Lime Crime: Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Over the months, I have been hemming and hawing over whether or not to do this review.  Doe sent me these just around the time they were available to pre-order.  Recently, Dusty, a long-time reader, asked me if I had tried them and what my opinion was. I’ve decided that it’s time to review these, despite the controversy over the brand itself, for my readers–for good or bad. I only ask that you leave me out of the drama! (In fact, Dusty said I could blame him, so I’m going to!)

Lipsticks ($16.00)

• Airborne Unicorn is a pinky-purple lilac with a mostly opaque look. On me, it’s similar to MAC’s Lavender Whip and Lady Gaga.
• Centrifuchsia is a brightened medium-dark pink. This is one of the more wearable shades of the ten released. I felt like this shade had the best feel/texture out of the entire line.
• Cosmopop is a lightened peachy-orange. This one looks a little chalky on my lips, and it was a bit on the drier side for application, which ended up with a streakier application.
• Countessa Fluorescent is a brightened blue-based pink with a little smidgen of purple. It’s like a slightly more neon version of Pepto Bismal. (No, seriously!)
• D’Lilac is a very cool-toned lilac, almost more like a light purple than a lilac. I had trouble getting this one to apply evenly–it was very streaky, a bit dry, and it required some effort to apply opaquely. One of my least favorites in terms of feel/texture.
• Great Pink Planet is like a more toned version of Countessa Fluorescent–a milky pink with a smidgen of lilac. Like D’Lilac, I had a lot of trouble applying this one evenly.
• My Beautiful Rocket is a medium-darkened orange. This applied decently, much like Centrifuchsia, and it went opaque without much trouble. I thought this one’s color differed quite a bit from the brand’s swatch on their website (which almost shows a duo-tone of orange and gold).
• No She Didn’t is a medium aqua blue that applies mostly opaque, but it can be a little on the streaky side so it looks a bit dry and chalky. Though it’s pigmented, for an unusual color like this, I’d probably opt for an OCC Lip Tar instead.
• Retrofuturist is a blue-based red that applies nearly opaque and does so in about two layers.
• Styletto is a slightly glossy black. It applies opaque, but it’s really a pain. I suppose most black lipsticks are a pain, so this one is no exception. It bleeds more than any of the other shades, and it requires a few layers to build solid, even color. I think it needs to be a little creamier in order to apply more evenly and crisply.

The good: The lipsticks are quite pigmented overall, and I didn’t have to layer them a zillion times to get solid, opaque color–this is really the standout feature of these lipsticks. They have a light vanilla scent to them when you first open, so I think most people will be pleased with the scent. The darker shades leave a stain behind, which may or may not be what you want (you may not want slightly blue-tinged lips for a day later, but you might enjoy a pink stain!).

I also really liked and appreciated that the lipsticks had a customized design and look to them.  They weren’t just stock tubes, so I can see that time and care went into them.  It also seems particularly unusual for a more “indie” brand, so definite kudos for that!

The bad: With all of the shades, I found I needed to wear a lip liner if I was actually going to wear them out, because they had a tendency to bleed around the edges, particularly with the darker shades (and of course, less so with lighter shades). After wearing these for a few hours, several shades are particularly drying–the only shades I found that didn’t feel drying were Centrifuchsia, My Beautiful Rocket, and Retrofuturist.I think this is because the formula itself is so full of pigments that the formula itself is drier and clings to lips and doesn’t provide any added moisture or a barrier to lock moisture in.

Some of the chalkier shades like Cosmopop, D’Lilac, and Great Pink Planet applied unevenly and these shades left a color-ring around the edges of my lips as they faded.  To cover up the streakiness, I found applying a semi-opaque lipgloss on top helped out quite a bit.

The packaging is not for everyone–it’s kind of a fuchsia-purple tube decorated with holographic unicorns–but I personally found the case itself to feel a little cheap. It’s just not as heavy or as solid as I’d expect (or prefer). Not quite as light as one of the worst lipsticks (in terms of packaging) I’ve tried, but it’s just not as high quality as I’d expect.

Something curious I found was the vanilla scent seemed to disappear significantly once I used these. While they have a pleasing vanilla scent, they have a waxy feel and taste. It’s not terrible, but it’s not exactly delicious!

Overall:  These lipsticks are just okay.  If I’m going to shell out $16 a pop, I expect it to rival other mid- to high-end lipsticks, but it really doesn’t, overall.  Centrifuchsia had the best texture–it was pigmented, didn’t dry lips out, felt lightweight, and it left a stain behind.  Many of the other shades, though, felt too thick, which is something that can emphasize dryness on the lips and settle into lip lines.  The biggest reason these lost so many points is they don’t live up to the claims — most colors require at least two layers for smooth, even, opaque coverage, and I wouldn’t describe these as creamy, either.

It seemed like the closer you got to “normal” color, the better the formula was, but the further you got from “normal” color, the worse it was!  For better results, make sure you moisturize and hydrate lips well in advance, apply lip liner to keep color from bleeding and migrating, and then apply with a lip brush to ensure more even coverage.

My picks: Centrifuchsia, Countessa Flurorescent

Skip: D’Lilac, Great Pink Planet

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

• Product: 22/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 3/5
• Packaging: 3/5

Recommendation: If you’ve been on the hunt for a really off-the-wall color and see it here, it may be worth getting to satisfy that need. These just don’t stack up to most mid- to high-end lipstick formulas, so I’d opt for another brand instead, if you were just looking for a new shade of lipstick.

Availability: Lime Crime

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Airborne Unicorn, Centrifuchsia, Cosmopop, Countessa Fluorescent

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Cosmopop, Countessa Fluorescent, D’Lilac, Great Pink Planet

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Centrifuchsia, Cosmopop, Countessa Fluorescent, D’Lilac, Great Pink Planet, My Beautiful Rocket

Lime Crime Lipsticks: My Beautiful Rocket, No She Didn’t, Retrofuturist, Styletto

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Airborne Unicorn, Centrifuchsia, Cosmopop,
Countessa Fluorescent, D’Lilac, Great Pink Planet, My Beautiful Rocket,
No She Didn’t, Retrofuturist, Styletto

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Airborne Unicorn, Centrifuchsia, Cosmopop

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Cosmopop, Countessa Fluorescent, D’Lilac

Lime Crime Lipsticks: Great Pink Planet, My Beautiful Rocket, No She Didn’t

Lime Crime Lipsticks: No She Didn’t, Retrofuturist, Styletto

Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn Lipstick

Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn Lipstick

Lime Crime Centrifuchsia Lipstick

Lime Crime Centrifuchsia Lipstick

Lime Crime Cosmopop Lipstick

Lime Crime Cosmopop Lipstick

Lime Crime Countessa Fluroescent Lipstick

Lime Crime Countessa Fluroescent Lipstick

Lime Crime D’Lilac Lipstick

Lime Crime D’Lilac Lipstick

Lime Crime Great Pink Planet Lipstick

Lime Crime Great Pink Planet Lipstick

Lime Crime My Beautiful Rocket Lipstick

Lime Crime My Beautiful Rocket Lipstick

Lime Crime No She Didn’t Lipstick

Lime Crime No She Didn’t Lipstick

Lime Crime Retrofuturist Lipstick

Lime Crime Retrofuturist Lipstick

Lime Crime Styletto Lipstick

Lime Crime Styletto Lipstick