little white truths

Shades in the 'Y' range are for yellow-based skin tones and those in the 'R' range are for red-based skin tones.

I ummmed and ahhhed for ages (and looked at a lot of online photos), eventually deciding to go for Y3 instead of Y4. As predicted, my skin lies between those two shades (the skin on my face being darker than that on my inner wrist as pictured here) and the Y3 is fine for winter, but I'll have to put it away for next year once the weather warms up again and I'm more tanned. Happily the shelf-life on these once opened is 24 months, so no issues there.

 * No flash

In the above and below photos, I've left the product un-blended at the bottom (that's the circle shape) and blended it in above (you'll see the line that distinguishes clean skin from skin with product). I do believe my wrist looks better with the flash on (!).

 * With flash

This product is nice and runny (I like that) and blends well. Happily, it doesn't sit in my pores like many similar products and BB creams can sometimes do.

The coverage is probably a bit too sheer for me, although maybe that's because my skin's not looking its best at the moment so I feel like I need something a bit thicker. What I do like about it is that it's build-able, so you can choose how much coverage you want - although after more than two coatings it tends to look a bit unnatural so I personally would stop there. Another thing I like about it is that it leaves you with a nice, dewy-but-not-shiny look.

I often use it as a layer after primer and before my favourite Bodyography coloured face power. This gives me a natural look and the OCC Tint contains enough moisture that the powder doesn't dry me out and sit in my fine lines (which can sometimes happen if I'm not hydrated enough). My favourite use for it, however, is as a pick-me-up when I need to refresh my day makeup for night and can't be bothered washing everything off and doing it all again. Foundations generally wear off a bit after a day's wear but some still remains, so this is perfect for re-jigging your level of coverage.

My only major gripe with this product is that it doesn't contain sunscreen. I personally think that all tinted moisturisers, BB/CC creams and foundations (even face powders) should contain at least some sun protection. Even if you have sunscreen in your day cream, you may not be putting enough of it on to do the job properly. If your primer, tinted moisturiser and day cream all contain sunscreen, then you're looking at some decent sun protection without having to apply a dedicated sunscreen (sunscreens often being too greasy to use for the face).

Other than that, I reckon this is a good product and one that's worth giving a go - particularly because it's not as expensive as higher-end brands and does the job well.

These loose colours are great and not too expensive. I'd love to collect a bunch of them but I'd rather stop adding to my eye shadow/blush collection until I've finished a product or two (if that ever happens - those things seem impossible to finish!).

The product description for these is as follows: 'Micronised colour pigments are fused with light-reflecting mica and can be used to apply shimmer on the eyes, lips, cheeks and anywhere else on the face or body for a sleek, eye-catching look. This product is offered in a variety of versatile, long-wearing shades. These are carmine-free, 100 per cent vegan, micro-refined mineral pigments that do not contain fillers, binders, or extenders.' They are also 'free of parabens, sulfates and phthalates' (not that I have any idea what those things are, but I'm guessing I should be glad about that hehe).

Twirl is described as a peach/pink shimmer. See pics below (un-blended and then blended) and note that I've dispensed with non-flash photos for this product because it's quite pale and doesn't show up well without a flash.

I love this product and would happily buy the whole collection. I've found I use it most on my collarbones because it is a bit discoball-like and doesn't suit me for every day wear. Plus I have a few open pores on my cheeks and this makes them super visible.

While it does pack a shine-punch, the glitter isn't too in your face and this colour would suit most people. I imagine it would look most pretty on ladies with dark skin.

The other way I like to use it is on my eyelids, using a different pale eyeshadow above it (running up towards my brow-bone), when I want a hint of shine but don't want to overdo it.

Another good value product from OCC. I couldn't decide between this one and Hum (an orange shade) when I was choosing colours, and while I'm glad I went for the lighter shade to start with, Hum is definitely next on my list.

Have you bought any OCC products or tried either of the above? If so, what did you think of them?