How — and WHY — did this popular beauty brand ghost the entire world? The answer may lay in a labyrinth of reviews, cryptic Instagram comments… and a “devastating” battle with a beauty giant.
The actual storefront on Ludlow street currently has brown paper covering the windows and all the signage has been removed. I have no idea how long it’s been closed. The OCC store was last reviewed on Yelp in November 2017.
There are a number of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics still available (and sold full price) at Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters. Riley Rose currently only sells the OCC loose glitters.
Notably absent from this list of retailers? Sephora — and as it turns out, that’s not an accident.
All of this has led Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram to wonder where the hell OCC went, and why? While there has been absolutely NO public statement issued by the vanished brand, anyone associated with it, or any of the retailers that still carry OCC.
So what the hell happened? To understand that, we have to go all the way back to 2004, and the founding of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics — and the legal problems the company would soon face.
As a makeup artist, Klasfeld created products that would allow him to customize everything in his kit — these were professional-grade makeup products designed primarily for artists and performers. Adding complexion products, nail polishes, and vegan brushes to the lineup over time, Klasfeld sold these products online and in select stores that catered primarily to beauty professionals. “Mainstream” beauty retailers like Sephora and Ulta weren’t interested in niche, indie brands like OCC… yet.
Speaking to Beautylish in 2014, Klasfeld said of his groundbreaking product “Lip Tar answered two questions. One: How, as a makeup artist, do I carry a varied enough selection of lipsticks that I can blend as necessary in a hygienic way? Most lipstick palettes I see out there look like they should have a biohazard symbol embossed on them! Two: For those times that you just want to wear lipstick, how can you offer that option along with the same convenience of application as a gloss? The answer to both is Lip Tar.”
Message boards lit up with tips and tricks for application, layering, and hacking the OCC Lip Tar line to make it easier and more comfortable to wear. The trickiness of the formula meant that its fan base was limited primarily to experienced professionals, drag performers, and die-hard makeup junkies. You know, the ones who were willing to work hard for the lipsticks they loved.
That was about to change with a deal that would change OCC — and the beauty world in general — forever.
Unfortunately, as soon as the Lip Tars were released, Sephora’s customers had major issues with them.
The products were fussy. They were hard to apply and remove. They were sticky. They weren’t REALLY that long-wearing. You needed a brush. The squeeze bottle was messy, and wasted product. Reviews from as late as 2014 showed that Sephora shoppers were UNhappy with OCC’s Lip Tars. They were simply too much work for the average customer.
Something had to be done.
People have speculated that this packaging change, and the overall shift in OCC branding to appeal more to a mass market audience, happened at Sephora’s urging.
But the RTW Lip Tars never made it to Sephora stores. Because shit was going DOWN between Sephora and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics behind the scenes.
Sephora canceled the $590K order and allegedly refused to pay for half the cost of “permanently branded in-store fixtures.” This caused OCC to file the suit claiming breach of contract.
In the legal documents, another fight over a sale emerges. In addition to the cancelled order, Sephora requested $832,700 from OCC to be put in escrow for all unsold product that needed to get returned to Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. If OCC could not do that, Sephora would “immediately liquidate such product at whatever price.”
OCC attempted to get an injunction that would stop Sephora from “liquidating” the existing Obsessive Compulsive products at a loss to the indie brand, seeking the retailer to simply “sell down” the existing OCC stock until it was gone.
But the judge sided with Sephora, lifting a temporary restraining order that kept the beauty retailer from deeply discounting OCC products. Lip Tars went on clearance at Sephora (for around $9 each, according to Reddit), and by the end of 2015, Sephora no longer carried ANY Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics’ products.
By 2017, the brand seemed to be having a LOT of sales on its website, and had increased its Pro discount (a courtesy often offered to makeup artists and students) to 60%. Overseas customers also noted that UK-based retailers had also suddenly slashed prices.
Which brings us to April 2, 2018 — the day that keen-eyed Redditors noticed the OCC storefront had shuttered, and all the OCC social pages had gone dark.
Based on this comment, and allllllll the other evidence I’ve looked into, it would appear that Bennett is claiming the Sephora lawsuit effectively sunk OCC. I have reached out to Bennett for additional comment and confirmation on this claim.
I haven’t been able to find any public records of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Inc legally filing to dissolve the company. Likewise, OCC Inc seems to still own the trademark to Lip Tar, and all the associated branding. It’s entirely possible that this is a temporary hiatus, which seems to be what most fans are hoping for.
But as the New York Times would say, based on the portrait that emerges from the documents and the timeline above, it seems unlikely to be the case.
I’ve reached out to OCC’s PR, Nordstrom, Riley Rose, Urban Outfitters, David Klasfeld, and Sephora to try to REALLY nail down what happened to this beloved brand. In the meantime, hoard your Black Dahlia Lip Tar like a dragon… because there’s no telling when you’ll be able to get another.