FAQ Answered!: Turning Metallic Lip Tars into Lip Tar Pencils

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I've had a lot of people ask me questions about turning lip tars into lip pencils and I've answered most of them in this FAQ. However I hadn't covered the issue of metallic lip tars mainly because I didn't own any at the time. Now that I own one (Black Metal Dahlia) meant for wearing opaquely on the lips, I thought I would tackle the issue of the outcome of turning your metallic lip tars into lip pencils.

After turning Black Metal Dahlia into a lip pencil in addition to seeing Phyrra's swatch of her metallic Super NSFW and Batty+Tarred Lip Pencils, I would NOT recommend turning your metallic lip tars into pencils. When I was using Black Metal Dahlia with a brush, I noticed that the lip tar wasn't as watery like my regular lip tars and I had to use more than usual in order to get opaque coverage on my lips. That's because the lip tar is packed full of shimmer and sparkle which makes the base color less pigmented. Some of the other metallic lip tars are also pretty sheer which means they'll be even less pigmented as a pencil.

Using the ratio of 2 grams of lip tar to 3 grams of eyeliner base won't work since the 2 grams of metallic lip tar in a pencil will be more diluted than an equal amount of the regular lip tar. When I followed my original ratio, the color was weaker AND the sparkle seemed very dull. The color didn't seem as "glowing" and "lit from within" the way it was when I applied the lip tar normally.

Here is a swatch of Black Metal Dahlia applied regularly on the top lip and as a pencil on the bottom lip so you can see what I mean. The pigmentation of the pencil is quite poor compared to the lip tar applied normally.

Although you could certainly increase the ratio of the lip tar in your formula, I am a little worried about it impacting the texture and compromising the wear time. I also think that at a certain point you're just diluting the lip tar way too much in an effort to be convenient and I think it's better off staying in liquid form.

In the long run, I'd say apply your metallic lip tars with a brush and save the penciling process for your regular lip tars. I don't own a Stained Gloss lip tar so when I do get my hands on one, I'll be sure to write another post on it!

I hope this post helped!

Lip Tar Pencil Adventures: Black Dahlia Lip Tar

As beautiful a color as Black Dahlia lip tar is, it is finicky (even more so than the rest of the line) to apply because it can be a little streaky. A few people asked me whether I could turn Black Dahlia into a pencil (read my post and tutorial if you're interested!) and I did. IT TOTALLY WORKS.

The caveat is that you can't really layer the pencil the way you can with the lip tar, the color you get is as dark as it'll be but for the most part the streakiness/unevenness is gone and there is basically no bleeding into the lip lines. If you find Black Dahlia to be a PITA to apply, consider making it into a lip pencil! If I had to get hypercritical, I think the pencil is a smidgen lighter than the original but not by much. FYI you still have to have perfectly exfoliated lips, the color will still catch on imperfect lips.

If you've made any of your lip tars into lip pencils, I'd really love to see pictures! If you have any questions on the process, feel free to leave a comment.

PS If the blog looks different to you, it's because I scaled down the pictures and reduced the width of the blog. I originally liked having the larger images but I think they just looked too large over time and it was making it difficult to view the blog without scrolling. Anyway, I gotta give thanks to my boyfriend who wrote me a script so I wouldn't have to manually change back all my blog images! I hope you like the slightly more compact blog.

FAQ: Turning Lip Tars into Lip Pencils

I've had a few people ask me a few questions on my lip tar to lip pencil tutorial (check it out here if you haven't yet!) so I thought I would write up a FAQ post answering ones that I've gotten!

The lip tars and the corresponding pencils are Memento, Radiate, and Pretty Boy.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the lip pencils over the lip tar?
A: There are a few advantages and disadvantages. 

Advantages

• Travel friendly 
• Less messy
• Precision without a brush needed
• Helps prevent any bleeding or feathering on the lips
• Can color customize
• Wear time is the same or improved 
• A more traditional lipstick feel

Disadvantages

• The end product is not vegan
• The pencils have to be sharpened so you lose some product that way
• The color can look slightly different due to the satin finish but the difference is so marginal. 
• You can't sharpen it too much otherwise the tip will break like a traditional pencil.

Q: Is the eyeliner base you use from TKBTrading lip safe?
A: Yes, the ingredients in the eyeliner base are lip safe. Prior to posting the tutorial, I made sure to ask the manufacturer (TKBTrading) who confirmed that it is.

Q: Will the lip tar lip pencils be vegan after the process?
A: No. This process will de-veganize your lip tar since the eyeliner base used in the tutorial contains beeswax.

Q: Why chubby pencils as opposed to slim line pencils?
A: I chose the chubby pencil barrels because I wanted to find a way to turn the lip tars into a traditional lip pencil and those are usually in the chubby pencil barrels and they are easier to fill than the slimline barrels without sacrificing precision. 

Q: What sharpener do you use to sharpen the chubby pencils?
A: I've had great results with my Essence pencil sharpener that you can get at ULTA and my Covergirl pencil sharpener.

Q: Will you be making a video tutorial?
A: I'm actually in the midst of recording one, it should be up soon!

Q: Is the color changed during the process?
A: In my experience, it looks like there's more of a difference than there actually is. When you swatch them on your hand, it looks like there'a huge difference but when worn on the lips, the slight difference is virtually indistinguishable. Check out my comparison of Pretty Boy Lip Tar and the corresponding pencil here!

Q: Can I make a custom color lip pencil?
A: You most definitely can! If there's a custom color that you like, you can mix it up (as long as it adds up to 2 grams) and make a pencil out of it!

Q: This looks like a lot of work! Will you consider making and selling these lip pencils?
A: I've been thinking about this actually and I think I will be. Feel free to contact me for more information!

Q: Does this work with the Stained Glosses or Metallic Lip Tars?
A: I do not know. I don't own either so I cannot assess to it. However you may want to keep in mind that the lip tar is essentially a colorant so if you have a sheer lip tar, then it'll produce a sheer lip pencil.

Q: The bottom cap for my lip pencil is loose, is there any way I can fix this?
A: If you take a pair of flat pliers to it, you can adjust it to fit the pencil better!

Q: What's the shelf life of the pencils?
A: I recommend you toss them after 6 months.

I hope this FAQ helped answer any questions you might have! Feel free to ask me questions and I'll be sure to answer them. Would you do me a favor and check out a poll I have going on my Facebook page? That would be so helpful!

OCC Lip Tar vs Lip Pencil Comparison

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Hey everyone,

If you haven't yet, please read my last post on how to turn your lip tars into lip pencils! I meant to do a swatch comparison of the two but I was a little busy so I wasn't able to do it until today. I also wanted to show how the lip pencil can look once blotted and reapplied.

On my lips below, I applied the lip tar using a brush on one lip and I applied the lip tar pencil to the other lip. Which do you think is which? (This is Pretty Boy Lip Tar and Lip Pencil by the way)

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The lip tar was applied to the top lip and the lip pencil was applied to the bottom lip. The lip pencil looks slightly lighter than the lip tar but that's due to the fact that it's slightly shinier, therefore reflecting more light. The bottom lip also tends to reflect more light due to the angle.

If you want to reduce the slight shiny finish, you can definitely blot your lips (I blotted the lip pencil, not the lip tar)

You can then intensify the color by adding another layer of lip pencil.

Or if you don't like the look of that, just reblot again. Although it takes more effort, I definitely think this look is the best.

When compared to the original (whichever way you wear it), the lip pencil can look a shade lighter due to the slight shine but I don't think it's drastic enough that it looks like you're wearing a completely different color. Unless you really looked hard, no one will tell the difference. Also, I encountered feathering/bleeding from the lip tar but I did not encounter that with the lip pencil. FYI: If you do a hand swatch comparison, the difference looks more drastic but it's not as drastic on the lips.

If you're someone who likes to custom mix their lip tars, you could definitely premix a color that you like from the lip tars (as long as it adds up to 2 grams) and make your own custom lip pencils instead of mixing it every time you go to apply. (Thanks Sam for the idea!) 

Someone on my Facebook page asked if you could do this with the stained gloss lip tars. I personally don't own one so I can't say for sure but I think the process would work the same since  the ingredients are the same as the lip tars. 

Should you do it? I'd recommend turning your lip tars into lip pencils if you don't like applying the lip tars with a brush, want the convenience of lip tars on the go, and dislike the bleeding of the lip tars. 

I hope you found this post helpful! Do send me pictures if you do decide to do this!

DIY Tutorial: Turn your Lip Tars into Lip Pencils!

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If you've been following me on my Instagram or Twitter, you'll know that my pet project has been turning my lip tars into lip pencils. It's an easy way to make your lip tars into something more travel-friendly and if you've had difficulty applying the lip tars with a brush, you'll find that the lip tars are easier and more forgiving to apply in pencil form. A lot of people have been asking so here is my tutorial on how to turn your lip tars into lip pencils!

I've found that these have a good wear time; after eight hours, the color started wearing away on the inside of the lip with the majority of the color still on the lip. I also thought this helped prevent some of the bleeding into the lip lines that I had with the lip tars in liquid form. 

Disclaimer: I have only done these with the regular lip tars, not the stained glosses or metallic lip tars so I can't say for sure how your product will turn out if you do use this tutorial with your stained glosses or metallic lip tars.

*Please do not use my tutorial or any of my blog content for commercial purposes.*

This post will be picture heavy so the tutorial will be under a read more tag! Please click to see the rest of the post.