diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1a73b7e0..3056232d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -238,8 +238,13 @@ Optional.
 
 Shell command to run tests after the build. The wheel will be installed automatically and available for import from the tests. `{project}` can be used as a placeholder for the absolute path to the project's root and will be replaced by `cibuildwheel`.
 
+On Linux and Mac, the command runs in a shell, so you can write things like `cmd1 && cmd2`. 
+
 Example: `nosetests {project}/tests`
 
+Platform-specific variants also available:
+`CIBW_TEST_COMMAND_MACOS` | `CIBW_TEST_COMMAND_WINDOWS` | `CIBW_TEST_COMMAND_LINUX`
+
 | Environment variable: `CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES`
 | ---
 
@@ -250,6 +255,9 @@ Space-separated list of dependencies required for running the tests.
 Example: `pytest`  
 Example: `nose==1.3.7 moto==0.4.31`
 
+Platform-specific variants also available:
+`CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES_MACOS` | `CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES_WINDOWS` | `CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES_LINUX`
+
 --
 
 #### Example YML syntax
diff --git a/cibuildwheel/__main__.py b/cibuildwheel/__main__.py
index 775a20e2..1a9e3c5e 100644
--- a/cibuildwheel/__main__.py
+++ b/cibuildwheel/__main__.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import cibuildwheel.linux, cibuildwheel.windows, cibuildwheel.macos
 from cibuildwheel.environment import parse_environment, EnvironmentParseError
 from cibuildwheel.util import BuildSkipper
 
-def get_option_from_environment(option_name, platform=None):
+def get_option_from_environment(option_name, platform=None, default=None):
     '''
     Returns an option from the environment, optionally scoped by the platform.
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ def get_option_from_environment(option_name, platform=None):
         if option is not None:
             return option
 
-    return os.environ.get(option_name)
+    return os.environ.get(option_name, default)
 
 
 def main():
@@ -70,13 +70,13 @@ def main():
             exit(2)
 
     output_dir = args.output_dir
-    test_command = os.environ.get('CIBW_TEST_COMMAND', None)
-    test_requires = os.environ.get('CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES', '').split()
+    test_command = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_TEST_COMMAND', platform=platform)
+    test_requires = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES', platform=platform, default='').split()
     project_dir = args.project_dir
     before_build = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_BEFORE_BUILD', platform=platform)
-    build_verbosity = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_BUILD_VERBOSITY', platform=platform) or ''
+    build_verbosity = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_BUILD_VERBOSITY', platform=platform, default='')
     skip_config = os.environ.get('CIBW_SKIP', '')
-    environment_config = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_ENVIRONMENT', platform=platform) or ''
+    environment_config = get_option_from_environment('CIBW_ENVIRONMENT', platform=platform, default='')
 
     try:
         build_verbosity = min(3, max(-3, int(build_verbosity)))
diff --git a/cibuildwheel/macos.py b/cibuildwheel/macos.py
index 4d6f3565..09db2030 100644
--- a/cibuildwheel/macos.py
+++ b/cibuildwheel/macos.py
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ def build(project_dir, package_name, output_dir, test_command, test_requires, be
             # (this ensures that Python runs the tests against the installed wheel
             # and not the repo code)
             test_command_prepared = prepare_command(test_command, project=abs_project_dir)
-            call(shlex.split(test_command_prepared), cwd=os.environ['HOME'], env=env)
+            call(test_command_prepared, cwd=os.environ['HOME'], env=env, shell=True)
 
         # we're all done here; move it to output
         shutil.move(delocated_wheel, output_dir)
diff --git a/test/02_test/environment.json b/test/02_test/environment.json
index a9b6ac2b..3a541dd4 100644
--- a/test/02_test/environment.json
+++ b/test/02_test/environment.json
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 {
     "CIBW_TEST_REQUIRES": "nose",
-    "CIBW_TEST_COMMAND": "nosetests {project}/test"
+    "CIBW_TEST_COMMAND": "false || nosetests {project}/test",
+    "comment": "The 'false ||' bit is to ensure this command runs in a shell on Mac and Linux",
+    "CIBW_TEST_COMMAND_WINDOWS": "nosetests {project}/test"
 }