lipline. It leaves a faint pink stain which fades after an hour or so.

A FOTD with Barbados Bikinis

What I liked:

• Great colour pay off
• Smooth, non sticky texture
• Comes with a lip brush for perfect application
• Budget friendly and cruelty free

What I didn't like:

• Manufacturing fault made it difficult to get product out
• I would have loved a longer wear time than the three hours total I got (of which it looked perfect for only two)

Where to buy:

• Kmart (Australia and New Zealand)
• Cosmetics Plus (Australia and New Zealand)
• Complete list of Australian stockists 
• Complete list of International distributors

What do you think of BYS' Lip Tars? Will you be checking them out? I think they'd perform beautifully with matching lipliners and would love to check out more colours.

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Lani