IMATS 2014 HAUL and REVIEW: Lime Crime Lipsticks

I gotta admit.  The first reason why I decided to line up at the Lime Crime booth at IMATS was because I wanted that shopping bag.  That huge green and pink shopping bag that everyone was toting around.  I knew what Lime Crime is but I'm not too familiar with their products.  And someone asked me to get something for them.  The line to Lime Crime was LONG and the line to pay at Naimie's was even longer.  It took about an hour or so out of my day.  That's okay though.  Now, I wish I knew better.  I would've gotten more stuff for myself.



Lime Crime is known for their lip products.  They offer rich and very opaque formulations in the most outrageous color selections.  They have a black, YELLOW, blue... a unicorn is the perfect logo for their company.  Very vibrant and colorful. 

I bought two of their opaque lipsticks.  I was "researching" right there at the line.  My friend wanted the Velvetines but because I'm not a fan of matte lips, I needed to look up their lipsticks.  I picked two relatively "safe" colors from their selection and man, I really wish I had more time to decide!

I got me some favorites, Geradium and Retrofuturist.  These two jumped at me from the swatches I saw in blogs and the swatches I made at the booth.  I'm trying to build my pink lipstick collection and red is always a good one to have.

Their packaging, from the box to the tube, reminds me of MAC lipsticks.  They even smell like MAC lipsticks, an overly sweet vanilla scent that quickly goes away.  The tube is shaped like a bullet in bright neon purple with holographic designs.  The cap lines up with the base to display the complete design. 

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the tube.  It seems a little tacky to me but hey, to each her own.  It doesn't really bother me but I guess where MAC is serious and editorial, Lime Crime is fun and quirky.  I mean, it is cute, don't get me wrong.  It's just... not my cup of tea.

But who cares about that.  It's what's inside that matters right? 

(I should add that one of the cutest thing about the packaging is the inside of the box the lipstick came in.  While the outside and the tube is in this neon purple shade, the inside is in the color LIME!  And here I was thinking where the "lime" is in this brand.)



My eye goes straight to that red.  Look at that!  I have to say, these are awesomely pigmented lipsticks.  I've swatched and tried so many in the past but it's not all the time I encounter a lipsticks that swatches true to the color on the tube.  That one is Retrofuturist.  The one on the left is Geradium.

Although not the creamiest, they are definitely opaque as the box suggests.  The flash does affect how the color comes across but that natural light swatch is so true to color.  And that's just two swipes!  With the flash, Geradium turns a but neon while Retrofuturist's blue undertones become more pronounced.


(Holy crap, I love how this batch of lip swatches came out.  Improvement!)

In the swatches from the blog I was looking at as I was waiting in line, I thought Geradium will be my favorite from the bunch.  It looked like a soft peachy pink and very opaque.  While it is opaque, it wasn't the pink that I was expecting from the swatch.  Maybe I did not account for the person's natural lip color or the lighting was different.  I like it on me under natural light.  The photo I took with flash made me look like I was messing with Nicki Minaj's lipstick stash.  And it was also so different from the original swatch on the Lime Crime site.  But I still like it.  It's a pink that I can wear on special occasions. 



I definitely prefer Retrofuturist.  It's a perfect blue based red that brightens up my face.  It also makes my teeth look whiter.  I can actually wear this everyday.  It is super pigmented.  It feels a bit drying but it's nothing major.  A gloss can remedy that. 

How I wished I picked up more colors at IMATS!  They're still relatively expensive though.  But man, I was there already.  Next time, I'll come prepared.  I will eventually buy the other colors online (I do have enough to qualify for free shipping lol.)

Lime Crime is definitely eye-catching.  The packaging is loud and the product itself demands attention.  And it surely caught mine.