LIME CRIME Opaque Lipsticks: Haul, Reviews, Swatches and Comparisons!
—-
My little turquoise package arrived, and in it were 4 shades of opaque lipsticks I’d ordered from Lime Crime. The packaging is shiny and bright mauve, with a sparkly holographic Unicorn and name stamped in. The packaging is just a little too kitschy and airy-fairy to be my kinda thing, but oh well, it’s fun.
The ones I chose were:
- Cosmopop
- Great Pink Planet
- Countessa Fluorescent
- Airborne Unicorn
I did not choose the rose-fuschia, red, bright orange, blue, lilac, or black, because I decided to go for the colors that were harder to dupe and actually wearable on weekends, if not for work/school.
—-
Texture: Creamy, and go on smoothly with a satin sheen, but they do contain more pigment content and less wax than most typical lipsticks. This means they
- can get slightly dryer than normal cream lipsticks over the hours
- are more opaque than most other lipsticks I’ve tried. This does not mean they are 100% opaque. You will still need to go over a couple of times to even out the color.
- break easier. My poor Cosmopop (creamsicle orange) slipped out of its box and hit the floor, so now the whole lipstick is deformed and wobbling despite my trying to heat and re-freeze. Be careful about carrying these tubes in your bag on a hot day or leaving them in the car.
—-
Look: I applied them 2 ways. Once really full-on, straight from the tube. Then once blotted and evened out with my finger for a sheerer matte finish. Scroll on to see! (The pictures are taken in artificial light, so in real life it may differ a little.)
1. Cosmopop full (top) and sheer (bottom)
Verdict: I love Cosmopop sheer. When applied full, it is a white-orange nude which probably belongs more at a costume party, especially if you are not uber-pale.
Applied sheer or with a finger, it’s a lovely bright-peach nude.
—-
2. Great Pink Planet, full (above) and matte (bottom).
Verdict: Photos are very much how they appear in real life. I really like this lipstick. The only thing is that it is very white-based, so if you have a very deep skin tone, this might look a little crazy. (But hey, if you really want that exaggerated baby pink lip, go for it!)
—-
3. Countessa Fluorescent, full (above) and sheer (bottom).
Verdict: Heart. This shade is an intense, fluorescent barbie pink. A bit much for work (all the photos don’t quite show how much these lipsticks pop), but definitely a fierce party lip.
—-
4. Airborne Unicorn, full (above) and sheer (bottom)
Verdict: Another shade I love. Blue does not show up that well in artificially-lighted photographs, so this shade is actually a little less pink and a bit more purple than it looks above. I totally don’t agree that if you have yellow or NC skin, you should wear yellow-toned shades and avoid blue-pinks, blue-reds, etc. That’s all hogwash. I’ve found that having some blue tones will contrast beautifully with your skin and make it glow.
—-
Swatches below (top 4) compared with other lip products I own that can give a somewhat similar - but not identical - look.
From bottom upwards: Revlon Colorburst Soft Nude lipstick, Etude House Strawberry Milk lipstick (much sheerer and a touch warmer than Great Pink Planet), The Face Shop Extreme Rouge Gloss PK102, Etude House VIP Girl #09, MAC Up the Amp).
—-
Pros:
- Great, fun shades
- High pigmentation (Sure it’s not 100% opaque, but lighten up. It’s still more opaque than most other brands, and it performs well enough for me.)
- Cheaper than MAC (in Asia). Here, MAC lipsticks cost upward of USD22 at current exchange rates. Lime crime is USD15.99.
Cons:
- Lipsticks are very soft and will smoosh against the sides of the tube or break off easily
- Limited shade range (but then the brand has always focused on slightly off-kilter colors that are hard to find elsewhere, and I like them for it.)
- More expensive than MAC (in the US).
—-
Verdict:
I really like the texture and the saturated shades, but I’m sure I won’t be wearing them on a daily basis. If you find it hard to get really bright or pale milky colors though, some of these are definitely worth collecting.
They ship world-wide for a flat rate of USD10 (at time of writing) and waiver shipping fees if you spend USD100 in an order.
