Further to my post last week discussing the launch of Lime Crime at SpaceNK stores this month, I want to share with you my thoughts on the lipsticks that I was sent by SpaceNK.
I wrote the initial post because whilst not wanting to ignore the contentious issues surrounding the brand, I want to keep that separate to my review of the products.
If you’re interested in purchasing the lipsticks from SpaceNK, please have a read and check out my thoughts on how they worked for me.
First of all… the packaging.
A lot has been said about the packaging. It generally tends to polarise opinion between two camps. I have to say…. I like it a lot. Admittedly, so would my 11 month old given another couple of years.
I like the holographic unicorns…. no, I LOVE the unicorns. I don’t however like the overall colour choice, but only because I think those unicorns would have looked stunning against a shiny black background.
The packaging up to this point feels sturdy and I’m impressed by the quality.
I was sent three which you can see above.
Lime Crime have based the credibility of their entire range on the phrase: “So bright, it’s illegal.” And I have no qualms about the brightness of the shades I received.
Are they brighter than lipsticks that you can purchase from brands such as MAC, BarryM or even clubber’s fav Stargazer? Possibly not… Infact, I’ve already found a fair colour dupe of Countessa Fluorescent in my BarryM 146. But you would have to be a fairly brand-savvy makeup shopper to find these dupes, and this collection just makes it easier.
Before I move on to swatches, wear etc… I do have one quality issue. My Countessa Flourescent arrived ‘wonky’. When I wind it up and down, it ‘drags’ on the inside of the tube leaving not only a streak of pink behind, but a groove dug out of the lipstick. I wouldn’t expect nor accept this from a £14 product.
As you can see, on the back of my hand… they swatch beautifully and true to tube colour. They achieve full opacity very quickly and are just as vibrant as they promise.
I’m going back to front from the hand swatches… but I’ll start with…
My Beautiful Rocket.
It applied well and I found it fairly creamy. It’s no YSL Rouge Volupte, but I will happily reach for it whenever the situation demands an orange! And what a shade it is! Vibrant in colour and packing a nice sheen. I would recommend this as a great summer shade.
No She Didn’t.
A horrible chalky lipstick. It drags across my lips and the colour it deposits sinks instantly into the furrows meaning that I have to go over a number of times to achieve any real opacity. The result of having to apply it so heavily is bleeding around the edges and a caked-on feeling. I’ve read reports of staining, but I couldn’t bear to keep this on my lips for long enough to test that theory out.
I wouldn’t recommend this lipstick at all, and think the formula needs adjusting to make it work.
Countessa Fluorescent.
Colour-wise for me, this was my favourite. I love this bright dolly pink which achieves a fabulous opacity without too much effort on my part. It’s more drying than My Beautiful Rocket and it left a stain around the contour of my lips which I wasn’t delighted about.
I can’t decide whether to forgive it for those niggles. Perhaps if the price were lower… but at £14, I want a damn good lipstick. And this doesn’t qualify.
I wouldn’t describe any of these lipsticks as moisturising, but of the three… My Beautiful Rocket came the closest to leaving my lips in the same condition as before I had applied the product. To be fair, I’ve just spent 3 hours in a Chanel Rouge Coco…. and that’s left my lips feeling pretty dehydrated too.
I’m no chemist, but the main problems I see with these lipsticks is the thickness of the formula. They’re just so heavy. I guess the whole “I’m so bright, I’m illegal” ethos demands this heavy pigmentation and perhaps this is the flipside to trying to achieve such an opaque range of products.
.
I think that at £14 each, the price is too high for the quality of the product. The shades are awesome and the staying power is pretty darn effective. I think they’re a fabulous idea and I would love to see some adjustments to the formula that would make them kinder to the wearer’s lips.
Would I buy them? I would buy My Beautiful Rocket. I would bin No She Didn’t.
Still…
This is one of the most fair, well rounded reviews I’ve read thus far, and I feel I can definitely trust your opinion. Very well done!
Please tell me that last picture is going to be your Facebook pic.
I love the look of the orange. But then I can get that with my OCC Lip Tar in Safety Orange, which is way cheaper and drama-free, so I’m not feeling any pull towards it really. We’re going to go to one of the live dates in London and check these puppies out IRL I think. I want to see the full “Candyfuture” thing in action!
to me, this seems a bit like the kind of lipstick you would find at claire’s accessories. out of the 3, i think my beautiful rocket looks the most like a good quality product. i love the colour of countessa fluorescent, but it still looks chalky.
and as usual, your skin looks amazing!
-dani
I agree with Dani, everything about it looks like a £4 job and whilst you look beautiful and radiant as ever I don’t think any of colours do you any great favours, although the pink isn’t too bad. Love the last pic haha!
thanks for the excellent review. it’s safe to say i am not in the least bit interested. Nothing I can’t do with stuff I already have or my OCC liptars. The price too. No go for moi!
aww its such cute package-ing =)
you look like an avatar! xxx
LOL THE LAST PICTURE IS GOLD.
Gold, I tell you!
Great review, honest and thorough as always. Thank you!
xoxo
Haha I love the last picture. I think you need to go out in the blue!
I loved this review and how you kept yourself distant from the drama. The blue lipstick would definitely work as part of an editorial fancy look provided there would be some darker or different tone of blue/purple to add a bit of depht. Mmm imagine with a dark navy blue liner around it. If this wasn’t £14, I can see this could be a lipstick loved by many make up artists.
I find the pink too neon for me. As for the orange, woah, this would save me faffing about with nude lipstick, gloss and eyeshadow. Not readily wearable, but I love it. In general, I find those 3 lipsticks incredibly pigmented but they are a bit flat, need some dimension, depht or something to make them great.
LOVE the last picture 😀
OMG! I am not the demographic they’re aiming for! Thanks for the brave pics! The blue is a classic!
I understand that the brand are charging more (than say a MAC lipstick) because of the range of colours available, but the quality needs to be up to scratch too!
Not that I’d ever wear a blue lipstick!
I won’t be going near these, even if they are unusual! £14.. no… sub standard… no… Thanks for showing me something I don’t want. My bank balance is very happy!
Well you look great. I second the last pic as the facebook pic AND the twitter pic.
I’m not saying anything about the lippies in genral as they are not my thing at all xx
I don’t think you have to be that savvy to know where else to get shades like these. The blue is fairly unusual, but only because blues tend to be darker… If you really wanted it, though, mixing Lip Tars would be the best bet.
Wow. Errr….. Yeah, bright!
Totally not my thing at all (as you know, I don’t DO lipstick) but they look good for theatrical/stage makeup and the sort of stuff that Liloo does.
I think you should wear the blue more often though, like doing your weekly shop! xxx
“So bright, it’s illegal.” Those colours are perfecly within the law then. I have a Sleek pink which is way brighter! Lip Tar wise, I don’t first hand experience of Safety Orange but the Lime Crime colours are no match for RX and Anime.
Really great even handed review, especially in the face of least flattering makeup I’ve seen you in.
Have to say that I love the fact that you broke an embargo for a product that is already freely available! Makes me giggle.
Aww it reminded me of the Friend’s episode! The pink looks gorgeous though xx
It’s really interesting how different your complexion looks with the different lipsticks, even with the exact same lighting and other cosmetics. Bloody hell. Bobbi Brown is right.
I do like you in the orange, you should give Besame Carmine a go.
I have to say first of all, these are such pretty pictures of you. You hair and your skin positively glow. Secondly, I really love how the orange and the pink look on you! The blue I don’t like. Not cos it’s blue but because it looks so thick and pasty.It would be fun to wear on a night out, but would need too much to make it work (gloss, liner, etc..too much tweaking.)
Great review- I haven’t found any reviews that I really think are impartial, even those by bloggers that I love dearly. I think you did well (and it would seem you came to the same conclusion as most other bloggers, so maybe they were being honest after all!) Hopefully, now that the product is in some stores, we’ll see more reviews coming in from the average user too.
While I find it odd, and a bit concerning, that there’s such inconsistency in the formulation between colors, I’m still curious about the lipsticks (and personally, find the tube adorable!) and may pick one up if LC ever runs a decent sale or promotion.
If so, I’ll definitely post a review on my site and let y’all know what I think!
Ok just a silly question but… where have you planned to go with a sky-blue lipstick on? 😀
V
You know… in an odd way that orange works for you O.o
oh darling why oh why did you buy blue lipstick? the pink however is so pretty for spring
Did the lipsticks stain your lips after you removed them?
@Phyrra – I wrote about staining in the review? Countessa did… Beautiful Rocket didn’t… The blue I physically couldn’t bear to leave it on long enough to find out.
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
Okay.. just to put it out there straight up – that blue color is HORRIBLE. Holy freaking moly!
But.. the coraly and the pink lipstick look gorgeous on you : D
Great, very subjective review. I think the pink shade looks amazing on you!
[…] Lime Crime’s ultra bright lipsticks finally hit the UK high street, Lipglossiping puts them under the […]
Agreed, it makes teeth look whiter. XD
I’m super excited. I ordered some and Doe Deere (Xenia) just announced on her blog that she’s going to try to find a new vegan formula that is more moisturizing, so if you liked the colors, I’d suggest trying them when the newer stuff comes out.
I love the blue color! It looks so great 😀 <3 And yes, your teeth do look whiter 🙂
[…] – Centrifuchsia Honey and Milk – Airborne Unicorn Jadeblüte – Glamour101 Lipglossiping – Countessa Flourescent, No She Didn’t & My Beautiful Rocket Mel et fel – Airborne Unicorn Sandys Make Up Box – Mint to […]