I have just returned back to New York City from a weeklong California trip. It was a whirlwind beauty adventure where I scoured the streets of LA for their best in beauty. Some of the highlights included the newly renovated beauty level at Barney’s in Beverly Hills, The Organic Pharmacy on Rodeo, Detox Market over in West Hollywood and one of my personal new favorite beauty boutiques Woodley & Bunny. It’s vital that when you embark on such a beauty shopping adventure, you follow the lead of a true local—someone who loves beauty just as much as you do, and who knows the city like the palm of her hand. For me, this person is Taylor Gardner, my LA touchstone (and college bestie) who always acts as a sounding board for my beauty-centric mind.

Today, I just can’t wait to talk about one of my best finds: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and their fan-effing-tastic Lip Tars. These liquid matte lipsticks come in a thousand colors, and contain unparalleled pigment intensity and wear time. You literally need a drop, and you just build to your desired coverage. You can go from bare to opaque in seconds. Oh and Paraben-Free, 100% Vegan and Gluten-Free.

Taylor and I literally played with all of the colors, and we feel like these can we worn as the center of attention, with minimal makeup everywhere else. I am obsessed with Femme, which is a true baby pink, and when layered on, it almost looks neon. It’s insane amazing. For something more subtle for the daytime, just apply a drop and voila you have the cutest baby pink lip.

Taylor and I also fell for the Black Dahlia (picture 1), which we wore for the rest of our LA trip. It’s the perfect grapey dark red and literally looks amazing on everyone. This shade is sure to brighten your face, making your skin pop. It’s like the ultimate accessory. For added gloss, pop Armani’s Rouge d’Armani Sheer 602 on top, another deep wine colored lipstick, for added shine and gloss. This dark combo is pure insanity.

We also bought (because you can never have enough pinks) Hush (a real neutral skintone “blank” pink, picture 2) and Ophelia (a petal pink blush, picture 4).

All in all, the OC Cosmetics discovery was quite major.

More of our favorite LA finds to come…