The brand Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics is most known for their Lip Tars. Makeup artists have loved these little tubes for years for their bright colors, pigmentation, and ability to be mixed and mixed into endless color combinations.
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| sephora.com |
Recently, OCC announced the launch of a new packaging option for their lip tars. Lip Tar has been a huge hit with the average consumer (sell it and they will come), so they decided to create a product that was easier to manage and apply for those folks who didn't necessarily need to mix product or use it in a professional setting.
Enter OCC Lip Tar/RTW (Ready to Wear)!
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| lapalmemagazine.com |
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| Instagram screen grab |
"You've made it clear: you are ready to wear #LipTar! Everyday users love it for ease of application, professionals love it for portability. Based on overwhelming popular demand #LipTarRTW will be our new standard packaging! Original packaging #LipTar is now on sale while supplies last, for only $9.00 each at OCCMAKEUP.COM! PS: Stay tuned for news about pro favorite shades makeing their #LipTarRTW debut!"
Uh oh. As you can imagine, people are not happy. Pros aren't happy. Everyday users aren't happy.
Of course companies change products. Makeup companies have repackaged and reformulated products before, usually to the disappointment of their fans. If OCC had initially announced that the RTW pakaging was going to replace the pro tube packaging upon announcing the product, would people have been pissed? Of course they would. I've seen this happen plenty of times with plenty of companies, and the nasty comments and disappointment eventually die down as people accept the change or turn to another product.
The real problem here is that they originally told everyone that they were keeping both package types and that RTW would NOT replace the pro tube packaging. That's what I have a problem with and what many others are most upset about. It's the fact that they said one thing and then turned around and did the exact opposite. That's just plain poor customer service.
I really don't want to be a cynic, but this new RTW packaging is super expensive. The original tube tar is $55/ounce, whereas the RTW packaging is $107/ounce! They say that they are switching because of high demand and I know they don't need the money, but I know someone is going to point out the price difference, so I thought I might as well go ahead and do it.
No, I'm not boycotting OCC or posting nasty all-caps things on their social media, but this little mix-up has left a sour taste in my mouth that the minty goodness of Lip Tar just can't fix right now.
